Caerus Posted December 20, 2010 Share http://www.georgeherald.com/img/gh2010121683846.jpgKNYSNA NEWS - Carlo Francois Coetzee is certainly a name to remember. At the tender age of six, he already has 17 mountain bike races under his belt.Young Coetzee has spent about 1 700 km ‘in the saddle’ during the past two years. He says that he loves cycling and that the fresh air makes him grow "big and strong". On weekends he usually cycles in Harkerville Forest and knows all the different mountain bike (MTB) routes. His favourite is the Red Route, a 22.5km route which local mountain bikers regard as extremely technical, the roots of the old yellowwood giants forcing one to make split-second choices as to what line to follow. On December 28, 2009 Coetzee took part in his first MTB race: The Sabrina Love Challenge. With the support of his father, Chris and his ‘Oupie’, Lorenzo van Deventer, Coetzee managed to complete this tough 25km race along an unknown course. "I was last, but I know I was a winner because I completed the race," says Coetzee. He won the award for the youngest athlete to complete the race. His cycling hero, Kevin Evans, presented Chris with his award, and surprised Coetzee by giving him the medal for first placed male, which Evans himself had won. Chris is currently riding a KTM ‘Shortie’, sponsored by his ‘Oupie, definitely the best mountain bike he has had thus far. This year, he has travelled quite extensively to do races. His mother, Angie, organises all the logistics of race entries etc, while Dad does the technical assessment and support of the races, and his ‘Oupie’ is the ‘sponsor’ and moral support during the races. He sometimes has difficulty entering certain races because of his age, but usually an indemnity form and adult supervision are sufficient to appease race organisers. Besides this, he faces a major challenges when he reaches a climb: Coetzee weighs a miniscule 20kg and his bicycle 12kg, comparable to the average adult cyclist trying to ride a 50kg bike up the hill. Says Coetzee: "I am thankful for all the support I get from my parents, and especially from my Oupie and Oumie. I am also thankful that I am healthy and that I am blessed to have the ability to enjoy mountain biking." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyTrailRider Posted December 20, 2010 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted December 20, 2010 Share Amazing little guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravity Posted December 20, 2010 Share "Kevin Evans, presented Chris with his award, and surprised Coetzee by giving him the medal for first placed male, which Evans himself had won." Legend, that is a great memory for a kiddie, well done mr Evans you ROCK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyP Posted December 20, 2010 Share "Kevin Evans, presented Chris with his award, and surprised Coetzee by giving him the medal for first placed male, which Evans himself had won." Legend, that is a great memory for a kiddie, well done mr Evans you ROCK. Brilliant!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeTurbo Posted December 20, 2010 Share "Kevin Evans, presented Chris with his award, and surprised Coetzee by giving him the medal for first placed male, which Evans himself had won." Legend, that is a great memory for a kiddie, well done mr Evans you ROCK. Whoa! That got me a bit emotional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravity Posted December 20, 2010 Share only a BIT emotional.......dude you need to go see someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebel Posted December 20, 2010 Share You go boy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messenger Posted December 20, 2010 Share Damn!! A 50kg bike up a hill. Can you imagine the amount of complaining from some of the peeps around here (no names)!!!What a ledge! And on a KTM, hum, nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAD4 Posted December 20, 2010 Share Does he ride restricted gearing too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weight Weenie Posted December 20, 2010 Share AWESOME ! Well done to Kev as well Now where is my sponsorship money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD 1 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Give it horns , go boy'tjie. Well done to the little man. Heres to your future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persian Posted December 21, 2010 Share Thanks for spotting the article re Carlo Coetzee in the news. The paper however (from which it was "copied and pasted") lost the plot with regard to the name Carlo - it seems that somewhere along the line Carlo became Chris (thats me!). None the less, he is an amazing son! All he wants to do is ride. The best of all is that he takes it so easy. He enjoys it and there is no presure from me or his oupie "pushing him". He stops at all water points (and in-between) and will tell you when he needs a rest. The past year he has completed 17 races ranging from 15 - 40 km's, of which the majority was between 20 - 30 km's. It really scares me that this little son of mine is doing such distances, but this is what he wants to do. I have however contacted several people with regard to the "pros and cons" of him doing such distances, but the majority of them says that as long as we don't push him, he will be fine. If there are any opinions on the above, please tell me as a concerned dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persian Posted December 21, 2010 Share Does he ride restricted gearing too?He stated off on his (1st) Giant and (2nd) Scott by having restictive gearing, but got bored with it. He is however not restricted on his KTM, but clearly understands the gearing. Myself and his Oupie always ride with him and the majority of the time "coaches" him to his gears. He rides in 1st to 4th gear all the time, but now and then (depending on the terrain) he goes down 5th -7th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissVan Posted December 21, 2010 Share Six years old? tShu thats rather young. Well done for getting him outside and away from computer games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big H Posted December 21, 2010 Share Carlo ..... watch out for Steyn!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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