Tayne Rudling of Port Shepstone High School secured second place in the junior boys section at the KZN Schools Lap Race Series.
It was the final round of the series, held at Grace College in Hilton.
Tayne was beaten by Justin Swanepoel (home school) but edged in ahead of Connor Steytler (Ashton College).
The final results for the season are still being finalised and will be released in due course.
He’s looking forward to next year’s series, which promises to be even bigger and better.
While Tayne was a talented swimmer in primary school, MTB has always been his passion.
His love of riding started early on; at five years old he completed the 25km Sardine Classic at The Pont, riding in his gumboots.
He is now 17 and in grade 11.
Exams are coming up next but the training never stops, even if it means getting up earlier to train.
Tayne has already started setting his goals for the 2023 MTB season, where he hopes to qualify at a national level and one day, ultimately compete at a world champs.
A shorter term aim is for a top three in the SA XCO Series 2023. He’s currently seventh in South Africa in both the XCO and marathon championships.
He thanked locals like Dura Cycles, Bobby’s Cycles and Andrew Hill for seeing his potential early on and giving him the opportunities to get where he is now. Tayne is currently coached by Absolute Motion and is a brand ambassador for Yeee clothing.
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