Zandri defends her SA title
Rob Ferreira High School pupil, Zandri Strydom managed to defend her title when she finished three laps in just over 43 minutes.
Some of the best riders from across the country headed to Mankele Mountain Bike Park this past weekend for the South African National Mountain Biking Championship, which boasted both cross-country and downhill events.
On the cross-country front, Mariske Strauss (OMX Pro Team) was able to defend her title when she once again put up a phenomenal performance. She managed to conquer six 4,2-kilometre laps of rock gardens, bridges and shear drop-offs in a time of 01:22:27, with her best lap coming in at just over 13 minutes. She was tailed by her teammate Cherie Redecker, followed by Valencia’s Amy Beth McDougall who has just come off a win at the Ashburton National Series.
Runner-up in the u/23 category UCI XCO World Cup in Andorra, Team Spur’s Alan Hatherly, put together a near-perfect tactical race to take the win in the elite men category in a time of 01:22:27 after seven laps, just over a minute ahead of runner-up, Philip Buys.
U/23 rider Julian Jessop tapped into local rider Franco Pelser’s enthusiasm and managed to hold on to a one minute lead after six laps, and a time of 01:13:27.
Frances du Toit (u/23) knocked Bianca Haw off the podium when she finished five laps is 01:12:01. Less than a minute separated them.
Arguably the most exhilarating race of the day belonged to the junior boys, who left all their eggs in one basket until the final sprint to the finish line.
Johann Trotzky, Pieter du Toit and Dawie Grobbelaar had the crowd running to the finish line to witness the neck-and-neck finish. Johann and Pieter both finished in 01:05:55, followed by Dawie in 01:05:57.
Tiffany Keep was the first junior female to cross the finish line, and did so in 00:59:46.
Zandri decided to race the downhill on Sunday, where she also claimed the title.
Downhill rider, Johann Potgieter from the Western Cape, managed to stay seated on the Malalane Toyota Hot Seat with an an amazing final run by once again winning the overall crown and elite championship.
