K’dorp learners part of Gauteng team that conquered the Spur Schools MTB Challenge
The Spur Schools MTB League, currently in its 10th year, is the country’s largest high school cycling programme.
Monument High School’s Keagan Bontekoning came in second place, alongside Kyle du Toit from Hoërskool Noordheuwel at the 2018 Spur Schools MTB League Inter-schools final.
Schools in Gauteng continued their regional winning streak when they emerged victorious at the final held in Magaliesburg at the beginning of October.
Gauteng riders proved just too good for their rivals from the Western Cape and edged them out by a narrow margin of 12 points (242 points to 230). In all, Gauteng representatives achieved nine podium places: two firsts, three seconds and four third placings.
This year, Gauteng attracted a total of 3 337 entries, and completed 7 364 laps and 32 976km. Due to the high interest, organisers split the event from four into six to accommodate all entries.
The Spur Schools MTB League, currently in its 10th year, is the country’s largest high school cycling programme and the main nursery for talent in the sport. Saturday’s event wrapped up months of rigorous training and hours of trail riding through mountainous terrain. This year alone the event attracted close to 16 000 entries from 500 schools across the country. And this figure is set to increase drastically come 2019, as more schools look to be included in what has been described as one of the world’s largest inter-school MTB programmes.
Meurant Botha, director of Amarider and principal organiser of the League, said Gauteng’s performance speaks for itself and bodes well for the growth of the sport in the province. He explains that the League was launched by Spur Steak Ranches and Amarider in 2009, with the ultimate aim of promoting mountain biking as an official in-school sport, along with rugby and cricket, as well as encouraging mass participation among schoolgoing children.
Planning for the 2019 season will get under way in earnest in just a few weeks. Meurant said Spur Steak Ranches, the League’s main sponsor for the past 10 years, with an investment of about R17 million to date, have announced their commitment to remain the primary sponsor for the next 10 years.
The 2019 regional events’ provisional dates will be added to the calendar at the end of next month.
For information on how to participate as an individual rider, or as a school, and to view all results, visit www.spurmtbleague.co.za.
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