Mountain Bike: The South African endurance race Munga has lost its main sponsor and has to be postponed to 2015 as a result.
The mountain bike world should have been enriched by a challenging race next December. For the first time, the one-day Munga race should have led non-stop from Bloemfontein in South Africa to the Cape Winelands, 1000 kilometers away, near the southernmost point of the continent. With prize money of 1 million dollars for the winning duo, the race had already caused a stir in the run-up. But now the withdrawal of the main sponsor has temporarily ended the "toughest mountain bike race in the world". The event can take place in 2015 at the earliest.
However, race director Alex Harris is letting fans know that this is not the end of Munga. “The Munga dream is not over. He's gotten stronger,” he proclaims on the race's website.
Some participants are disappointed with the postponement. Former US National Champion Jeremiah Bishop (pictured above), for example, expressed his disappointment with VeloNews. He is looking forward to next year's event as Munga combines a lot of things that athletes and spectators love: a crazy challenge, risk and money.