Lowe closest to Miller's dominant win

The 2024 Nedbank Rock and Rut cross-country mountain biking series got underway on Saturday with event Zero held at the IJG Trails in Kleine Kuppe.

The elite and under-23 men completed seven laps of the 4.96 km course, which brought their race distance to 34.7 km. Professional rider and 2022 Commonwealth Games medallist Alex Miller unsurprisingly won the race, with the emerging talent Kevin Lowe impressing with a second-place finish keeping the time gap to just 90 seconds.

Martin Freyer (third) and Daniel Hahn (fourth) were among the other highly-rated competitors, while 2012 Olympian Marc Bassingthwaighte marked his comeback to the sport with an overall 7th-place finish.

Jean-Marie Mostert came away as the winner of the elite women’s four-lap race ahead of Mimi Hough and Ulrike Steidler.

As always, various categories were on offer to riders of all age groups and abilities. The men’s e-bike race winner Nabil Robiati explained: “Today was the first cross-country race which is part of an exciting series.

“It’s been an amazing turn-out, from the youngsters all the way to the elites. We’ve had more than 110 participants from all of the country today. We are going to be having quite a few of these races throughout the year,” he said.

In the women's junior category (U18), Delsia van Vuuren said: “It was unfortunate that I was the only girl that entered. Even though it was challenging and hot, I really enjoyed the race and I used this opportunity to check that my lap times were nice and consistent,” she said.

With promise of a good season ahead, the next few cross-crountry races will be just as exciting. On 20 April, Namibia’s UCI-approved cross country event will be held at the same venue, which usually attracts riders from South Africa and elsewhere looking to earn world ranking points.



Top results per category:

Elite and under-23 women: 1 Jaen-Marie Mostert (1:02:05), 2 Mimi Hough (1:09:53), 3 Ulrike Steidler (1:16:38).

Elite and under-23 men: 1 Alex Miller (1:25:06), 2 Kevin Lowe (1:26:36), 3 Martin Freyer (1:28:15), 4 Daniel Hahn (1:30:56), 5 Theuns van der Westhuizen (1:31:46).

Junior women (U18): 1 Delsia van Vuuren (58:57).

Junior men (U18): 1 Roger Surén (1:13:54).

Sub-veteran women: 1 Michelle Döman (46:10), 2 Nicola Fester (46:18), 3 Carmen Johannes (48:59).

Sub-veteran men: 1 Ananias Tamati (1:08:53), 2 Pierre Lambert (1:09:07), 3 Heinrich Köhne (1:10:48).

Veteran women: 1 Genevieve Weber (43:59), 2 Irene Steyn (46:26), 3 Sonja Obholzer (49:05).

Veteran men (40-49 years): 1 Vernon Maresch (1:09:14), 2 Philip Steyn (1:10:15), 3 Marcel Surén (1:11:58)

Masters women: 1 Anneke Steenkamp (50:36) 2 Elanor Grassow (51:21), 3 Mandy Huysamen (56:56).

Masters men (50-60 years): 1 Nick du Plessis (55:53), 2 Greg Chase (56:30), 3 Ian Grassow (58:24).

Grandmaster women: 1 Carolin Janik (40:14), 2 Berrit Graf (41:04).

Grandmaster men (60 plus): 1 Rolf Adrian (48:39), 2 Eckhard Waldschmidt (49:14), 3 Roland Graf (54:08).

Girls under-16: 1 Rosemarie Thiel (43:52).

Boys under-16: 1 Marco Thiel (49:11), 2 Sean Lowe (51:40), 3 Christiaan van der Westhuizen (51:41).

Boys under-14: 1 Micah Chase (40:37), 2 Daniël Hennes (41:11), 3 York Ahrens (47:10).

Girls under-14: 1 Nicole Surén (30:57), 2 Anne Cramer (32:47), 3 Joadri de Beer (38:18).

Boys under-12: 1 JP Lambert (32:09), 2 Hendrik Baartman (33:16), 3 Leo Setzkorn (36:30).

Boys under-10: 1 Oliver Mathews (25:52), 2 Dennis Bassingthwaighte (28:16), 3 Luca Samuelson (30:25).

Girls under-12: 1 Qara Volschenk (24:01), 2 Lillian Kibble (24:07), 3 Ilse-Monique van Zyl (28:35).

Girls under-10: 1 Linn Lambert (12:21), 2 Kiana Brand (14:12).

E-bike men: 1 Frank Kloster (1:01:06), 2 Michael Lowe (1:02:27), 3 Luther Mostert (1:04:30).

E-bike women: 1 Claudia Surén (45:56), 2 Lionie Meyer (53:16).Rhino Men (90 kg plus): 1 Nabil Robiati (46:40) 2 Fana Lambert (46:50), 3 Reino Greeff (50:55).