South African multi-sport champion Jeannie Bomford will be back this year to defend her title in the women’s race at the Juicy Lucy Classic Mid-Illovo Cycle Challenge on Sunday. Andrew Warr won the 2008 men’s race in 01:37:36.

The mountain bike event, which comprises the 40km Juicy Lucy Classic, the 18km Gwahumbe Reserve Family Ride and the 10km Ola Milky Lane Kids Ride, is based at the Mid-Illovo Farmers’ Club and includes tough challenges through the KwaZulu-Natal sugar fields as well as a ride on the wild side through the beautiful Gwahumbe Game Reserve.

Bomford, who clocked a winning time of 01:55:55 during the inaugural 40km Juicy Lucy Classic in 2008 said both the physical challenge and special ambience of the day  made the first event unforgettable.

“The Juicy Lucy Classic is different. It allows the competitors to experience something special. This is not a conventional route,” she said.

Bomford said the local farming community had left no stone unturned when it came to hospitality and had readily lent a hand when it came to marshalling and directing traffic, marking the route and manning water points.

For her, a special element this year will be the participation of five development athletes from the ‘Change A Life’ Academy in the nearby Valley Of A Thousand Hills.  She has trained with them almost daily.

The ‘Change A Life’ Academy is the brainchild of Bomford’s boyfriend Martin Dreyer who has drawn on his many Duzi canoe marathon wins to help promising athletes from isolated and impoverished areas to reach their full potential.  10 of his athletes were placed in the top 36 in this year’s Duzi. Two collected gold medals.

Based on their experience of last year’s Juicy Lucy Classic (Dreyer finished seventh) and because it is the ideal distance, Dreyer decided that this race would be the ideal way to introduce these up and coming athletes to mountain biking, one of South Africa’s fastest growing sports.

The group were invited by Juicy Lucy to participate in this year’s event. Juicy Lucy has waivered the entrance fee and is providing accommodation for these athletes. Juicy Lucy strongly support Martin Dreyer’s initiative.

The Juicy Lucy Classic Mid-Illovo Cycle Challenge is expecting 1 200 riders. For more information, visit www.juicylucy.co.za. Enquiries can be directed to either info@roag.co.za or 079 100 6164. For more information on Martin Dreyer’s initiative visit www.martindreyeracademy.com