![\"ccs-62657-0-73230900-1460714855.jpeg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-73230900-1460714855.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Sonya Looney. Credit: Matt Ewonus.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd now the professional endurance racer known for her perpetual smile \u2013 even under the toughest of circumstances \u2013 is on her way to South Africa to take on the Old Mutual joBerg2c.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always wanted to race and travel in South Africa. Racing for me is as much about community building as it is about going fast. I\u2019m looking forward to making a lot of new friends,\u201d Sonya says. \u201cI also saw that one-third of the race is singletrack \u2026 the more the better! I love long, hard races and covering long distances. I\u2019ve heard that joBerg2c has the best stage race course in South Africa and the best riding. I have no doubt that it\u2019ll live up to expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Old Mutual joBerg2c starts outside Johannesburg, heads south and ends nine days later on the beach at Scottburgh, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. It takes place from April 22 to 30 this year.<\/p>\n
Sonya will be riding in the mixed category with friend Yuki Ikeda of Japan: \u201cWe have been friends for almost a decade and have travelled to races together all over the world,\u201d Sonya says. \u201cWe have never raced a stage race as a team, but I\u2019m looking forward to it. Yuki is also an experienced stage racer. Our goal is to have fun, ride fast, and win!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sonya has been a professional rider for eight years and a stage rider for the last five years. She has won or podiumed at nearly 20 stage races in 11 countries. \u201cI love stage racing because it’s the best way to see the world or a region of a country. You get to see places you wouldn\u2019t normally see as a tourist. It’s a unique experience of camaraderie, adventure, travel, and physical challenge,\u201d Sonya says.<\/p>\n