Ballito cyclists pedal to win

A cohort of nine Ballito cyclists dominated the KwaZulu-Natal time trials and road championships recently as they each edged out their competitors to take their place on the podium.

The event was held in Camperdown, near Pietermaritzburg and took place over a weekend, with the time trials on Saturday, January 16 and the road race setting off the following day on January 17.

A peloton of about 200 professional and amateur riders from across the province saddled up to compete against riders in age categories ranging from U12 to 60 and over in what one rider described as “a very competitive field”.

Ballito resident and owner of Performance Bikefit, Deno van Heerden took part in the championships, stealing the show in the 35-39 age category. He won the 36 kilometre time trial in an electric time of 48:28 after averaging 43 km/h and finishing third in the 102 kilometre road race.

“This event was great because it attracted a lot of serious cyclists and the courses were also challenging. The time trial route was very flat, which means you have no rest time as you are always peddling and the strong wind definitely made it tougher,” said Van Heerden.

“The road race route was a good, tough course with quite a bit of climbing, which was great as the demanding nature of a course like this really determines who the best riders are,” he said.

Van Heerden was twice SA champion, having bested the best riders in the country in 2014 and last year in 2015 and he said he is looking forward to the SA championships, which are to be held in Westville in February.

More success on the podium came for the Osbourne family. Also from Ballito, Brian, Christina and their son , Callum all finished in the top three for their respective age categories.

Brian won the road race in his 50-54 age category and finished third in the time trial, while his wife Christina also took bronze in her 45-49 time trial. Their son Callum, however, secured two golds in the U14 – winning his 49km road race and finishing top in his time trial.

Ballito’s Heidi Dalton also made waves by winning the time trial and road race in her elite ladies category, taking home two golds on her way to the nationals next month.

A strong performance also came from young Devon Baird, who won his U16 time trial and was placed third in the road race.

“These achievements from our local riders reflect the popularity of the sport of cycling in our area as well as the great pool of talent we have and it is exciting to be part of it,” said Van Heerden.

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