Mountain bikers face their fears in third XCO
The third edition in the Provincial XCO mountain-biking series took place at Mankele on Saturday.
Despite the route’s reputation for being technical there was a great turnout of 73 riders.
It consisted of five laps (with various distances) in nine age groups ranging from nippers to masters. By the time the races had started, the course was a perfect mix of tacky and dry.
Great turnout of riders at Mankele
“After nearly six years of use, the track has tamed down and it’s reputation as a bone breaker is now completely unfounded. Sure if it’s wet it needs some respect, but on days like Saturday it’s all easily ideal and loads of fun.
The faster you push, the smoother it gets,” said organiser Mark Meyer.
Some big names like Ben Melt Swanepoel, Yolandie du Toit and Hennie Kriek, along with Mark Meyer and Manus De Waal pitched up to provide some midfield gas.
The big shocker was the entry of the Denmark Junior XCO champion, Simon Andreasson who, along with his dad Ulrik, was staying at Mankele for some training.
Another great XCO and still a lot to race for is the final at the end of March at Misty Mountain on the Long Tom Pass – an extreme course that suits the climbers as well as single-track specialists.
All the results and log standings can be found on www.lowveldchaingang.co.za
