SA Mountain Bike Cup Series kicks off at Mankele
The first leg at Mankele on Saturday attracted more than 260 riders from South Africa, elsewhere in Africa and Europe.
Competitive mountain biking is still increasing in popularity. When the 2016
Southern African Mountain Bike Cup Series kicked off at Mankele Mountain Bike Park over the weekend, more than 260 riders took to the course.
Cycling SA noted that international riders from Belgium, Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Lesotho participated. They got down to serious cross-country riding on Saturday in the first leg of the series.
It consists of a total of five races, of which four carry category 1 classifications from the sport’s world governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for elite riders, which gives elite riders the opportunity to gain UCI points ahead of the Rio Olympics.
Junior riders can also earn points to qualify for the MTB World Championships in June.
The leafy route of Mankele Bike Park provided much-needed shade for participants and spectators in the sweltering heat.
The competition was aggressive with cyclists having to navigate the technically challenging route, testing steep climbs and daring descents with speed on the single track.
The nature of the contest also saw a few nerve-racking crashes on the course.
The elite men completed eight laps. Overall, the South African national champion James Reid from Team Spur won overall in a total time of 01:32:19.
Throughout the race he was neck-and-neck with the second-placed Alan Hatherly, who finished only 21 seconds slower.
Philip Buys placed third in 01:34:28 followed by Arno du Toit in 01:35:34 and Brendon Davids in 01:36:12.
Among the elite women, British national champion Annie Last from Novus OMX Pro Team remained in front for the duration of her six laps, finishing in 01:20:47, just more than three minutes ahead of Frances du Toit in 01:23:52 and Mariske Strauss 01:27:19, who placed third overall.
• The next SA cup series XCO UCI category 1 will take place on February 27 in Somerset West, March 26 in Gauteng, and may 14 in the Eastern Cape.
See more pictures: Cross-country riders kick off national UCI series at Mankele
Winners by category:
Junior men: Reinhard Zellhuber – 01:15:39 (six laps)
Sub vet men: Dewald Lotter – 01:22:50 (six laps)
Youth men: Brendan van Eeden – 01:09;09 (five laps)
Veteran men: Mark Moir – 01:09:16 (five laps)
Master men: Dirk Maarsingh – 00:58:10 (four laps)
Sprog boys: Alec Coleske – 00:39:53 (four laps)
Sub junior boys: Luke Moir – 00:52:52 (four laps)
Sprog girls: Jessica Svacha – 00:56:02 (four laps)
Junior women: Kristen Louw – 01:01:42 (four laps)
Youth women: Tiffany Keep – 01:02:26 (four laps)
Sub vet women: Diana Carolin – 01:06:34 (four laps)
Nipper boys: Aiden Wright – 00:33:01 (three laps)
Nipper girls: Danel de Jager – 00:46:27 (three laps)
Sub junior girls: Chanté Olivier – 00:54:46 (three laps).
