2022 UCI MTB World Champs Recap – Insights From Team SA’s Riders

In a whirlwind, the 2022 UCI MTB World Champs wrapped up with (mostly) new riders earning themselves the right to adorn the rainbow stripes into 2023 across 5 disciplines and 14 categories. Nino Schurter, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, and Loic Bruni all added to their list of world champs victories with Nino being the only to defend a 2021 win at the championships.

Team South Africa had a large host of riders competing across age groups which was great to see! For several of these riders it would be their first exposure to racing in Europe where tracks are steeper and competition is fierce. Our returning riders were looking to improve on previous results and apply lessons learned from those experiences.

This is easier said than done when there isn’t regular exposure to the global scene and terrain. Riders like Greg Minnaar and Alan Hatherly have cemented their careers and enjoyed success through maximising time spent racing in Europe and honing their race craft where the world’s best do their training and racing.

We reached out to Team SA’s riders for a quick voice note recapping their World Champs experience and you can listen to those below! You can find more category results at the bottom of the page.

Phil Buys – Elite Men XCC / XCO – 34th / 48th

Candice Lill – Elite Women XCC / XCO – 20th / 27th

Johan Van Zyl – u/23 Men XCO – 48th

Beanie Thies – Elite Women DH – 25th

Tristan Nortje – u/23 Men XCO – 63rd

Ernest Roets – Junior Men XCO – 31st

Frankie Du Toit – Elite Women DH – 30th

Keagan Brand – Junior Men Downhill – 54th

Tyler Jacobs – u/18 Women XCO – 20th
“It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, I was in the red the entire time.

The Basel cup the weekend before gave me a bit of insight and preparation for what I’d face at worlds. I got a taste of what it’s like to race at the front, however there is a lot of work to be done to keep me there for the whole race. I came 20th, which I wasn’t too pleased with, I was hoping for more, but as a result of 8 months of training, I think there’s hope for the future.

Next year, leaving the junior ranks, I look forward to the challenge of racing two South African MTB icons in Candice and Mariske, which I believe will help me to grow stronger, as well as possibly doing a few more European races.“

Team SA UCI MTB World Champs Results:

Junior Men DH
Philip van Schalkwyk – 41st
Keagan Brand – 54th

Some of our riders will be heading on to Val di Sole in Trento, Italy to race the final round of the 2022 UCI MTB World Cup. Keep your ears to WILD AIR Sports for racing info at the location that Minnaar won the 2022 World Championship title.

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