Benky Finishes First Leg of Rhino Run

Kevin ‘Benky’ Benkenstein has finished the first leg of the Rhino Run bikepacking race, traversing the Cape Province of South Africa at a blistering pace. He took a short rest in Stellenbosh near Cape Town, before embarking on the ‘main course’ of the race into the deserts of the Karoo and the Namib.

Benky is currently 190 km ahead of the second-placed racer, and just 20 km behind last year’s record-setting pace, when he and Abdullah Zeinab raced neck-to-neck for eight days. Temperatures are hot this year—in the the mid-30s (Celsius; 90s in Fahrenheit), but Kevin is riding strong. Ahead lie 1,900 km of rough and sandy roads as the race traverses one of the most sparsely populated landscapes on earth.

The tracker now shows last year’s positions as well as the current status, so we can directly compare Kevin’s performance. We wish him—and the other racers—all the best for their adventure.

Further Reading:

• Interview with Benky before the start.
• Race tracker