Successful BMX racing at National and Continental Champs

As the weekend drew to a close, so did a fantastic event of action-packed BMX racing, at the BMX National Age Group (NAG) Series and South African National BMX Championships, which took place at Giba Gorge Park on Saturday 1 October, and the African Continental BMX Championships at the same venue on Sunday 2 October.

Although rain was predicted, the weather played the game on Saturday, and, despite intermittent spouts of drizzle, the warm KwaZulu-Natal sunshine shone through the clouds, and kept the cold away.

Dylan Eggar won the Junior Men’s race at the 2016 African Continental BMX Championships on Sunday 2 October. Photo: Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography

Kita Uys, who dominated the 11-13 Girl’s category, was chuffed with her performance on Saturday. “The competition was tough, but I tried my best and did quite well. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s racing as well, I’m going to try my best for similar results,” she said.

KwaZulu-Natal’s Manqoba Madida said: “Today has been going so great so far, I’ve been so happy to be racing such a big event. I just raced my final now and came fourth, but that’s because I got squished in the first straight, but it doesn’t matter” he laughed.

The African Continental BMX Championships welcomed riders from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.

Kyle Dodd defended and won both Elite Men’s titles at the 2016 South African National BMX Championships and the African Continental BMX Championships at Giba Gorge on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October. Photo: Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography

South Africa’s Kyle Dodd took the National and Continental titles in the Elite Men’s races. “The morning went well, we were just hoping that the weather would play its part, because rain and racing doesn’t quite go together. I had good confidence going into SA Champs in the afternoon,” he said.

Dodd mentioned that staying Elite One meant a lot to him, and to get it the fourth time in a row meant even more. “It does make it harder each year to try and retain it though, because there are so many great guys coming through the ranks, so there’s a lot of pressure. Its good pressure though, it keeps me on my toes and keeps me going,” he added.

Saturday night’s rains and Sunday’s winds proved to be a little more challenging for the riders, but nothing that they couldn’t handle on the track. “After the rain last night, the track was very wet this morning and so we could only start on the small hill. I didn’t let it affect me. I just wanted to stay strong and smooth. The wind today was just crazy. There were headwinds and crosswinds but us athletes have to take it in our stride and deal with it and carry on racing to the best of our ability,” said Dodd.

South African National and African Continental Champion in the 14 & Over Girl’s category, Georgie Grassie has been into cycling for over eight years. “I think it’s because I’m an extreme sports and adrenaline junkie like my dad. I love riding motorbikes, and I do a lot of different types of cycling, but BMX is my favourite,” she said.

Pietermaritzburg’s Anele Ndlovu powered to third place at the 2016 South African National BMX Championships at Giba Gorge Park on Saturday 1 October. Photo: Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography

The Crawford North Coast pupil offered advice for other young girls looking to try out the discipline of BMX: “You can’t get scared. There is a big chance of you falling, but if you are into BMX then you can’t care about it, you just have to do it. Once you start, you get really into it, and you just cannot stop, just take care.”

Day two was an excellent one for Durban rider Dylan Eggar, who claimed the top honours in the Junior Men’s race, ahead of Tyler Klumper (second) and Manqoba Madida (third). “Yesterday I was feeling good the whole day and just made a silly mistake on the first turn, but for the final in African Champs I was focused. I worried about nothing else but my own race,” he added.

Cycling South Africa President, William Newman said: “When I arrived and saw all of the young girls and boys lining up to do their motos, I thought, ‘wow, cycling is in a very good space.’ We have a lot of talent. It shows here because we have a lot of young girls and boys participating in the sport, and BMX is the best way to teach them about and get them involved in cycling. The finals were also so exciting.

Sisa Thwalo from the Velokhaya Cycling Academy puts in strong focus in his 10 Boys race at the 2016 South African National BMX Championships at Giba Gorge Park on Saturday 1 October. Photo: Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography

“Our challenge now is to ensure that we have BMX in all nine provinces, and active. We would also like to see more African nations taking part in the Continental Championships, but to have four nations is a great stepping stone.”

He also mentioned how impressed he was with the number of participants, the support from the parents, and the support and assistance from the Department of Sport and Recreations and sponsors.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL BMX CHAMPIONSHIPS

Elite Men

1. Kyle Dodd
2. Tyler Klumper
3. Alex Limberg

17 & Over Men

1. Bryan O’Shea
2. Chris Austin
3. Austin Churchill

16-39 Men Cruiser

1. Shai Duke-Norris
2. Byron Robertson
3. Justin Robertson

16 Boys

1. Jason O’Shea
2. Alex Dolman
3. Liam Trusler

15 Boys

1. Jarod Ellse
2. Tyrone Verrrall
3. Cameron Turck

14 Boys

1. Connor Terblanche
2. Jourdain Oosthuizen
3. Fabio Albano

13 Boys

1. Ethan Goveia
2. Andrew Killian
3. Njabulo Dumakude

12 Boys

1. Joshua Wright
2. Carson Norman
3. Jordan Smallbone

11 Boys

1. Ross Kew
2. Kaiden Keyser
3. Caide Goveia

10 Boys

1. Brent Johnson
2. Jake Jansen
3. Luc O’Brien

9 Boys

1. Brandon Schutte
2. Marco Cherti
3. Connor Limberg

8 Boys

1. Deagan McCallum
2. Vaughn Preston
3. Salvador Cronje

7 Boys

1. Tyler Posthumus
2. Michael Jansen
3. Cameron Anderson

6 & Under Boys

1. Levi Smith
2. Ben Gorman
3. Taen Govender

14 & Over Girls

1. Georgina Grassie
2. Amber Muller
3. Hanna Stiebel

11 – 13 Girls

1. Kita Uys
2. Miyanda Maseti
3. Chelsey O’Brien

8-10 Girls

1. Kyla Uys
2. Melissa Robertson
3. Amara van Vuuren

7 & Under Girls

1. Taytum Gould
2. Lucia Greyling
3. Anele Ndlovu

40 & Over Men Cruiser

1. Johan van der Sandt
2. Wayne Beadsworth
3. Michael Fikkert

SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL BMX CHAMPIONSHIPS

Elite Men

1. Kyle Dodd
2. Alex Limberg
3. Miguel Carvalho

Junior Men

1. Dylan Eggar
2. Tyler Klumper
3. Manqoba Madida

17-24 Men

1. Bryan O’Shea
2. Boy Radebe
3. Wonderboy Mjoli

40 & Over Men Cruiser

1. Wayne Beadsworth
2. Dirk Uys
3. Colin Menges

16-39 Men Cruiser

1. Shai Duke-Norris
2. Bryan O’Shea
3. Tawanda Marova

16 Boys

1. Alex Dolman
2. Jason O’Shea
3. Wade Botha

15 Boys

1. Jarrod Ellse
2. Tyron Verral
3. Jayden Lang

14 Boys

1. Connor Terblanche
2. 2. Jourdain Oosthuizen
3. Fabio Albano

13 Boys

1. Ethan Goveia
2. Andrew Killian
3. Nicholas Mgwenya

12 Boys

1. Joshua Wright
2. Carson Norman
3. Jordan Smallbone

11 Boys

1. Kaiden Keyser
2. Ross Kew
3. Grayson Groesbeek

10 Boys

1. Brent Johnson
2. Ryan Lemmer
3. Luc O’Brien

9 Boys

1. Brandon Schutte
2. Connor Limberg
3. Marco Cherti

8 Boys

1. Deagan McCallum
2. Vaughn Preston
3. Salvador Cronje

7 Boys

1. Tyler Posthumus
2. Callum Brooker
3. Emmanuel Gore

14 & Over Girls

1. Georgina Grassie
2. Amber Muller
3. Tyla-Shae Donaldson

11-13 Girls

1. Kita Uys
2. Miyanda Maseti
3. Della Greyling

8-10 Girls

1. Kyla Uys
2. Rebekah Oberholzer
3. Melissa Robertson

7 & Under Girls

1. Taytum Gould
2. Lucia Greyling
3. Anele Ndlovu