Press Release: ASG Academy wraps up the Gauteng Provincial XCO series with a bang

Last weekend the Burry Stander Memorial XCO Series was brought to an end with the Gauteng provincial championships held at Thaba Trails. The ASG Academy finished up the series with more podiums, series wins, and Gauteng Provincial Champ titles.
In the men’s U23 race, Stephan Reyneke had a superb race which earned him Gold along with the title of Gauteng U23 provincial champion and the series winner trophy!
Edwill O’Niell put in an excellent effort coming 3rd in the U23 Category

Francois Ebersohn put out another stellar performance, winning the Vets Provincial Champ title and the series overall.

Neville Ackermann blitzed his competition and won the Masters Provincial Champs title. “I got held up a bit at the start of the race and was lying third but managed to get past Pierre Nel on the first climb. I then had to start the big chase to catch up to Chris Brand who was leading the race and had built up quite a big gap on me. I managed to pass him on one of the climbs about half way through the first lap and went on to build up a nice lead of 2 minutes by the end of the race. It was a very nice but tough course and I was very happy to take the win after being off the bike for some time due to illness and injury.” ~Neville Ackermann

In the ladies race, Amy McDougall came 2nd and earned herself the series winner trophy. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the provincial XCO series! There have been ups and downs but I am very happy to have won it thanks to the support of the ASG Academy and Epic Sports Cycles.”

The ever strong and growing field of Junior men battled it out for the provincial champs title; Nicholas Popich came 2nd to Jeep’s Dylan Rebello, and came 2nd in the series overall, 2 points behind Rebello. “The final leg of the Gauteng provincial series, a tough one but I'm glad to have finished it off well with a second place. Looking forward to the SA Champs!” ~ Nicholas Popich. Joel Hieber came in 4th and Jacques Pretorius also had a top 10 finish.

The Junior ladies put out a good performance; Michelle Benson came 2nd to Jeep’s Jessica Alcock and came second in the series. “Thaba was rocky and rutted as usual, but I enjoyed the route. I'm ecstatic that I finally got the guts to do the gap jump :D.. I can feel training is starting to pay off and I'm happy with my second place.” ~Michelle Benson. Sonika Le Grange rounded up her series in 3rd place.

In the Youth Women’s race, Lynette Benson came 3rd and earned herself 2nd spot in the series, Christine Popich came 2nd and placed 3rd in the series.

Paul Cordes’ top class, consistent performance throughout the series earned him the series winner trophy in the Sub Vet Category even though he didn’t race this weekend due to illness.
The athletes of the ASG Academy have thoroughly enjoyed the Olympic Mountain biking discipline and have excelled in this high level of racing, where mental toughness, technical skill, physical strength and a little bit of luck are all key elements to success in the sport. The next and final challenge is this coming week with the conclusion of the National XCO Series, the National Champs which will be held in P.E. so let’s hold thumbs!!