MERIDA Ninety-Six: Croc Conqueror

Aboard his MERIDA Ninety-Six, Werner van der Merwe recently tackled the infamous Crocodile Trophy - a gruelling, 8-day MTB stage race (plus prologue) held in tropical North Queensland. With a reputation for being one of the toughest stage races around, the Croc attracts a strong field of riders from both Australia and abroad.

While Werner not only completed the jaw-dropping 780 km and 13,000m of climbing, he was 1st in the Masters age category and 2nd overall. A simply amazing feat from the Brisbane rider!

So how was Werner's bike during the race? We tracked him down to ask...

"The Ninety-Six was the perfect weapon for the Croc. It dealt confidently with everything that the race threw at it. The race included long climbs, short steep climbs, fast technical rocky descent, long open corrugated gravel roads etc. Thanks to the Merida getting me through it!"

Photos: Cecilia Gilmberg Ronne