Welcome back to Monday. We are into another week but let’s have a look back at the events of the weekend. As we said in our Weekend Lineup, the first Gauteng Cycling XCO Cup event of the season was happening at Voortrekker Bike Park.
It was a blistering hot day for the riders! Reported temperatures of 36 degrees were cooking the riders out on the track as they set about counting down their laps. The terrain was typical of the Pretoria region, that being rocky climbs and descents with a fair helping of loose dirt keeping racers on their toes. With 141m of climbing per 4,6km lap, the course was a physical one and it was only made tougher by the sweltering heat.
The race was well supported with a fair helping of riders coming from outside the province to get some race time in. There is less than a month until the first South African XCO Cup in the Waterberg and few races to get into the swing of things before then. We’re looking forward to getting amongst the racing action there on the 6th of March! WILD AIR will be broadcasting the event on our Instagram channel so keep your eyes peeled!
At the competitive edge of the field, a few big names were present to stretch the legs. The Junior and Youth boys categories were very well represented with over 50 youngsters laying it out on the track! When all the action boiled down, these were the category results.
Elite Women (5 Laps):
1st – Kim Le Court – 1:19:15
2nd – Engela Conradie – 1:49:37
Elite Men (6 Laps):
1st – Phil Buys – 1:18:44
2nd – Jan Withaar – 1:19:19
3rd – Jacques Janse Van Rensburg – 1:20:41
U/23 Women (5 Laps):
1st – Daniella Strydom – 1:22:48
2nd – Rimari Sutton – 1:24:40
3rd – Monique Du Toit – 1:32:06
U/23 Males (6 Laps):
1st – Pieter Du Toit – 1:19:41
2nd – Matteo Damilano – 1:28:07
3rd – Frederick Smit – 1:28:09
Junior Girls (4 Laps):
1st – Caitlin Thompson – 1:16:40
2nd – Geane Engelbrecht- 1:22:55
3rd -Nicola Du Plessis – 1:23:37
Junior Boys (4 Laps):
1st – Kyle Du Toit – 54:44
2nd – Johan De Vellies – 55:30
3rd – Nathan Naude – 56:14
For the full results link, CLICK HERE
We also mentioned on Friday that 3 of the Wintergreen Barrier Breakers ladies were riding a long long road to the Namibian border and back! Tegan Philips has been covering every km on her two wheels while teammates Elrika and Tyla are just joining for a few stints along the way, getting some good base miles in for their training schedules.
They will be landing back in Melkbosstrand tomorrow after dealing with 1400 km of open road! It seems to have all been smooth sailing thus far aside from a Elrika and Tyla hitting the tar just outside of their overnight stop in Springbok. The girls are back on their bikes albeit with a few scrapes and bruises!
Tegan has also been struggling with comfort on the saddle the last couple of days. She is incredibly determined so we are sure she is going to make it to the end! It will be through gritted teeth though. Not easy to push through that kind of pain.
That is the weekend in a wrap!
Keep the wheels rolling this week everybody.
Cheers from J-Dogg
