Local riders excel at nationals

Date: 09 October 2015 By: Anton van Zyl

Junior cyclists from Louis Trichardt put in very impressive performances the past weekend during the national mountain bike league finals. Two of the local high school’s riders, Richardt Lambert and Kombo Bere, ended in Top-10 positions during the races on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2015 Spur Schools Mountain Bike finals took place near Magaliesburg and the competitors came from as far as Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia to compete against the large group of South African junior riders. The 4,5 kilometre track was relatively flat, but the more than 400 riders had to battle things out in sweltering heat.

Saturday’s competition was the final round of the schools' league and only the top schools from each province were invited to enter teams. Louis Trichardt High School sent seven riders, with Ridgeway College sending one rider.

Richardt Lambert was Saturday’s star performer, ending seventh overall in the Youth U/15 category. He finished the three rounds in 44:36, only a few minutes behind the winner, Ryan Conradie from Potchefstroom Gimnasium (41:10).

Much was expected from Louis Trichardt’s other cycling star, Kombo Bere, but Lady Luck was not on his side. After a good first and second round, he had two nasty falls and almost broke a collarbone. On a fairly congested track, he could not catch up after that and finished in a disappointing 29th position.

Kombo set the record straight on Sunday, when the national finals took place on the same track. This time, in his provincial colours, he finished in seventh position overall, less than two minutes behind the winner. This race was won by a Namibian rider, Herbert Peters, in 00:40:01.

Of the other local riders, Douglas Archer also performed exceptionally well in the Junior division. Douglas, who rode in Ridgeway College’s colours, finished 41st on Saturday in 01:02:25. On Sunday he went all out and ended 31st in 00:45:14.

The next local rider to finish in the Junior category was Marno van Zyl. On Saturday he ended 60th overall (01:06:02), but improved dramatically on Sunday to finish 39th in 00:46:47.

Gerhart Meyer took 67th position on Saturday, but stepped up a gear and finished in 55th position on Sunday.

In the Youth U/15 category, Richardt Lambert performed well on Saturday with his overall seventh position, but had to settle for a moderate 14th position on Sunday. His time of 00:45:45 was, however, still very good and less than five minutes slower than the winner.

In this category, Turner de Swardt from Louis Trichardt High School ended 31st on Saturday (00:48:03) and repeated this on Sunday by also ending 31st, only a few seconds slower in 00:48:18.

In the Sub Junior Boys category, another Louis Trichardt rider, Casper-John Venter, finished in the 51st position on Saturday (00:55:58). Riding in the colours of Stanford Lake College, he also put in a much better performance on Sunday and ended in 36th position.

In the ladies’ sections, Charne Labuschagne from Louis Trichardt High competed in the Junior Women category and ended 27th overall on Sunday. Her team mate, Joleen de Swardt, competed in the Youth Women category and finished in 21st position on Saturday, but slipped back a bit to finish in 33rd spot on Sunday.

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Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

More photos... 

The team from Louis Trichardt High School before the start of the races. From left are Charne Labuschagne, Joleen de Swardt, Turner de Swardt, Richardt Lambert, Kombo Bere, Marno van Zyl and Gerhart Meyer. Photo: Linda du Plessis.

The Limpopo team of riders that took part in the Spur Schools Mountainbike Finals. The team included riders from Louis Trichardt High School, Ridgeway College, Stanford Lake College, Pietersburg High School, Merensky High School, Piet Potgieter High School, Waterberg Academy and Frans du Toit High School.Photo supplied.

The strain is clearly visible on Douglas Archer's face as he competes during Saturday's race. Douglas, riding in Ridgeway College's colours, ended  41st on Saturday and improved to a 31st position on Sunday.

Charne Labuschagne from Louis Trichardt High competed in the Junior Women category and ended 27th overall on Sunday.