Commitment

There’s a growing level of respect for African mountain biking and Ryder Cycling is at the forefront of this movement, sponsoring the continent’s most successful mountain bike team. This is Ryder Cycling’s second year of mountain bike team ownership, taking over the previously successful 2007 Raleigh-owned team and fine-tuning it to be even more formidable in 2008.

In 2008 Kevin Evans and David George teamed up for the Absa Cape Epic in March and won the prologue time trial and Stage 6 and finished third overall, becoming the first South African team to finish on the final podium of the world’s most prestigious mountain bike stage race. 

Mannie Heymans, multiple African cross country champion, and Melt Swanepoel, current African Elite cross-country champion, teamed up to win the popular Subaru Sani-2-c stage race and went on finish 10th at the Cape Epic.

Evans won the national marathon championship title in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and finished 14th at the 2008 marathon world champs, while Heymans, the current Namibian national cross-country champion was selected to represent his country at the Beijing Olympic Games. 

In 2009 the team is planning a major onslaught of multi day endurance MTB events starting with the ABSA Cape Epic and then moving onto the TransAlps and possibly Trans Germany. Through the parnership with the ACCC Ryder Cycling hopes to see its Rwandan and Zambian riders making waves at the top of the leaderboards in these events.

The team is looking for huge success at the 2009 World Marathon Championships as well as the U23 XC Championships and Junior XC Championships.

2009 Team: Kevin Evans, David George, Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwanda), Nathan Byukusenge (Rwanda), Jupiter Nameeembo (Zambia), Trust Munangandu (Zambia), Marsike Strauss (Junior) , Matthys Beukes (U23)