Even with the defence of her MTN Series title in tatters after an early-season crash, Team bizhub’s Ischen Stopforth sent out a reminder of her pedigree when she won the fifth round of the 2010 series in Cullinan near Pretoria on Saturday.

“Hard work and patience is starting to pay off,” Stopforth, who crossed the line in 3:42:04, said after cruising to a comfortable win over team-mate Yolandi du Toit (3:51:18) and USN’s latest acquisition, Karien van Jaarsveld (3:57:45), in the elite women’s section of the 79-kilometre marathon mountain bike event.

When photographer Liezel Barrow approached the organisers of the Nashua Largest Ever Bikini Photo Shoot about becoming the official image taker, it was more than a professional decision ¬– it was a deeply personal one.

As event photographer, Barrow will be there to capture the world record attempt at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, October 23, of which the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) is the beneficiary.

Team bizhub’s British rider Catherine Williamson put in a fine performance in the GP Plouay-Bretagne World Cup Classic in France on Saturday.

Williamson, who raced in South Africa this summer and will be returning for the end-of-season classics, finished 19th in a field that contained all of the world’s top female riders.

Iconic office automation company Nashua is once again celebrating feminine curves, this time for a charitable cause ¬– raising funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa).

Well-known for its sponsorship of the South African Sports Illustrated magazine swimwear edition, Nashua is the title sponsor of the Largest Ever Bikini Photo Shoot world record attempt.

Team bizhub’s Sanet Smal timed her sprint to perfection to record her first road race victory as a professional at the Powerade Lost City Classic over 103 kilometres on Saturday.

Smal, drafted in mid-May by the Gauteng-based team to fill the sprinting void, left her effort as late as possible into a slight headwind to relegate Lynette Burger (Toyota-Cycle Lab) and An-Li Pretorius (MTN-Energade) into second and third respectively. Her winning time was 2:54:11.

Team bizhub’s Ischen Stopforth showed that she was back to her best after guiding team-mate Lise Olivier to an impressive victory in the women’s section of the Trans Baviaans mountain bike marathon that was contested over 230 kilometres between Willowmore and Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.

They completed the race – the longest of its kind in the world – in 9:59:01 to finish 11th overall and more than 30 minutes ahead of their closest challengers, Port Elizabeth’s Andrea von Holdt and Gail Willimott. Merrell Outventure’s Catherine Townsend and Heidi Koen completed the podium.

Team bizhub’s Lise Olivier outsprinted MTN’s Casandra Slingerland in the Sungardens Carousel Classic, which was contested over 110 kilometres in Johannesburg on Women’s Day, to secure the first classic victory of her professional career.

Olivier, who studied in the United States on an athletics bursary before joining the bizhub outfit this season, gave her victory salute after 3 hours 17 minutes and 24 seconds of intense battle with Slingerland, who crossed the line two seconds later.

Unlucky Friday the 13th brings a bit of good fortune for Mandoza fans in Port Elizabeth with a free concert at the Pier 14 shopping centre in North End.

The gravel-voiced kwaito superstar will be performing on The Bridge on Pier 14’s first floor from 2pm. He will be meeting fans and signing autographs at the Jet Music store before he takes to the stage.

Yolandi du Toit from Team bizhub delivered a sparkling performance to win the senior women’s category at the Nissan Diamond Rush mountain bike race in Cullinan just outside Pretoria this past weekend.

The 66-kilometre event, the third leg of the five-event Nissan Series, saw Du Toit notch up her second win in as many weeks after also taking the silverware at the Medscheme Walkerville Classic the previous week.