The calibre of racing was nothing short of exhilarating across all the age categories as BMX racers vied for national glory. Saturday’s racing saw the end of the 2011 SA championship season, determining 2011 champs in each category.
Sunday’s one-off event – a UCI point-scoring event for the elites – witnessed even more exciting racing in all the classes, especially since it was difficult to overtake on the technical track. The elite class demonstrated some of the best competition seen at national level for quite some time!
Gavin Lubbe, who is currently living and racing in the USA, was the star of the day when he grabbed the finals title in a closely contested class, relegating 2008 Olympian Sifiso ‘Skizo’ Nhlapo and seasoned campaigner Dean Holdstock to second and third respectively.
Lubbe returned to South Africa to specifically participate in this event; and Skizo felt positive after his performance so soon after his return to racing.
Defending Elite champion Kane Herbert made a decision to race in yet another highly competitive grouping – the 17-24 men class – because of his intention to race 2012 World Champs in this age category. Racing in the elite category meant he would earn UCI points and would hence be required to race in the elite class at Worlds. Kane won his race against Dean Muller, who came second and Dustin Mulder, third.
There were no elite women racing as our only elite racer, Teagan O’Keeffe is currently training at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle. However, great promise came through in the 10-13 girls category, with Lauren Coetzee winning all her races throughout the weekend.
Other standout performances included Alex Limberg in the 15-boys category and Kaiden Keyser in the 6-and-under-boys category – both won all their races over the course of the weekend. It was encouraging to see the growth in this young 6-and-under race class, with a split gate due to there being more than eight riders on the start, and the youngsters had to qualify in order to progress to the next heat.
RESULTS: BMX Grand Nationals 2011
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