Not even the fact that Stander suffered from a loss of concentration during
the last lap, which caused him to twice crash into trees, or that the pedal
of Speedy's bike came loose during the 2nd lap, which caused her to lose
nearly four minutes, could prevent them from winning their respective races
by more than five minutes.

Stander's winning time for the six-lap (6.28 km) race was 1 hour 57 minutes
59 seconds. Philip Buys (Garmin adidas) finished 2nd overall and won the
u.23 category in a time of 2:03:17.  Marc Bassingthwaighte (Garmin adidas)
finished 3rd in 2:03:45 and he was 2nd in the elite category.

Stander was full of praise for the course.

"Even though there were no big climbs or downhills, it was still one of the
most challenging courses I have ever ridden.  The route was so challenging
that you had to stay focused all the time.  If you read one line incorrectly
you paid the price.

"That was what happened to me during the last lap.  On the last climb there
was a choice of three lines.  I don't know what induced me to make the
decision, but I chose what I thought would be the easiest line.  It was a
mistake.  Not knowing what to expect, I twice lost control of my bike and
crashed into trees.

 "Apparently this was the wake-up call that I needed because thereafter I was
focused again."

 According to Stander the big difference between cross-country racing and
marathon racing is that during a marathon tactics play an important part in
the outcome of the race, while in cross-country every rider has to fend for
himself. Usually the rider who can read the course best and makes the fewest
mistakes wins.
 
Looking at Stander's lap times, he was 'Mr Consistency.' He finished his
first lap in 19 minutes and 12 seconds and from then on he managed to finish
the next four laps all in under twenty minutes.  During the last lap his
time was 20:04 which means that the time difference between his first and
last laps was only 52 seconds.

"I am not surprised by my consistent lap times.  I have been focusing on
doing stamina work until now, therefore I have adequate endurance but no
real speed.  However, this will change during the next few weeks."

Bassingthwaighte was also consistent as far as his lap times were concerned.
He finished his first lap in 20:23 and his last lap in 20:38. His slowest
lap time was 20:44.

Buys surprised everybody when he decided to take the initiative from the
moment the starter's gun went. He rode in front, setting the pace, with
Stander right on his wheel.  This meant that he shared the record for the
fastest lap time with Stander.

A muddy Buys said that he surprised himself with the way he raced. 

"My race was just one big gamble and luckily it paid off."

Yolandé Speedy was quite satisfied with the way her race went.

Her winning time for the four-lap race was 1 hour 36 minutes and 56 seconds.

Hungary's Eszter Erdelyi (Jeep), who became a South African citizen after
falling in love with race promoter, Max Cluer, finished 2nd in 1:41.12.
Mariska Strauss (MTN-energade) was 3rd  in the pro-elite category as well as
the winner of the u.23 race in a time of 1:42.06. 

Caitlin de Wet (Mr Price/Specialized) finished 4th overall and was the 2nd
u.23 rider to finish. Her time was 1:46.35.

After her mishap, Speedy said: "I can only blame myself for the fact that my
pedal came loose during the 2nd lap.  Mistakes like this could cost you the
race. I was lucky that they were able to help me in the technical zone. But
I still lost 4 minutes in the process."

"The most important thing that I have learned is not to take things for
granted. Next time, before I race, I will do a proper check on my bike.  I
had to race hard to catch Mariska again."

Asked what motivated her once she was in the lead again, Speedy said it was
to set fast lap times.

"After a race I like to compare my lap times with those of the men."

Speedy was also very consistent with a time of 23:04 for the first lap and
23:21 for the last lap.

The junior boy's race was won by James Reid (Mr Price/Specialized) in
1:48:05 with Luke Roberts finishing 2nd in 1:51:27 and Arno du Toit (Mr
Price/Specialized) 3rd in 1:52:41.

Candice Neethling (DCM) won the junior women's race in 1:19:36 and Simone
Vosloo was 2nd in 1:21:25.