Events

MTB Fever Hits Mpumalanga As Olympians Aim for National Titles

· By Matt · 1 comment

18 July 2012 – Mpumalanga will welcome a flood of cross-country and downhill specialists as they descend on Mankele MTB Park on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd July to challenge for their respective mountain bike national championship titles.

Attention towards this year’s championship event is at an all time high with the return to South Africa of our three Olympic representatives, Burry Stander, Philip Buys and Candice Neethling, who will be looking to add a national title to their names ahead of sport’s biggest global spectacular taking place in London in less than a fortnight.

Course designer and owner at Mankele MTB Park Mark Meyer has prepared a 5.4km XCO course with 120m ascent and a 1.8km DHI track with the usual technicalities and thrills that can be expected at Mankele. Swooping bush tunnels, boardwalks and bridges, and great singletrack will keep the cross-country riders focused, while the rock gardens, berms, jumps and some really tight switchbacks will keep the downhill riders enthralled!

“The two big drops on the XCO course are creating the biggest buzz,” says Meyer. “And the downhill riders can prepare for a new drop off before the rock garden, it’s quite a monster drop off. It is about 300m from the end of the run, and will be a great spectator point.”

sas1.jpg

Burry Stander will be looking to defend his national champion title at this weekend’s SA MTB XCO National Championships at Mankele MTB Park near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Saturday 21 July 2012. Photo Credit: Mylene Loumeau

2011 national champion and London Olympic XCO medal contender Burry Stander is optimistic ahead of the race: “The national championship is always important for me every year. The racing is getting very tough now, with Phil Buys riding very strong and the U23 riders racing really well, so there are some big challenges. But my preparation for next weekend’s World Cup (in France) is going well, and I am looking forward to good form in the weeks ahead.”

When asked what makes Mankele stand out as one of his favourite courses in South Africa, Stander said: “The terrain is so good. A lot of the courses are hard pack when it has been ridden a few times, but the soil here stays quite sandy and rough. So it adds another element to the racing, and you have to focus on keeping traction – there are a lot of skills that come into play that are not always tested on other tracks.”

The women’s defending national champion Yolande Speedy, who is making a comeback to mountain bike racing after breaking her wrist earlier this year, is looking forward to getting back into the action at this weekend’s nationals.

“I have raced in a number of marathon races and my wrist is holding up well, now it’s time for some XCO,” said Speedy. “I love technical courses although I must admit I’m still battling to muster enough courage for the big drop off at Mankele! My injury didn’t keep me out of the saddle for long but it’s taken time to regain movement and strength in my wrist and I have only been back on the mountain bike for the last month.”

sas2.jpg

DHI National Cup Series winner Tiaan Odendaal wants to add the national championship to his accolades this year, and can be seen in action at the SA MTB DHI National Championships at Mankele MTB Park near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Sunday 22 July 2012. Photo Credit: Darren Goddard/cycho.co.za

Downhill national cup series winner Tiaan Odendaal has been training hard for a shot at the national championship title, having just come off a high performance training camp that has pushed and motivated him mentally as well. “I am looking forward to this race, it’s going to be a tough race as all the Elite men who have been challenging the national cup series will be out for the same prize.”

Odendaal has an extra spring in his step since being selected this week for the national world championship squad. “I am very honoured to be chosen to represent South Africa in the World Championships in Austria at the end of August. The National Championship race is my second most important race after the World Champs; to be SA National Champion is very important to me,” said Odendaal.

Pre entries close today, Wednesday, and the Junior, U23 and Elite racing categories require a full racing licence in order to participate. All other categories will need a Cycling SA membership. Visit http://csams.cyclingsa.com/enter-an-event.aspx to enter. Late entries will be accepted at registration.

Spectators are most welcome to attend and support South Africa’s mountain biking stars, and entry for spectators is free. All the Mankele MTB Park trail routes will be closed for riding except for the race routes that will be in use. Click here to download the Spectator Viewpoints Map.

For any further information regarding the 2012 SA XCO and DHI National Championship, please contact Cycling SA MTB Director Brett Coates on 082 774 5821.

Comments

kosmonooit

Jul 21, 2012, 5:37 PM

burry stander @africanmtbkid

 

"psyched on another jersey. great fight from @philbuys today. thanks to mankele for a great course that promoted some tight racing."

Add a comment

You must log in to comment