Young Tayne Rudling (pictured above) pulled off his biggest victory of his career when he claimed the men’s title at the 45km Sappi Scottburgh MTB and Trail Run on Sunday in cool and muddy conditions. The 19-year-old was something of a surprise winner as he beat up-and-coming Sihle Mlungu and pre-race favourite Daniel van der Watt on the new-look route, which had to be changed at the last minute due to a bridge on the route being flooded.
Although there was rain in the days leading up to the event, Van der Watt and Rudling fought for early dominance in perfect, cool weather conditions, but their battle for the victory was halted when Van der Watt punctured and he was then also passed by Mlungu as he struggled home.
The top woman was Nadine Nunes, who was an easy winner in the absence of South Coast local Hayley Smith who opted not to start. Denise Pienaar finished second with Maja Kearley rounding out the podium.
In the short 20km event, 10-year-old Calan Goetsch edged out his father Matt by three seconds, with Ezra Evans rounding out the podium positions. Kaitlyn Muller was the first female in the short race with Angela Bunge and Carmen Stassen completing the top three.
LEADING RESULTS
45km MTB
Men
1 Tayne Rudling 1:35:25
2 Sihle Mlungu 1:39:14
3 Daniel Van Der Watt 1:43:20
4 Matthew Holloway 1:48:08
5 Siphesihle Ngcobo 1:54:07
Women
1 Nadine Nunes 2:09:20
2 Denise Pienaar 2:58:53
3 Maja Helen Kearley 3:31:30
4 Maryna Kearley 3:38:32
5 Denise Shepherd 4:01:34
20km
Men
1 Calan Goetsch 0:55:37
2 Mathew Goetsch 0:55:40
3 Ezra Evans 0:59:16
4 Seth Fraser 1:05:41
5 Paul Muller 1:06:09
Women
1 Kaitlyn Muller 1:06:09
2 Angela Bunge 1:14:30
3 Carmen Stassen 1:17:25
4 Mandy Koegelenberg 1:27:41
5 Chloe Carter-Brown 1:32:06
Intro image credit: Boogs Photography/Cycling South Africa
Source: Gameplan Media
