{"id":20017,"date":"2015-05-11T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T14:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2015\/05\/11\/mission-accomplished-for-team-sa-in-rwanda-r2543\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T10:57:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T10:57:24","slug":"mission-accomplished-for-team-sa-in-rwanda-r2543","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/mission-accomplished-for-team-sa-in-rwanda-r2543\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission accomplished for Team SA in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2015 African Mountain Bike Continental Championships took place in Musanze, Rwanda from 8-10 May. Sub-tropical climates of the East African country provided a rather slippery terrain on which the riders had to compete, making this past weekend\u2019s racing an unpredictable and unforgettable experience for all involved.<\/p>\n

Team South Africa made their country proud, by claiming both the Men and Women\u2019s Elite titles. Elite Men winner, James Reid, took first place ahead of Matthys Beukes (second) and Rourke Croeser (third), leaving an all green-and-gold podium.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-11969300-1431359446.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Elite Women’s start line at the 2015 African Mountain Bike Continental Championships, which took place in Musanze, Rwanda from 8-10 May. \/\/ Photo: Supplied.<\/span><\/p>\n

Team RECM rider, Reid, said that the race didn\u2019t play out as he expected it to due to rather unfavourable weather conditions. \u201cWe could see from the women when they came off the track that they were coated in mud. It was very slick and wet and on the start line it was raining. That will always be a factor, and mud can obliterate even the simplest of tracks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fast for the first couple of laps but then the gaps were big and consistent and you got going in your own rhythm. The conditions definitely affected the speed and difficulty of the track,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

When asked what the African Continental Champion title feels like to Reid, he had this to say: \u201cThere are three big titles to achieve in South Africa: SA Cross-country Champs, SA Marathon Champs and African Cross-country Champs. Every year I try to aim for as many possible \u2013 last year I got two of three. I have never won an Elite African title, and it means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-76860200-1431359439.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The muddy face of Elite Men’s winner, James Reid (Team RECM) after the finish at the 2015 African Mountain Bike Continental Championships, which took place in Musanze, Rwanda from 8-10 May. \/\/ Photo: Supplied.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also mentioned that, because of the multicultural and diverse field of riders from all over Africa and being in Rwanda, the race was a truly African experience, which made it that much more special.<\/p>\n

Reid is back home for the next few days before he heads to the to the Czech Republic World Cup, and then the World Cup in Germany.<\/p>\n

The Elite Women\u2019s title went to Bianca Haw, with Cherie Vale (RSA) finishing in second place and Namibia\u2019s Michelle Vorster claimed third.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe course was super muddy from all the rain but the mud didn\u2019t stick to the tyres \u2013 so that was nice, but it did make it very slippery over the rocks,\u201d said Haw. \u201cThe track itself was awesome – I loved it. It was fast and flowing with only two climbs but they were pretty hard: the first was between four and five minutes on an open road; the second went up a single-track path in the mud and was difficult to get up, but it was ride-able,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-72052000-1431359449.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The start of the Elite Men’s race at the 2015 African Mountain Bike Continental Championships, which took place in Musanze, Rwanda from 8-10 May. \/\/ Photo: Supplied.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Red Bull rider also mentioned that the rest of the track was fast flowing, where a lot of power could be put down. \u201cThis, in the end, made it an extremely difficult track as there was no time to recover,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Haw was overwhelmed by the camaraderie and support from the spectators. \u201cThe crowds were awesome and they lined the entire track screaming and shouting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Feeling prepared for the racing on Sunday, Haw was happy with the altitude training sessions she had had prior to being in Rwanda. \u201cIt helped me a lot as we raced close to 2000 metres above sea level. We also arrived early in the week to practice so I got the course waxed – well as much as I could have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also practiced different lines depending if the race would be wet or dry so I had a lot of options,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

On her title win at a young age, Haw had this to say: \u201cIts my first year racing in u23, but this year we raced in elites to gain maximum points. It was so great to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Junior races on Saturday, Namibian Brandon Plaatjies took the Men\u2019s gold, and Zimbabwe\u2019s Skye Davidson, the Women\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Cycling SA MTB Commission Director, Brett Coates, said: \u201cWe went to Rwanda to earn UCI points and we have achieved that with a clean sweep. We have scored important points all the way down the line and I am very proud of the team. That was a huge achievement – mission accomplished! I am sure that each rider will remember the experience in Rwanda in those testing conditions for many years to come.”<\/p>\n

Summary of Results from African Continental MTB Championships XCO (RWA) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Elite Men<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. James Reid (RSA) 01:54:28<\/li>\n
  2. Matthys Beukes (RSA) 01:58:08<\/li>\n
  3. Rourke Croeser (RSA) 01:59:29<\/li>\n
  4. Brendon Davids (RSA) 01:59:56<\/li>\n
  5. Philip Buys (RSA) 02:02:15<\/li>\n
  6. Yannick Lincoln (MRI) 02:05:12<\/li>\n
  7. Arno du Toit (RSA) 02:05:42<\/li>\n
  8. Nathan Byukusenge (RWA) 02:06:14<\/li>\n
  9. William Mokgopo (RSA) 02:07:49<\/li>\n
  10. Heiko Redecker (NAM) 02:08:40<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Elite Women<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Bianca Haw (RSA) 01:43:23<\/li>\n
    2. Cherie Vale (RSA) 01:44:52<\/li>\n
    3. Michelle Vorster (NAM) 01:48:25<\/li>\n
    4. Mariske Strauss (RSA) 01:52:58<\/li>\n
    5. Candice Neethling (RSA) 02:01: 20<\/li>\n
    6. Joice Nyaruri Matara (KEN) 02:03:52<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Junior Men<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Tristan De Lange (NAM) 01:05:42<\/li>\n
      2. Brandon Plaatjies (NAM) 01:07:17<\/li>\n
      3. Johan Hartzenberg (RSA) 01:09:13<\/li>\n
      4. Samuel Mugisha (RWA) 01:15:13<\/li>\n
      5. Alexandre Mayer (MRI) 01:16:54<\/li>\n
      6. Chad Scallan (ZIM) 01:18:42<\/li>\n
      7. Jake Greenway (ZIM) 01:22:28<\/li>\n
      8. Liam Beahan (ZIM) 01:22:46<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Junior Women<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Skye Davidson (ZIM) 01:09:16<\/li>\n
        2. Stacey Hyslop (ZIM) 01:15:36<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          For the full set of results, click here: http:\/\/www.uci.ch\/mountain-bike\/results\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The 2015 African Mountain Bike Continental Championships took place in Musanze, Rwanda from 8-10 May. Sub-tropical climates of the East African country provided a rather slippery terrain on which the riders had to compete, making this past weekend\u2019s racing an unpredictable and unforgettable experience for all involved. Team South Africa made their country proud, by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4038,4039,231,4040,1789,93],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-20017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-african-mountain-bike","tag-continental-championships","tag-cycling-south-africa","tag-rwanda","tag-team-south-africa","tag-uci"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20017"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=20017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}