Ballito’s young cyclists shine overseas
Future cycling stars Tyler Jacobs, Justin Swanepoel, Josh Johnson and Seth Aszalos all raced the Proffix Swiss Bike Race in Basel last weekend.
Not content with competing on South African shores alone, four of Ballito’s young mountain bikers recently took on international competition in Switzerland.
Tyler Jacobs (junior girls), Justin Swanepoel (junior boys), Josh Johnson (sub-junior boys) and Seth Aszalos (sub-junior boys) all raced the Proffix Swiss Bike Race in Basel last weekend.
Jacobs, Swanepoel and Johnson were recently crowned South African champions in their respective categories, bringing good form with them to Europe.
In preparation for the event, Johnson and Aszalos raced a week earlier in the Argovia-Fischer Cup in Langendorf, finishing first and second respectively in an international field.
Johnson finished three laps in a time of 30:15.20, while Aszalos took silver with a 30:35.30.
The four DriveTrain Academy team members reunited in Basel with coach Ty White (also part owner of DriveTrain), before readying themselves for the larger challenge with better riders.
On August 20, it was again the turn of the sub-juniors who took on a field of 66 riders from four countries.
Unfortunately, Johnson’s chain broke early on, but Aszalos rode well to finish 13th just over four minutes behind the Swiss winner.
The next day, it was the turn of Jacobs and Swanepoel in their respective junior events.
A downpour overnight meant wet and muddy conditions greeted the young riders, as did more than 100 competitors from as far afield as Japan and Brazil in each field.
Swanepoel finished 68th after completing his four laps just over seven minutes behind the Dutch champion.
African champion Jacobs put in a strong performance later in the day, finishing 13th and less than three minutes off the gold medal winner.
Swanepoel and Jacobs will also compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships later this week in Les Gets, France.
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