Buys and Sanders dominate South African cross country championships
Croeser and Strausse earn U23 titles
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.
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Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rourke Croeser | 1:11:37 |
| 2 | James Reid | 0:00:02 |
| 3 | Gert Heyns | 0:00:49 |
| 4 | Luke Roberts | 0:01:13 |
| 5 | Arno Du Toit | 0:01:30 |
| 6 | Travis Walker | 0:02:03 |
| 7 | Jason Meaton | 0:03:25 |
| 8 | Patrick Belton | 0:05:22 |
| 9 | Paul Rodenbach | 0:06:23 |
| 10 | William Makgopo | 0:12:17 |
| 11 | Kyle Bradford | 0:14:18 |
| 12 | Kyle Wood | 0:14:45 |
| -1lap | Stephan Reyneke | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
| -1lap | Matthew Hayter | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samantha Sanders | 1:09:41 |
| 2 | Candice Neethling | 0:02:33 |
| 3 | Ashleigh Moffatt | 0:11:59 |
| -1lap | Tayla Odendaal | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| -1lap | Sarah Hill | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Buys | 1:24:26 |
| 2 | Matthys Beukes | 0:02:33 |
| 3 | Ben-Melt Swanepoel | 0:03:01 |
| 4 | Stuart Marais | 0:03:14 |
| -1lap | Marthinus Esmeyer | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| -1lap | Luthando Fatyi | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| -2laps | Philip Jansen Van Vuuren | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| -2laps | Bruce Campbell | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samantha Sanders | 1:28:25 |
| 2 | Amy Mcdougall | 0:04:27 |
| 3 | Cherie Vale | 0:07:13 |
| 4 | Yolande Speedy | 0:07:30 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Hatherly | 1:01:25 |
| 2 | Sybrand Strauss | 0:02:17 |
| 3 | Dylan Rebello | 0:02:20 |
| 4 | Jannes Buijs | 0:03:00 |
| 5 | Harrie Malan | 0:03:08 |
| 6 | Frans Grotepass | 0:03:32 |
| 7 | Neil Robinson | 0:03:55 |
| 8 | Carlo Marzoppi | 0:05:38 |
| 9 | Nicholas Popich | 0:05:59 |
| 10 | Nicol Carstens | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
| 11 | Wade Prinsloo | 0:08:31 |
| 12 | Frans Nel | 0:09:26 |
| 13 | Martin Rodenbach | 0:09:29 |
| 14 | Bradley Alcock | 0:10:50 |
| 15 | Gareth Andrews | 0:11:29 |
| 16 | Tony Van Heerden | 0:12:02 |
| 17 | Alexander Kuhn | 0:12:12 |
| 18 | Tim Wilkins | 0:15:19 |
| -1lap | Michael Lyons | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
| -1lap | Thinus Brink | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
| -1lap | Richard Simpson | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianca Haw | 1:04:34 |
| 2 | Catherine Colyn | 0:02:48 |
| 3 | Jessica Alcock | 0:03:11 |
| 4 | Marie-Christin Kempf | 0:03:17 |
| 5 | Hazel Magill | 0:04:18 |
| 6 | Michelle Benson | 0:05:52 |
| 7 | Marne Botha | 0:08:25 |
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