Lim boasts two mountain bike SA champs

Date: 28 July 2017 By: Isabel Venter

Following the weekend’s National MTB Championships, Limpopo can now officially boast with its own SA champions.

Lilian Baber and Alan van Coller won their respective categories during the 2017 MTB Championships. Lilian is now currently the Sprog (Girls U/12) champion and Alan the Masters (Men 50 years and older) champion.

The race was hosted the past weekend at the world-class Mankele MTB Park at Mombela.

Overall Limpopo had 24 representing riders at the race. These included eight riders from Louis Trichardt, namely Richard Lambert, Christelle Coetzer, Rufhiowa Kutama, Ruan Cronjé, Armand Cronjé, Casper-John Venter and Simoné Oberholzer.

Christelle finished 6th in the Youth Women category in a combined lap time of 00:53:34. Another Limpopo rider, Emma van Coller, finished 2nd in this category in a time of 00:48:13.

Simoné Oberholzer, a local rider, unfortunately had to withdraw from the race after a serious fall. She broke her jaw and this week had to undergo an operation to fix some of the damage.

High School Louis Trichardt biker, Richard Lambert, managed an overall 20th position in a combined time of 01:13:36.

The remaining riders had a tough day on the track. In the Youth Men category Armand Cronjé finished 28th in a time of 01:01:43, followed by De Wet du Toit in the 29th position in a time of 01:01:57, Casper-John in 35th (01:05:17), Rohan Cronjé in the 36th position (01:06:36) and Rofiwa Kutama in the 44th place.

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

More photos... 

Casper-John Venter, another local rider, managed a 35th place in the Youth Men category. Photo supplied.

Ruan Cronjé, also from Louis Trichardt, finished 36th after a though race in the Youth Men category. Photo supplied.