“The Savanna Origin of Trails MTB Experience undeniably stands out as a highlight on the South African mountain biking calendar,” says Anelle Gordon, HEINEKEN Beverages Events Specialist<\/em><\/strong>. “Over the past two days, riders embraced the spirit of savoring the moment, relishing the routes, and soaking in the spectacular scenery. This aligns perfectly with the ethos of Savanna. We take great pride in our role as the title sponsor of an event that wholeheartedly celebrates the authentic essence of mountain biking, reminding participants why they fell in love with this exhilarating sport.”<\/p>\n Stage Two of the Savanna Origin of Trails MTB Experience saw Luyanda Thobigunya (Stage One winner) and Kusaselihle Ngidi cross the finish line together in the Marathon<\/strong> Distance in a lightning-fast time of 02 hours 04 minutes 38 seconds. \u201cThis is my third Savanna Origin of Trails race. I finished second at the first two events,\u201d says Ngidi<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cToday\u2019s trails were nice, and I had a lot of fun. The event features top trails. I will certainly tell my friends to take part in this event and I will come back next year. I decided last night to try my luck in the dress up competition. I hope I win.\u201d<\/p>\n After two days of racing Luyanda Thobigunya secured the top spot on the podium. Kusaselihle Ngidi once again had to settle for second place, with Stefan De Bod placing third.<\/em><\/p>\n South African road cyclist Stefan De Bod was pleasantly surprised by the Savanna Origin of Trails. \u201cI\u2019m from Stellenbosch but am living in Spain for the team racing in Europe,\u201d confirms De Bod<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cThis is the first time that I\u2019ve taken part in the event. I took my bike to Flandria Bike Shop and saw the poster up. While I was waiting for my bike, I entered the event. Now I think that I\u2019ll enter every year. It\u2019s just a great opportunity to ride the trails that I use to train and race on. Sometime people take sport too seriously, so it\u2019s nice to have an event that encourages people to have fun. Yes, there\u2019s a racing aspect to it, which is great, but we need more events that people can just enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n Lehane Oosthuizen claimed her second consecutive stage victory in the Marathon<\/strong>. \u201cI take part in the Savanna Origin of Trails every year because the routes are really nice,\u201d says Oosthuizen<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cWe ride the routes a lot, but we never race them. Last year I stopped at all the water points and took part in the dress up competition. This is the fourth year that I have taken part and every year I\u2019ve come second. I wanted to finish first at least once. My husband and I had a competition going on. Yesterday he beat me by 20 seconds, but today I beat him by far. The Savanna Origin of Trails is different to other events in that it is a two-day stage race in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n Lehane Oosthuizen was the overall winner after two days of racing. Selina Kuhn placed second, with Sune Henning finishing third.<\/em><\/p>\n Stage Two <\/em><\/strong>of the Marathon<\/strong> featured a +-48km route that had a total ascent of 750 meters. This stage had many highlights including airplanes at the Stellenbosch airfield, brandy tasting at the <\/em>Van Ryn Distillery and <\/em>pizza at The Wine Pod. Traversing Vredenheim for the first time and getting close to the farm\u2019s lions and other wildlife on your mountain bike is bound to be at the top of the highlights list for many riders.<\/em><\/p>\n Caroline De Villiers was the first female rider to cross the finish line in the Half Marathon<\/strong>. \u201cThis is the first time that I take part in the Savanna Origin of Trails. I wanted to try a stage race, and this event is in Stellenbosch, which made it perfect,\u201d says De Villiers<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s been so much fun, and the routes were nice. There were three of us that were overtaking each other all the time, so it was quite tough. My goal was just to see how my legs lasted as I haven\u2019t raced two days in a row before. It was great to cross the finish line in first place.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline De Villiers was the overall winner in the Half Marathon after two days of racing. Jackie Lochner placed second, while Rochelle Burger finished third.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Jonathan Elcock was the overall men\u2019s winner in the Half Marathon. Ruben Ward placed second, while Ian Volschenk finished third.<\/em><\/p>\n Stage Two <\/em><\/strong>of the Half Marathon<\/strong> treated riders to a +-36km route that featured a total ascent of 500m. After one early climb and technical descent, the route became an open flat road with easy single track. Half Marathon riders were also treated to glimpses of airplanes and wildlife, brandy tastings and pizza.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n