Love on the line puts power to Mboya's pedal

Mboya, totally exhausted and mentally drained from the past few days of mountain bike racing and having nothing in the tank ahead of the toughest Stage Day of the Absa Cape Epic, was given a surge of determination that only a loved one could evoke. Mboya's fiancé, Kirsten Arnold surprised her on the start line.

Mboya is an adventure seeker who revels in the thrills of the outdoors. After conquering and summiting Mt Kilimanjaro on 8 March 2013 (International Women's Day), she went in search of a new challenge keeping with the theme of 'mountains', and decided to give mountain biking a try. She has only been riding a mountain bike for eight months and is now riding the world's toughest mountain bike stage race with Team Absa. This is incomprehensible to the average mountain biker who takes years plucking up the courage to ride in stage races, let alone the Absa Cape Epic.

Mboya remarked, "This is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Never give up, be your own hero, never quit, never fear failure. To successfully complete this Absa Cape Epic, I think one needs a warrior spirit, a successful training programme, a never-quit attitude and a champion partner," all of which she has no shortage of. She was partnered with rally car driver, Gugu Zulu, who was astounded by her fighting spirit and immense grit.

Mboya said she employed positive thinking, hard work, perseverance, a 'no-pain-no-gain' philosophy and a 'train insane or remain the same' school of thought to get through each day, and with Arnold waiting at the finish line, it was love that brought her her home.