Sam Sanders and Marc Pritzen claimed the women’s and men’s South Africa Marathon Mountain Bike Championships at the Sappi Karkloof Trail Festival, but there was nothing similar in the way they won their respective national titles.
The 41-year-old Sanders used her endurance to grind out a huge nine-minute victory over Bianca Haw and Danielle Du Toit, with Sarah Hill just missing a podium spot. Meanwhile, in the men’s race, Pritzen claimed the title after a four-way sprint that saw him edge out Marco Joubert, Michael Foster and defending champion and teammate Wessel Botha.
Sanders powered away on one of the long climbs midway through the 85km race and then time-trialled her way home.
After finishing second at SA Champs at the Absa Karkloof Country Club in both 2022 and 2024, and then with another runner-up finish at the SA Gravel Champs, also in Karkloof last month, Sanders was happy to have found the top step of the podium this time out.
“Yes, I have had a few second place finishes at Karkloof, but this time I think I have worked harder and the form was a lot better. I was definitely at my best this time,” said the Team Efficient Infiniti Racing rider.
“Age is a wonderful thing, in that you gain so much experience and trust in your capabilities and get to know what your specific skill set is. I now know that I can go long and I have a good engine. I knew that my best chance of winning this weekend was to go long and be bold, and capitalise on that, rather than leaving it short and go for it at the finish.
“I think, mentally for the other girls, that once the elastic broke it can be difficult to keep on fighting, and so for me it was more than just the physical ability that gave me the win.”
COMPLETING A HAT-TRICK OF TITLES
Pritzen overcame a crash that left him behind the lead group, before the Team Honeycomb 226ers rider fought back to complete his hat-trick of titles on three different surfaces. By claiming this weekend’s victory, the 2021 SA Time Trial and Road Race Champion, and 2024 SA Gravel Champion, has now added a national mountain bike title to his impressive resume.
“To win a South African title is always a good result, and a good result for the team, but of all my national titles, the mountain bike title was the one I wanted the most. And for me it was the hardest one because of the technical skills I needed – so for me it was a special one.
“The racing from the beginning was hot and everyone was pushing hard for the single track early in the race. There was a lot of reshuffling and the race split a couple of times, so a few guys spent a lot of energy getting back.
“At about 38km I had a stupid little crash when I put my knee and elbow down. I lost the front group and I was a bit sore, but at the main climb the pace was off so I was able to get back. Then it was a group of four that went all the way to the line.”
“Marco attacked toward the end and I stayed on his wheel, and then once we got on the field at the finish I went through and managed to stay ahead.”
The 85km SA Mountain Mike Marathon Championships was the highlight of the 2025 Sappi Karkloof Trail Festival that included a full range of trail events, including trail runs and an enduro MTB race on Saturday.
The men’s 21km trail run was won by Siphesihle Zimu, with Lindelani Zondi and Giovanni Bianco filling the podium. The women’s race saw Carla van Huyssteen claim a big victory over Tenisha Du Toit, with Eryn Chapman third.
Words and photo supplied
