Who are the legends and heroes of SA Mountain biking?

[gummibear]

 

Erica Green

 

 

 

Haven't heard that name in a while.Is she still riding?

[Shebeen]

I'd gooi Meurant Botha pretty near the top of my list.

Has had a hand in a LOT of the trails/races/events I've been on down here in the cape.

[PhilipV]

Meurant as well. Trail builder and trail lobbying pioneer. And iirc the first south african pro mtber. he used to do trials in Europe. Butvalsilo give credit to his wife Arina as well. the admin mastermind behind Dirtopia.

 

Erica Green. first mtb Olympian. first female pro in SA. She still rides and races, now she is one of the top coaches in the western cape.

 

Johann Wykerd, one of SA's top talent spotters, coach and the driving force behind Velo life, BMC and Bergamont teams.

 

Jeroen Swart, ex pro and arguably one of the top sports physicians in the country.

[SoftTail]

Meurant as well. Trail builder and trail lobbying pioneer. And iirc the first south african pro mtber. he used to do trials in Europe. Butvalsilo give credit to his wife Arina as well. the admin mastermind behind Dirtopia.

 

Erica Green. first mtb Olympian. first female pro in SA. She still rides and races, now she is one of the top coaches in the western cape.

 

Johann Wykerd, one of SA's top talent spotters, coach and the driving force behind Velo life, BMC and Bergamont teams.

 

Jeroen Swart, ex pro and arguably one of the top sports physicians in the country.

 

Nice post! Short and sweet yet informative. More like these please!

[Borborygmi]

Didn't Manny take an Epic win in the early days?

[milky4130]

Haven't heard that name in a while.Is she still riding?

podiumed at one of the stages in w2w race this past weekend.

[VicanZA]

The Hero's of MTB are u and ur friends who pump money into this sport and drink the beers at race villages, the pro's are not the guys spending 100k every couple of years on stage races, bikes...etc.

 

This is one of the only sports were a weekend warrior can lineup next a pro and not know who the guy on the fancy bike is! The day we have races for pro's only will be a sad day in my book, the sport will go the same way as the others and the stars will lose touch with realty. I'm glad I can only name 1 pro and it's unfortunate as the circumstances had nothing to do with MTB.

[mazambaan]

Harburn Bros. for the vision (and obviously owning the property) to start Giba Gorge

[udxcob]

I would also say Mathew Kimble

[Hennie VR]

Behind the scenes and business environment

 

Fritz Pienaar

 

http://m.youtube.com...h?v=ZoUVJAmd0U4

 

That's how I remember Fritz................Always on the back wheel.

[Hennie VR]

What is Mannie Heymans a legend for?

 

Because he lapped me TWICE on a nationals hosted at Fountains years ago.

[Sworks20]

Scott Richardson - Versatile on any bicycle; Only rider ever in SA to represent their country on road, track and mountain biking. Went on to manage and train the very dominant back the Microsoft, MTN Microsoft teams before moving overseas but not to sure what he is doing over there.

[Tumbleweed]

A guy I was privileged to meet, interview and ride his trails: Glenn Harrison.

[Acre]

Agree with all the names already mentioned. Another worth mentioning is trail builder Erik Skipper of Van Gaalen Cheese Farm for the legendary network of trails he has created in and around Skeerpoort.

[Kranswurm]

Behind the scenes and business environment

 

Fritz Pienaar

 

http://m.youtube.com...h?v=ZoUVJAmd0U4

 

Agreed

 

Has done an enormous amount for the sport and continues to do so

He supported our early efforts in Botswana and took part in the first Kalahari Challenge with Christie when we were just a handful around the fire in the bush swapping stories.

Was a top rider in his day

[Chro Mo]

Didn't Manny take an Epic win in the early days?

Yes - with Karl Platt (I think)