The holy grail of schools’ mountain biking in South Africa is within touching distance for the country’s most talented young riders as they descend on the foothills of Bekker School in Magaliesberg for the Spur Schools MTB National Championships this weekend.

North West are the current champions and are tipped to retain their title this year with a bunch of talented riders in their absolute prime heading into the competition.

Brandon van der Berg will, once again, lead the team as captain and will use his experience in the competition to his advantage come race day.

Van der Berg will lead by example and will be ably assisted by his training partner and on-track rival, Pieter du Toit. Both  have had great battles between each other this year.

The team will also include Ryan Conradie and Brendan van Eeden who have both had a stellar year thus far. The girls will also be a force to be reckoned with and Kristen “Nooi” Louw, Andrea de Waal, and Joné van Eeden will be the ones to keep an eye on.

On Saturday, more than 60 schools will challenge each other for vital log points to determine the best MTB schools in the country in the interschools final, while Sunday sees the interprovincial final where provincial pride will be at stake.

Expect Gauteng to be North West’s biggest challenge during the weekend, where heroes will be made and legends will be remembered forever.