Muddy success for the a[s]g mtb academy at African Continental Champs
Last Saturday, cross country racers from across the African continent descended upon Cascades in Pietermaritzburg to compete in the African Continental Championships.
Representing South Africa from the a[s]g mtb academy was Elite Women: Yolande Speedy and Amy McDougall, U23 Men: Arno Du Toit, Junior Men: Joel Hieber. Junior Women: Michelle Benson and Youth Women: Lynette Benson.
Cascades is a world class Cross Country course renowned for its gnarly rock gardens, steep climbs, hairy drops, switch back climbs and when it rains, MUD! Practicing the course on the two days prior to the race, the course was hard packed, dry, and fast. But weather reports and gloomy looking clouds had other plans for race day.
The girls had an early 8am start. The track was already wet from rain the previous evening and it started drizzling as the girls lined up. First off were the Elite ladies, Yolande led the race with a Mauritian in second and Amy and Sam Saunders battling it out for third place. Amy lost valuable time and her 3rd place to Sam in a slippery struggle with the mud in the first 3 laps. The drizzle subsided and she got stronger in the last 2 laps, kept it steady and managed a respectable 4th place in the Elite category. Yolande blitzed the field, her gap on the Mauritian growing with each lap. She won the Elite category convincingly. “Good weekend for our team at the African Continental Champs! Happy to bring home the Elite Women’s title on a very wet and muddy course!” - Yolande Speedy.
Michelle Benson came 7th in the Junior Women’s category, also struggling in the mud with numerous crashes but still put up a good fight until the end! Lynette Benson managed a new highest heart rate in her fight for 4th youth women, another excellent result for the a[s]g Academy!
The rain held up for the men’s race making it fast and furious. The U23 mens race was a close and exciting battle. Arno was in a ping pong match with Rourke Croeser, Luke Roberts, Gert Heyns, James Reid and Brendan Davis. Going into the last lap Arno was in 6th place, he fought all the way to the end, gaining three positions and finished in 3rd place, a top class performance! “The racing was so close that our positions changed between about 2nd and 6th all the time. I tried to avoid most of the early attacks, but had to fight to stay in contact with the group. With some serious “vasbyt” and a bit of luck, I managed to finish 3rd” - Arno Du Toit
It’s exciting to see these young athletes able to grow from strength to strength in the academy with the support of quality sponsorship from: a[s]g, Bicicletta, Squirt, CycleOps, Continental and Epic Sports Cycle Shop
Last Saturday, cross country racers from across the African continent descended upon Cascades in Pietermaritzburg to compete in the African Continental Championships.
Representing South Africa from the a[s]g mtb academy was Elite Women: Yolande Speedy and Amy McDougall, U23 Men: Arno Du Toit, Junior Men: Joel Hieber. Junior Women: Michelle Benson and Youth Women: Lynette Benson.
Cascades is a world class Cross Country course renowned for its gnarly rock gardens, steep climbs, hairy drops, switch back climbs and when it rains, MUD! Practicing the course on the two days prior to the race, the course was hard packed, dry, and fast. But weather reports and gloomy looking clouds had other plans for race day.
The girls had an early 8am start. The track was already wet from rain the previous evening and it started drizzling as the girls lined up. First off were the Elite ladies, Yolande led the race with a Mauritian in second and Amy and Sam Saunders battling it out for third place. Amy lost valuable time and her 3rd place to Sam in a slippery struggle with the mud in the first 3 laps. The drizzle subsided and she got stronger in the last 2 laps, kept it steady and managed a respectable 4th place in the Elite category. Yolande blitzed the field, her gap on the Mauritian growing with each lap. She won the Elite category convincingly. “Good weekend for our team at the African Continental Champs! Happy to bring home the Elite Women’s title on a very wet and muddy course!” - Yolande Speedy.
Michelle Benson came 7th in the Junior Women’s category, also struggling in the mud with numerous crashes but still put up a good fight until the end! Lynette Benson managed a new highest heart rate in her fight for 4th youth women, another excellent result for the a[s]g Academy!
The rain held up for the men’s race making it fast and furious. The U23 mens race was a close and exciting battle. Arno was in a ping pong match with Rourke Croeser, Luke Roberts, Gert Heyns, James Reid and Brendan Davis. Going into the last lap Arno was in 6th place, he fought all the way to the end, gaining three positions and finished in 3rd place, a top class performance! “The racing was so close that our positions changed between about 2nd and 6th all the time. I tried to avoid most of the early attacks, but had to fight to stay in contact with the group. With some serious “vasbyt” and a bit of luck, I managed to finish 3rd” - Arno Du Toit
It’s exciting to see these young athletes able to grow from strength to strength in the academy with the support of quality sponsorship from: a[s]g, Bicicletta, Squirt, CycleOps, Continental and Epic Sports Cycle Shop
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