Despite our date clashing with the Comrades Marathon, we still had a very good turnout where 25 schools including 2 development teams were represented. Racing started a bit later to allow parents to negotiate the traffic situation, but this didnt stop riders from firing on all cylinders once racing was underway. Riders were challenged by a technical course which included a nasty short sharp climb to test who had the legs, but were then rewarded with flowing single track, some stairs and a long sprint finish. The course was set up in front of and around the restaurant, so parents and spectators were able to enjoy some lunch whilst not missing any of the action.
With last weeks under 14 winner Beanie Thies out due to injury, it opened the door for Sarah Ryan to ride away with the victory ahead of Emma Clipstone who fought hard but in the end had to settle for another second overall. We saw a friendly rivalry form between Kiara Muldoon and Zoe Carter as they battled it out for the minor positions in the final to walk away third and fourth respectively.
U/14 Girls
- Sarah Ryan – Wykeham Collegiate
- Emma Clipstone – St Marys DSG
- Kiara Muldoon – Northlands Girls High
- Zoe Carter – Northlands Girls High
It was another dominant display by Tiffany Keep who pulled away from her competition to take top honours in the under 16 division from a hard chasing Courtney Smith. New comer Ncamasile Mabaso pushed hard to keep up with the top two ladies and even wowed the crowd when she took on and completed the stairs for the first time in her final heat.
Courtney Smith – (Thomas More College)
u/16 Girls
- Tiffany Keep – Thomas More College
- Courtney Smith – Thomas More College
- Ncamasile Mabaso – Ladysmith Development Cycling Team
After crashing out in the finals of the under 14 at Round 1, Travis Stedman left nothing to chance and blitzed ahead of the pack leaving last weeks winner Mitchel Potgieter with no answers and settling for second. This result has set up a great finale for the final event as to who will walk away with the overall victory! Jordan Bold and Myles Crookes were left to fight it out for third and fourth respectively.
u/14 Boys
- Travis Stedman – Winston Park Primary
- Mitchel Potgieter – Kloof Primary
- Jordan Bold – Highbury Primary
- Myles Crookes – Hillcrest High School
The under 16 boys have definitely offered the highlight of the series so far with some incredibly close racing. Newly crowned KZN XCO champion Sharjah Jonsson was still riding on a high and seemed to aimlessly float over the stairs to steal victory ahead of Gage Hansson. A charging Joshua Clipstone during the heats didnt have the pace to keep up with the top two in the final and finished third ahead of Cian Leveridge who had just returned to racing after a break due to concussion.
u/16 Boys
- Sharjah Jonsson – Maritzburg College
- Gage Hansson – Cambridge College UK
- Joshua Clipstone – Thomas More College
- Cian Leverage – Thomas More College
The under 19 boys saw the exact same final as round 1 with the exact same result! Dean Wortmann proving just too strong for the three Maritzburg College boys as he pulled away and opened up a comfortable lead to roll into the finish line victorious. This left Felix Manke, Mitchell Meugens and Ryan Naude to fill up the rest of the podium respectively. With the last round being at Maritzburg College, we have no doubt the boys would like to find an answer for Dean’s form.
u/19 Boys
- Dean Wortmann – Wartburg Kirchdorf School
- Felix Manke – Maritzburg College
- Mitchell Meugens – Maritzburg College
- Ryan Naude – Maritzburg College
This Sunday, 7 June sees the third and final round of the KZN leg of the Junior Eliminator Series take place at Maritzburg College, the course is spectator friendly, very fast and races through the school buildings, down stairs, over jumps and even over the swimming pool. We will be crowning the series champs in each age division as well as the Overall Winning School Team, this is a very closely contested event with a number of schools in the running to walk away with top honours and the R10 000 voucher for Enjoy Fitness cycling kit and the Rayne Cam. Entries are still open until Saturday 5pm and can be done online: www.onemovement.co.za.
Sunday Schedule:
- Registration and course testing: 9am
- Racing starts: 10am
- Finished by: 12:30pm
There is plenty of parking on and around the school – best entrance to use is off College Road.
