By winning the MTN Barberton ultra-marathon on Saturday (28 January), Jacques Rossouw (Team FedGroup-Itec Connect) at long last completed a hat trick of victories. Kevin Evans (Nedbank360Life) was second and Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka) third.

In South African mountain biking Rossouw’s hat trick was probably the longest in the making. His previous victories in Barberton were in 2004 and 2005.

Endurance sports events are always full of surprises and the Totalsports Challenge 2012 was no different. With Dan Hugo the perennial favorite, most expected him to cruise to an easy victory as in years past.

But a plucky dairy farmer from the Eastern Cape had other ideas.

Stuart Marais threw caution to the wind, making this year’s Challenge a “down to the wire” duel, finishing only five minutes behind the better known Hugo, both athletes shattering the previous record by a long way.

With the RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup Pietermaritzburg fast approaching, downhill course designer Nigel Hicks is chomping at the bit to give the Cascades MTB park track a facelift.

Renowned for the tough flat middle section, the Pietermaritzburg track may not always be international riders’ favourite venue, but is one that brings balance to the UCI downhill calendar and sets a unique challenge for riders.

Cycling South Africa has clinched another coup by winning the rights to stage the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike Masters World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, a week before the 2013 MTB World Championships will take place at the same venue.

The announcement was made at the International Cycling Federation (UCI) management committee meeting on Friday afternoon, confirming that the masters event will be bolted onto the World Championships at the Cascades MTB Park next year.

Reigning individual men’s and women’s champions, Conrad Stoltz and Carla Van Huyssteen expected nothing less than a battle when they returned to Buffelspoort Dam on Saturday, 28 January 2012 to defend their titles at the gruelling TOTALSPORTS XTERRA Buffelspoort Full presented by REHIDRAT® SPORT.

South African mountain bikers participating in the cross-country (XCO) and downhill (DHI) disciplines will be making their way to Cape Town in February for the first round of the national series.

The SA XCO and DHI Series gives riders around the country the opportunity to compete against one another in these disciplines, and provides SA Mountain Biking the chance to see the best of the best in action, and how they handle the competition on the different courses in varying conditions. This process assists SA MTB in selecting the best possible team to represent SA at the MTB World Championships.

Ticket sales are open and selling fast for the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Pietermaritzburg, to be held at the Cascades Mountain Bike Park in less than two months.

Officials are on track to complete renovations to the world-famous facility well in time to be able to welcome the world’s best downhill and cross-country riders.