It does not matter if Danielle Strydom is on a road bike or mountain bike – this young rider knows how to pedal to first place.

Strydom, who is currently a learner at Potchefstroom Gimnasium, was at the top of her game during both the Telkom 94.7 MTB Race and Cycle Challenge held over the past two weekends.

In the MTB race on Sunday 13 November, Strydom took first place in the junior ladies category and  the second overall lady in the 55-kilometre race.

In the 94.7 road race held on 20 November, she took first in the junior ladies – a fantastic achievement considering the level of competition. Strydom definitely enhanced her already stunning creden-tials as the SA Road Cycling champ and showed how it is done.

‘Both races were equally hard, fast-paced but really fun. The mountain bike trail was new this year. The course was well laid out and the event was well organised.

I enjoyed the single track trail the most,’ she said after the event.

According to Strydom, the road race was very fast race and she constantly had to give her everything.

‘I also enjoyed the competitive nature of the road race because it was different and faster-paced than the MTB race. There were more participants who competed against me and that in itself made it more competitive.’