The rain, which had settled in over the area the day before, was still with us as we lined up for the start of the 70km event on the shores of Midmar Dam. Within the first kilometres we had missed a sign and the whole bunch ended up riding over an open field to get back on the right track.

This meant we were caught behind some other riders who had actually followed the correct route…it was going to be one of ‘THOSE’ days…
 
Racing soon resumed and Burry Stander (Specialized) set a strong pace as we hit the first inclines of the day. I was up for it and soon it was just the two of us at the front. At the 40/70km split there was no marshal and we took the wrong way. We soon realised our mistake and turned around only to be joined by all the riders we had just dropped.
 
Luckily there was a very bumpy singletrack that followed and with our full suspension Specialized Epic bikes we were able to open the gap and ride away again.
 
From there, Burry and I worked together riding from marker to marker to stay on the right route. He summed it up when he said it was like a treasure hunt!
 
Being an Under-23 World Cup and World Champion means you can handle your bike and Burry dropped me through a very slippery, rocky and technical singletrack section. I did drop my chain as we entered this section and that’s the only reason he got away from me…I promise…!
 
That’s the way things stayed and Burry won the race with Brett Dickson (GT/Mr Price) finishing second and me in 3rd. Brett had unknowingly taken a wrong turn to get in front of me and was eventually placed equal third with Andrew Hill.

Nobody could blame him though as race markings were once again a little suspect. Almost everyone had taken a wrong turn somewhere. The lucky ones got a shortcut while the unlucky ones got value for their entry money and did a few extra kilometres. Depending on your luck you did anything between 65 and 78km of mountain biking on the day!
 
Final leading results:
1. Burry Stander  (Specialized)
2. Melt  Swanepoel  (Specialized Mankele)
3. Andrew Hill (TIB Insurance)
3. Brett Dixon (GT Mr Price)

Source: Melt Swanepoel