The Mpumalanga team performed exceptionally well and produced a national champion at the SA Youth Road Cycling Championships in Oudtshoorn from September 27 to 29.

Maya de Vries, a pupil of Curro Nelspruit, was crowned the 2024 South African U15 female time trial champion.

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The champs started with the criterium on September 27. Maya raced to second place in the U15 female multilap (20 minutes plus one final lap) race. Jennah Jacobs from Gauteng claimed the gold medal.

Paul Coetzee, an Uplands College pupil, claimed 11th place in the U15 male criterium.

The U17 Mpumalanga girls also shone in the criterium, with Jemma Barnard, a Hoërskool Nelspruit learner, taking eighth place, and Danel de Jager, a Hoërskool Volksrust pupil, ninth.

On the second day of the champs, the time trials were held. Maya rode the time trial of her life. She clocked 00:16:30 over the 10km to take the U15 female gold medal, just five seconds faster than Jennah, who claimed second place.

Paul took sixth place in the U15 male 18km time trial in 00:29:16.

In the U17 18km female time trial, Danel finished seventh (00:31:14), Kylie Lerm, a pupil of Hoërskool Piet Retief, ninth (00:31:25) and Jemma 12th (00:33:21).

The third day saw the road races taking place. For the third consecutive day, Maya and Jennah went head to head, with Ella Barnard of Western Cape matching them kilometre for kilometre over the 27km course.

The finish came down to a sprint with two seconds separating the three. Jennah won in 00:55:55, Maya was second in 00:55:56 and Ella third in 00:55:57.

Paul took fifth place in the U15 42km race in 01:24:16. Danel finished eighth (01:41:20) in the U17 42km road race, Jemma ninth (01:41:15) and Kylie 13th (01:50:40).