Dan Loubser not only won the 2025 36ONE MTB Challenge on Saturday, 24 May, but also shattered the course record and the 13-hour mark in the process.
The Freewheel Cycology man’s time for the 356km course was 42 minutes and 20 seconds faster than Drikus Coetzee’s 2022 benchmark, as well as 25 minutes and 3 seconds quicker than the 13-hour goal.
This ensured that he took home a performance bonus to top up his winner’s prize purse to R36,100.
Women’s winner, Yolande de Villiers, also broke the course record, knocking 10 minutes and 59 seconds off her 2021 previous best effort. Sadly, for the Oudtshoorn local, she came up 23 agonising seconds short of claiming R36,100 for breaking the 15-hour barrier.
Perfect racing conditions
As the fast times suggested, weather conditions were near perfect throughout the circumnavigation of the Klein Karoo.
Temperatures were cool but not as cold as they have been in the early hours of the morning in recent editions, and more importantly, there was no wind to speak of.
Road conditions were rough in places, leading to mountain bikes being chosen by many of the contenders to counter the rutted descents of Rooiberg Pass and the Lategansvlei Road.
Five of the six podium finishers in the solo men’s and women’s categories opted to race on gravel bikes, and drop bars proved fastest.
“The gravel bikes were just more efficient,” Loubser reflected. “I could see how much harder Pieter [Korkie] was having to work when we rolled from descents straight onto climbs and on the flats too. Over 360 kilometres, those repeated efforts add up and avoiding them helped me stay a bit fresher.”
Strong finish
Loubser was still so fresh, in fact, that he was able to increase his average speed over the final 50km and finish the race emphatically.
What makes this more remarkable is the speed at which the leaders raced the first 100km. From the gun, the front group was well up on the sub-13-hour splits. Loubser was ever-present at the sharp end.
He had Pieter Korkie, Erick Heyns, Bert Verlinde, Dusty Day, Alexander Henning, the defending champion Freddie Visser, and the course record holder, Coetzee, for company initially. Verlinde, Day, and Visser slipped back after 70km and formed a change group, which soon included Henning too.
Surprisingly, Coetzee could also not live with the pace being set by Loubser, Korkie, and Heyns. The trio flew through the Louvain and Volmoed checkpoints, at 102km and 174km, together, while Coetzee and Visser chased 3 minutes back.
Just when it looked like the Namibian had paced his efforts to perfection and started to close the gap on the lower slopes of Rooiberg Pass, Loubser attacked.
This snapped the elastic to the men in fourth and fifth on the road, but also put Heyns in difficulty. Korkie dug deep to summit alongside Loubser and then took his time to refuel before starting the descent.
On a mountain bike, Korkie was confident that he would be able to catch the gravel biker on the Rooiberg Pass descent. Despite being able to do so, the 19km drag to Calitzdorp allowed Loubser to put Korkie back under pressure. In the final checkpoint, with 81km to race, Loubser had his only significant issue of the event.
Making the move
While trying to replace the light on his bike his support crew fumbled and this allowed Korkie the opportunity to gain nearly 60 seconds.
Rather than let the deficit daunt him Loubser went on the offensive and rode back to the front then surged past. Within 20km he had established a 5-minute advantage and with the victory all-but secured he could focus on the 13-hour mark.
“This was a step into the unknown for me!” Loubser allowed. “My usual longest race is 245 so part of the reason for riding hard was to reduce the time on the bike as much as possible, so the ultra-guys didn’t outdo me.”
“I’m really looking forward to some time off the bike now! I don’t need to ride it for a while,” he laughed on the finish line. “I’ll definitely be back. I already know a few things I’d like to change for next time; the biggest one would be a front light that works throughout!”
Korkie also broke the 13-hour mark, finishing 8 minutes and 54 seconds behind Loubser. Heyns was third, 11 seconds over 13-hours. Coetzee, in fourth also went faster than his own previous best time.
Dominant performance
De Villiers was peerless in the solo women’s race, despite a brave ride from Chloe Bishop on 36ONE MTB Challenge debut. The defending champion distanced her nearest rival on an early technical section, 30km into the race, and spent the next 326km chasing the record.
After nearly 15-hours on the bike, De Villiers just needed a reminder to keep pushing the pedals that little bit harder.
Crossing the line at 6am after a full night on the bike, she came up 23 seconds short of her goal. Nonetheless, her margin of victory was commanding, and her performance was remarkable. Her thoughts about missing out on the performance bonus, by such a slender margin, understandably included a few colourful adjectives.
Her time was 15 hours and 23 seconds. Bishop was 1 hour and 23 minutes behind in second. Catherine Erasmus [née Pellow-Jarman] was third.
The Half, which featured a 195km course, was won by Marco van Biljoen and Alma Colyn. Both the solo men’s and women’s champions were victorious by significant margins after powerful rides.
For more reflections from the 2025 36ONE MTB Challenge, follow @the36one on Instagram or like The 36ONE MTB Challenge Facebook page. More information on The Ultimate Race can be found at www.the36one.co.za.
2025 36ONE MTB Challenge Results
Challenge | Solo Men:
- Dan Loubser (12:34:57)
- Pieter Korkie (12:43:51 | +8:54)
- Erick Heyns (13:00:11 | +25:14)
Challenge | Solo Women:
- Yolande de Villiers (15:00:23)
- Chloe Bishop (16:23:42 | +1:23:19)
- Catherine Erasmus (18:26:33 | +3:26:10)
The Half | Solo Men:
- Marco van Biljoen (7:24:20)
- Alewyn Vorster (9:58:04 | +2:33:44
- Ruan Oberholster (10:00:24 | +2:36:04)
The Half | Solo Women:
- Alma Colyn (8:51:03)
- Louwra Slabbert (9:34:15 | +43:12)
Dan Loubser not only won the 2025 36ONE MTB Challenge on Saturday, 24 May, but also shattered the course record and the 13-hour mark in the process.
The Freewheel Cycology man’s time for the 356km course was 42 minutes and 20 seconds faster than Drikus Coetzee’s 2022 benchmark, as well as 25 minutes and 3 seconds quicker than the 13-hour goal.
This ensured that he took home a performance bonus to top up his winner’s prize purse to R36,100.
Women’s winner, Yolande de Villiers, also broke the course record, knocking 10 minutes and 59 seconds off her 2021 previous best effort. Sadly, for the Oudtshoorn local, she came up 23 agonising seconds short of claiming R36,100 for breaking the 15-hour barrier.
Perfect racing conditions
As the fast times suggested, weather conditions were near perfect throughout the circumnavigation of the Klein Karoo.
Temperatures were cool but not as cold as they have been in the early hours of the morning in recent editions, and more importantly, there was no wind to speak of.
Road conditions were rough in places, leading to mountain bikes being chosen by many of the contenders to counter the rutted descents of Rooiberg Pass and the Lategansvlei Road.
Five of the six podium finishers in the solo men’s and women’s categories opted to race on gravel bikes, and drop bars proved fastest.
“The gravel bikes were just more efficient,” Loubser reflected. “I could see how much harder Pieter [Korkie] was having to work when we rolled from descents straight onto climbs and on the flats too. Over 360 kilometres, those repeated efforts add up and avoiding them helped me stay a bit fresher.”
Strong finish
Loubser was still so fresh, in fact, that he was able to increase his average speed over the final 50km and finish the race emphatically.
What makes this more remarkable is the speed at which the leaders raced the first 100km. From the gun, the front group was well up on the sub-13-hour splits. Loubser was ever-present at the sharp end.
He had Pieter Korkie, Erick Heyns, Bert Verlinde, Dusty Day, Alexander Henning, the defending champion Freddie Visser, and the course record holder, Coetzee, for company initially. Verlinde, Day, and Visser slipped back after 70km and formed a change group, which soon included Henning too.
Surprisingly, Coetzee could also not live with the pace being set by Loubser, Korkie, and Heyns. The trio flew through the Louvain and Volmoed checkpoints, at 102km and 174km, together, while Coetzee and Visser chased 3 minutes back.
Just when it looked like the Namibian had paced his efforts to perfection and started to close the gap on the lower slopes of Rooiberg Pass, Loubser attacked.
This snapped the elastic to the men in fourth and fifth on the road, but also put Heyns in difficulty. Korkie dug deep to summit alongside Loubser and then took his time to refuel before starting the descent.
On a mountain bike, Korkie was confident that he would be able to catch the gravel biker on the Rooiberg Pass descent. Despite being able to do so, the 19km drag to Calitzdorp allowed Loubser to put Korkie back under pressure. In the final checkpoint, with 81km to race, Loubser had his only significant issue of the event.
Making the move
While trying to replace the light on his bike his support crew fumbled and this allowed Korkie the opportunity to gain nearly 60 seconds.
Rather than let the deficit daunt him Loubser went on the offensive and rode back to the front then surged past. Within 20km he had established a 5-minute advantage and with the victory all-but secured he could focus on the 13-hour mark.
“This was a step into the unknown for me!” Loubser allowed. “My usual longest race is 245 so part of the reason for riding hard was to reduce the time on the bike as much as possible, so the ultra-guys didn’t outdo me.”
“I’m really looking forward to some time off the bike now! I don’t need to ride it for a while,” he laughed on the finish line. “I’ll definitely be back. I already know a few things I’d like to change for next time; the biggest one would be a front light that works throughout!”
Korkie also broke the 13-hour mark, finishing 8 minutes and 54 seconds behind Loubser. Heyns was third, 11 seconds over 13-hours. Coetzee, in fourth also went faster than his own previous best time.
Dominant performance
De Villiers was peerless in the solo women’s race, despite a brave ride from Chloe Bishop on 36ONE MTB Challenge debut. The defending champion distanced her nearest rival on an early technical section, 30km into the race, and spent the next 326km chasing the record.
After nearly 15-hours on the bike, De Villiers just needed a reminder to keep pushing the pedals that little bit harder.
Crossing the line at 6am after a full night on the bike, she came up 23 seconds short of her goal. Nonetheless, her margin of victory was commanding, and her performance was remarkable. Her thoughts about missing out on the performance bonus, by such a slender margin, understandably included a few colourful adjectives.
Her time was 15 hours and 23 seconds. Bishop was 1 hour and 23 minutes behind in second. Catherine Erasmus [née Pellow-Jarman] was third.
The Half, which featured a 195km course, was won by Marco van Biljoen and Alma Colyn. Both the solo men’s and women’s champions were victorious by significant margins after powerful rides.
For more reflections from the 2025 36ONE MTB Challenge, follow @the36one on Instagram or like The 36ONE MTB Challenge Facebook page. More information on The Ultimate Race can be found at www.the36one.co.za.
2025 36ONE MTB Challenge Results
Challenge | Solo Men:
- Dan Loubser (12:34:57)
- Pieter Korkie (12:43:51 | +8:54)
- Erick Heyns (13:00:11 | +25:14)
Challenge | Solo Women:
- Yolande de Villiers (15:00:23)
- Chloe Bishop (16:23:42 | +1:23:19)
- Catherine Erasmus (18:26:33 | +3:26:10)
The Half | Solo Men:
- Marco van Biljoen (7:24:20)
- Alewyn Vorster (9:58:04 | +2:33:44
- Ruan Oberholster (10:00:24 | +2:36:04)
The Half | Solo Women:
- Alma Colyn (8:51:03)
- Louwra Slabbert (9:34:15 | +43:12)
