Mwaura encountered a mechanical problem of a snapped chain at the beginning of the race but managed his best form to romp home as the winner with a record course time of 2:30:03.

Despite failing to clinch the title last year after he fell and broke his shoulder, Mwaura took advantage of the misfortune of the youngest rider Davies 'Katapila' Kinuthia, who encountered three punctures after leading most of the race to take home a prize of Sh50,000.

"This was my kind of race, course and my goal was to win and I have achieved it with a record time," said Mwaura at the finish point. Johnstone Kimemia from Kupenya Self-Help group in Nakuru and a former black mamba cyclist, finished second three minutes and four seconds behind the winner. He took home Sh30,000.

He encountered problems in the forest section due to the protruding tree roots on the course and mechanical failure with the pedals, but he managed to fight for a top position.

Another former black mamba cyclist Paul Ariko clocked his best time of 2:34:02 to finish third after beating Stephen Mwangi to fourth place and winning a cash reward of Sh20,000.

The 70km Mountain Bike Challenge is an endurance fundraising event staged on off-road tracks. From the 10,000 feet of the Mt Kenya moorlands above Timau Township, the cyclists descended to finish point, 4,000 feet above sea level. Safaricom donated a sponsorship package of Sh1.5m for the event.

Eric Nesbit, Martin Ndungi and Bernard Kabiru finished fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively. In the 35km category Dave Osborne maintained his pace clocking 48 minutes and 55 seconds to emerge the winner.

Kunal Parbat came in second place 2 minutes and 26 seconds behind the winner while Jez Thorpe was third in an event that attracted local and international cyclists.

John Njenga was the first in the black mamba category after beating Dickson Ngatia and John Kaaga to second and third place