The Munga bike race is has been described as a single-stage contest across the middle of South Africa, in the heat of summer. This year’s event, the Munga 2022, was held from 30 November to 5 December, from Bloemfontein (in the Free State) to Wellington (in the Western Cape). Welkom cyclist, Esau Mashabela, completed this gruelling race in 111 hours. He finished 80th out of 140 riders who entered the race. Only 106 finished.“I had terrible headache and We experienced high temperatures around 30 to 40 °C and There was a head wind over 40 kph, and I struggled to paddle then I came off the bike. I had to push the bike for 10km because of the wind . We lost one of the Munga riders before water point 1. My bike broke twice in the race. The first time was after water point 1, then the next one was 2 km before the finish line.I also had to cover my legs with a space blanket due to a cold front at Cere Mountains, but I managed to reach the finish line at 03:30,” says Mashabela. Photo: Supplied


Persevered in spite of challenges

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