Cyclists bring the heat as Spur School Series begins
Rob Ferriera rider Franco Pelser pulled off a tight win in the last race of the day at the first Mpumalanga series of the Spur Mountain Bike League for 2015.
The series kicked off with a bang on Saturday as over 300 cyclists lined up to enjoy an exciting day of racing at the renowned Uplands cross-country track. With this year’s Mpumalanga series encompassing races in both the Lowveld and Highveld, there was a renewed enthusiasm from schools in the latter as kids from Ermelo, Secunda, Piet Retief and Witbank lined up against locals to test their skills and fitness. The morning culminated in the junior boys battling it out, with Pelser seeing off a charging Liam de Klerk for the win after four laps in a time of 01:06:20.
Well-known female rider, Mandie Swart completed three laps in order to cross the finish line first in 01:01:32, which gave her a total of 15 points.
“In the primary schools racing the little kids had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed the twisty track in full view of their cheering parents, while the older ones negotiated the longer course incorporating the famous rock gardens and bridges,” said Brett Coates, mountain-bike director of Cycling South Africa.
The next race will take place at Curro Nelspruit on May 23. The complete results can be seen on the Lowveld Mpumalanga Spur Schools Series Facebook page.
Results
Males
• Subjunior – Jean van der Merwe
• Youth – Ryan Terry
• Nipper – Laun Snyman
• Sprog – Jooste Coetzee
• Subnipper – Leroux van der Leek
Females
• Subjunior – Zandri Strydom
• Youth – Marnique de Swart
• Nipper – Megan Wieham
• Sprog – Lalique Broxham
• Subnipper – Danel de Jager.
