In conditions described as “brutal out there”, the grand finale of the Oryx Unbound series took place on Saturday 3 October with Battle of the Bikes. Starting from the Jacobsdal Inn, professional cyclists and enthusiastic hobbyists on gravel, mountain or e-bikes navigated scenic battlefields between Jacobsdal, Kimberley and Bloemfontein in the challenging event.

For those competing in the Oryx Unbound Gravel Series, Battle of the Bikes represented the final push towards series success.

The Gravel Series featured five iconic events presented by Oryx Endurance Event Management: Race2TheSky, Matsa, Sungazer, Race2TheKaroo and Battle of the Bikes. These events are designed to challenge and inspire cyclists of all levels, each offering three distances – the Dash short distance, Quest middle distance and the 100-mile gravel distance.

Top cyclists in Gravel Series

After taking part in all five challenges of the Gravel Series, the top cyclists are:

Unbound men:

1. Mauritz Jurack;

2. Hennie Burger;

3. Eben Bakker

Unbound women:

1. Elise Steynberg;

2. Surinda Fourie;

3. Emma Booysen

Quest men:

1. Tommie Ferreira;

2. Muhommed Ridwaan Syed;

3. Flip Viviers

Quest women:

1. Colleen Jacobs;

2. Michelle Cronjé;

3. Adri Burger

Dash men:

1. Rantso Ramabanta;

2. Rory Isaacs;

3. Rolfe Brecher

Dash women:

1. Ané Joubert;

2. Elizca Jacobs;

3. Chriselda Liebenberg

Podium place for Battle of the Bikes

Unbound men (140km):

1. Werner Booysen (4:37:46);

2. Mauritz Jurack (4:47:31);

3. Craig Blake (4:47:31)

Unbound women:

1. Elise Steynberg (5:46:49);

2. Surinda Fourie (5:46:49);

3. Emma Booysen (6:55:09)

Quest men (71,8km):

1. Ben van der (2:05:53);

2. Tommie Ferreira (2:17:19);

3. Muhommed Ridwaan Syed (2:17:19)

Quest women:

1. Michelle Rust (3:04:48);

2. Michelle Cronjé (3:12:43);

3. Adri Burger (3:24:56)

Dash men (37,3km):

1. Reinard van Os (1:18:59);

2. Jhano Erasmus (1:19:00);

3. Dirk Joubert (1:20:42)

Dash women:

1. Ané Joubert (1:20:41);

2. Elizca Jacobs (1:28:33);

3. Amanda Ferreira (1:28:33)

E-bike Quest: Dirk Terblanche (2:31:14) and Elana van Jaarsveld (2:42:27)

E-bike Dash: Jaco Hamman (1:09:28)

• For more information and photos, visit Oryx Endurance Event Management on Facebook.

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