Pelser sets the bar at XCO Champs in Sabie
A rider from team Mopani, Franco Pelser, is the newly crowned Mpumalanga XCO champion after he won the senior men category, finishing the five laps with a total time of 1:04,35.
Pelser dominated from the start, completing the first lap over a minute ahead of second-place finisher Martin Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen lost a lot of time over lap four and five, trailing by over seven minutes with just one lap to go.
“I am not able to train like I used to in the past. I am working full-time, but I try to stay as fit as possible,” said Pelser. “I am happy with my time and I had a blast.”
As expected, it was a tough battle in the sub-junior category between Jooste Coetzee and Dillon Botha.
The 2016 UCI South African Champion, Jooste took the spoils in the sub-junior category, racing over the finish line in a time of 41:38. He worked his way through the field, taking the gold medal seven minutes ahead of Dillon. Just over a week ago, these two riders also went head to head in the third leg of the Spur Schools MTB Series, which Jooste won.
Sixteen-year-old Zandri Strydom, who has been selected to represent South Africa in the XC World Champs in Switzerland in September, completed the three laps in a total time of 41,39.
Monique Swart, unfortunately, did not finish the race due to illness.
Laerskool Nelspruit’s log leader in the sprog girls after the third leg of the Spur Schools MTB Series, Megan Botha, yet again took the first spot on the podium with a time of 25:16.
Third-place finisher in the Sabie Xperience race, Nohan van Tonder easily cruised to victory in the sub-veteran category with a winning time of 51:40.
Bernice van Wyk secured a win in a nail-biting finish in the youth category, beating rival Hijke Coetzee by a mere 39 seconds.
“Althought the turnout was low, the racing was super fun and the track was spectacular. York has a world-class course and the guys that did pitch up came to give it horns,” said Cycling South Africa’s director of mountain biking, Brett Coates.
