Buys and Sanders dominate South African cross country championships

Philip Buys and Samantha Sanders put down a dominant charge to claim the elite cross country titles at the 2013 South African MTB National Championships near Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

The Hayterdale Trails near Addo in Port Elizabeth played host to the prestigious mountain biking event on the annual calendar with one of the biggest participant turnouts that South African Mountain Biking has seen in many years.

Representing the elite category, Olympian Philip Buys completed seven laps of the technical 4.2km cross country course in 1:24:26 to secure his national title. Matthys Beukes finished in second place in 1:26:59 with cross country stalwart Ben-Melt Swanepoel third in 1:27:27.

The women's race saw Samantha Sanders take top honours in her six laps, in 1:28:25 with Amy Mcdougall and Cherie Vale finishing second and third respectively.

Rourke Croeser's victory in the hotly contested under 23 category was the result of a close tussle with James Reid. Croeser's winning time over 6 laps was 1:11:37, only two seconds ahead of the chasing Reid. Gert Heyns wrapped up the podium positions in 1:12:26.

Continuing her early-season form, Mariske Strauss dominated the five-lap women's U23 race in 1:09:01, placing more than three minutes ahead of second placed Candice Neethling. Ashleigh Moffatt finished in third place.

Alan Hatherly and Bianca Haw won the junior categories in 1:01:25 (five laps) and 1:04:34 (four laps) respectively, whilst Julian Jessop and Frankie du Toit are proud wearers of the national jersey in the youth categories. Jessop completed five laps in 1:03:53 and Du Toit won her four-lap race in 1:04:36.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rourke Croeser1:11:37
2James Reid0:00:02
3Gert Heyns0:00:49
4Luke Roberts0:01:13
5Arno Du Toit0:01:30
6Travis Walker0:02:03
7Jason Meaton0:03:25
8Patrick Belton0:05:22
9Paul Rodenbach0:06:23
10William Makgopo0:12:17
11Kyle Bradford0:14:18
12Kyle Wood0:14:45
-1lapStephan ReynekeRow 12 - Cell 2
-1lapMatthew HayterRow 13 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Samantha Sanders1:09:41
2Candice Neethling0:02:33
3Ashleigh Moffatt0:11:59
-1lapTayla OdendaalRow 3 - Cell 2
-1lapSarah HillRow 4 - Cell 2
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U23 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Philip Buys1:24:26
2Matthys Beukes0:02:33
3Ben-Melt Swanepoel0:03:01
4Stuart Marais0:03:14
-1lapMarthinus EsmeyerRow 4 - Cell 2
-1lapLuthando FatyiRow 5 - Cell 2
-2lapsPhilip Jansen Van VuurenRow 6 - Cell 2
-2lapsBruce CampbellRow 7 - Cell 2
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U23 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Samantha Sanders1:28:25
2Amy Mcdougall0:04:27
3Cherie Vale0:07:13
4Yolande Speedy0:07:30
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Junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alan Hatherly1:01:25
2Sybrand Strauss0:02:17
3Dylan Rebello0:02:20
4Jannes Buijs0:03:00
5Harrie Malan0:03:08
6Frans Grotepass0:03:32
7Neil Robinson0:03:55
8Carlo Marzoppi0:05:38
9Nicholas Popich0:05:59
10Nicol CarstensRow 9 - Cell 2
11Wade Prinsloo0:08:31
12Frans Nel0:09:26
13Martin Rodenbach0:09:29
14Bradley Alcock0:10:50
15Gareth Andrews0:11:29
16Tony Van Heerden0:12:02
17Alexander Kuhn0:12:12
18Tim Wilkins0:15:19
-1lapMichael LyonsRow 18 - Cell 2
-1lapThinus BrinkRow 19 - Cell 2
-1lapRichard SimpsonRow 20 - Cell 2
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Junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Bianca Haw1:04:34
2Catherine Colyn0:02:48
3Jessica Alcock0:03:11
4Marie-Christin Kempf0:03:17
5Hazel Magill0:04:18
6Michelle Benson0:05:52
7Marne Botha0:08:25

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