Last Saturday, the second leg of the Nissan Trailseeker series, the Diamond Rush was held in Cullinan. The 75km course was dusty, rocky and hard riding all the way!
In the marathon, Arno du Toit had his hands full with a field of tough competition including the likes of Gawie Combrink, Matt Brittain, Ben-Melt Swanapoel, Neil McDonnald, Johann Rhabie and Jan Wittaar just to name a few. It was hard racing against the Elites and Arno managed to pull off an impressive 4th overall and 1st U23 “I was in the breakaway riding my heart out to contribute to the pace making. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep it up to the finish line, but I’m pleased with my form heading towards SA and World XCO champs.” Stephan Reyneke had an impressive finish, also in the mix, he came 4th U23 and 10th overall.
Francois Ebersohn continued his consistency and showed more good form, finishing 3rd in the vets category.
The Academy lit up the men’s and ladies’ podium in lumo in the Half Marathon with Nicholas Popich winning overall “The new 40km route had us starting “upward” at some great challenges. Things turned out a lot different than expected; I broke away by running away from my opponents up a portage section! Never the less, I am very happy to take the Junior and overall win!” Joel Hieber finished in 3rdcompleting the Junior men’s podium. “With the mind-set of it being a flat fast race, spirits were high. A group of 3 of us had gotten away, containing Nicholas Popich, Alexander Kuhn and myself. The last few big climbs of the day broke us, I tried to limit the damage, and managed to come across the line in 3rd. Tough day out.” Jacques Pretorius finished in fourth place.
In the 40km ladies race, the newest and one of the youngest editions to the Academy, Genevieve van Coller won the Youth Girls category and the 40km overall! In the Junior category, there was an exciting sprint finish between Danielle Rheeder and Jeep rider Jessica Alcock. The sprint was so close, no one could see who crossed the line first. The decision was left to the race commissars who decided Jessica was the winner. “It was hard racing from the start, I managed to stay with Jessica throughout the whole race… we had a sprint finish!”– Danielle Rheeder. Michelle Benson finished 3rd Junior. “My legs were not feeling great from a hard week of training, so I didn’t have big expectations. The race was flat and dusty, with little place to rest, but I was happy to be on the podium despite tired legs!”
Then the most mature member of the Academy, Neville Ackermann made them proud by winning the Ngwenya MTB Winter Warmer campaign overall on the weekend!
The positive attitude of these athletes is the glue that binds ASG Academy together. They are always pushing for gold, from Youth to Masters, encouraging and supporting each other along the way!
In the marathon, Arno du Toit had his hands full with a field of tough competition including the likes of Gawie Combrink, Matt Brittain, Ben-Melt Swanapoel, Neil McDonnald, Johann Rhabie and Jan Wittaar just to name a few. It was hard racing against the Elites and Arno managed to pull off an impressive 4th overall and 1st U23 “I was in the breakaway riding my heart out to contribute to the pace making. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep it up to the finish line, but I’m pleased with my form heading towards SA and World XCO champs.” Stephan Reyneke had an impressive finish, also in the mix, he came 4th U23 and 10th overall.
Francois Ebersohn continued his consistency and showed more good form, finishing 3rd in the vets category.
The Academy lit up the men’s and ladies’ podium in lumo in the Half Marathon with Nicholas Popich winning overall “The new 40km route had us starting “upward” at some great challenges. Things turned out a lot different than expected; I broke away by running away from my opponents up a portage section! Never the less, I am very happy to take the Junior and overall win!” Joel Hieber finished in 3rdcompleting the Junior men’s podium. “With the mind-set of it being a flat fast race, spirits were high. A group of 3 of us had gotten away, containing Nicholas Popich, Alexander Kuhn and myself. The last few big climbs of the day broke us, I tried to limit the damage, and managed to come across the line in 3rd. Tough day out.” Jacques Pretorius finished in fourth place.
In the 40km ladies race, the newest and one of the youngest editions to the Academy, Genevieve van Coller won the Youth Girls category and the 40km overall! In the Junior category, there was an exciting sprint finish between Danielle Rheeder and Jeep rider Jessica Alcock. The sprint was so close, no one could see who crossed the line first. The decision was left to the race commissars who decided Jessica was the winner. “It was hard racing from the start, I managed to stay with Jessica throughout the whole race… we had a sprint finish!”– Danielle Rheeder. Michelle Benson finished 3rd Junior. “My legs were not feeling great from a hard week of training, so I didn’t have big expectations. The race was flat and dusty, with little place to rest, but I was happy to be on the podium despite tired legs!”
Then the most mature member of the Academy, Neville Ackermann made them proud by winning the Ngwenya MTB Winter Warmer campaign overall on the weekend!
The positive attitude of these athletes is the glue that binds ASG Academy together. They are always pushing for gold, from Youth to Masters, encouraging and supporting each other along the way!
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