Saturday Men’s elite 1. Philip Buys (SA) 1:32:512. James Reid (SA) 1:33:223. Amo Du Toit (SA) 1:34:456. Nathan Bykusenge (Rwa) 1:40:28 Nathan Byukusenge finished sixth at the 2016 Africa Mountain Bike Championship staged from March 30 to April 4 in Lesotho. Byukusenge used one hour, 40 minutes and 28 seconds to pull off a strong performance, proving yet again to be among the best mountain bike riders on the continent, having finished as Africa’s third best at the Absa Cape Epic 2016 in South Africa two weeks ago. Rwanda’s lone representative finished 7 minutes and 37 seconds behind champion Philp Buys of South Africa in a race that was dominated by South Africans. The 35-year old Byukusenge was the best non-South African cyclist—the top five were all from South Africa, including silver medalist James Reid (1:33:22) and Amo Du Toit (1:34:45), who claimed the bronze medal. The veteran rider brought maturity and experience to bear on Saturday, improving one place from his last year’s performance. He finished 7th at the 2015 edition in Musanze to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Meanwhile, South African Strauss Mariske claimed gold in the women’s fray, her compatriot Vale Cherie finished second, while Namibia’s Michelle Vorster settled for bronze. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
