Ballito youth cyclists shine in national events

Ballito’s junior cycling contingent continued their recent gold rush, adding another five gold medals in national events in the past two weeks alone.

Leah Mitchell and siblings Amber and Troy Cole kicked things off when they won their respective categories at the South African Enduro Championships in Pietermaritzburg on October 15.

They were joined by Josh Johnson (106km) and Connor Hawkins (65km) who claimed the U17 titles at last weekend’s rain-soaked Amashova race.

This follows four gold medals won by Madison Bateson, Errin Mackridge and Johnson at the national schools MTB event earlier in the month (the full story appeared in the Courier, October 13 edition).

It again speaks to the strength in the North Coast’s junior cycling community, which has proven itself able to compete with the very best riders in the country.

The SA Enduro Championships, held at Cascades Mountain Bike Park in Pietermaritzburg, tested both technical skills and the endurance that the name suggests.

Bikers raced five short stages over the course of a day, blitzing through the track in undulating terrain and different conditions for each leg.

Amber and Troy both claimed silvers in 2022 and saw the chance to go one better against their category rivals.

Amber started well in the junior women division and never relinquished her lead, finishing in 21.51, eight seconds ahead of last year’s winner, Danika Botha.

She would also finish fourth overall in the women’s category, which included elite adult riders. Troy faced off against Daniel Uys in a repeat of last year’s sub-junior boys top-two battle, eventually blitzing to a time of 18.37 which ensured a comfortable 17 second win.

He finished 11th overall in the men’s event.

Mitchell raced over three legs instead of five in her sprog division, given upper limits on distance for the younger cyclists.

She dominated her category, claiming all three legs comfortably to win by over a minute in a time of 12.57.

You can find a full set of results at cyclingsa.com/mountain/.

Last weekend saw the turn of the road specialists in the Amashova between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, when Johnson and Hawkins delivered in wet and windy conditions.

Johnson took on the full distance of 106km and it proved a tight race throughout in the U17 division, with the top four riders separated by less than four seconds.

It would eventually come down to a sprint finish and Johnson had the final kick of energy needed to grab victory in 2:38.04.

Fellow North Coaster Josh Paul finished fifth. It was an all-Ballito top two in the 65km, but the result was never in doubt as Hawkins finished first in 1:49.29, over nine minutes ahead of Sean Johnson.

All of the riders are members of Ballito-based cycle team, the DriveTrain Academy.

Find a full list of Amashova results on the Amashova Facebook page.

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