Johan de Villiers and Tania Bugarin Ortiz were the fastest men and women’s finishers respectively at Round 2 of the 2022 Gauteng XCO Series, presented by Suzuki at Iron Throne Bike Park, Hartebeespoort recently.
A large field tackled the two new XCO courses in ideal weather conditions. Under-23 racer, De Villiers, reeled off seven consistently paced laps to claim the Elite/Under-23 men’s race title in a time of 1:34:02. Erick Heyns was second with Jean du Plessis rounding out the podium.
In the Elite/Under-23 women’s race, Round 1 winner, Karlise Scheepers, took the early lead, but was forced to withdraw on Lap 3 with a damaged wheel. Bugarin Ortiz moved into the lead for the remainder of the five-lap race and clocked a winning time of 1:40:58. Second place went to Lize-Ann Louw with Anneke van der Walt claiming third.
“There was a good turnout, despite it being a long weekend and school holiday,” said Paola Damilano, organiser of the Gauteng XCO Series, presented by Suzuki.
“What’s pleasing too is that the new courses built at Iron Throne Bike Park were superb and offered a balanced challenge for the competitors. We’re sure to see more events at the venue in future.”
Once again the inter-schools rivalry was at fever pitch, with points awarded to school learners in both the Provincial race and the Lite race (the former carries a higher weighting). The objective is to help kids move from the Lite race to the Provincial race with a series of skills clinics throughout the season.
The Lite races take place on a different race route at the same venue. The route is tamer and designed to encourage participation and attract newcomers to the XCO discipline.
Round 3 of the 2022 Gauteng XCO Series, presented by Suzuki, will take place on Saturday 9 April at Future XCO, a brand-new racing venue east of Pretoria.
Round 2 2022 Gauteng XCO Series, presented by Suzuki
Saturday 19 March, Iron Throne Bike Park, Hartebeespoort
Leading results Provincial Race:
Overall Men (7 laps)
1 Johan de Villiers (UR Cycling) 1:34:02
2 Erick Heyns (LCC) 1:42:58
3 Jean du Plessis (LCC) 1:46:04
Under-23 Men (7 laps)
1 Johan de Villiers (UR Cycling) 1:34:02
2 Erick Heyns (LCC) 1:42:58
3 Jean du Plessis (LCC) 1:46:04
Junior Men (5 laps)
1 Massi Ambrosi (Bryanston High) 1:08:16
2 Phillip Naude (Waterkloof High) 1:10:22
3 Jordan Boschoff (Affies) 1:14:02
Youth Men (4 laps)
1 Beon van Staden (Midstream School) 57:17
2 Joshua Kanis (Helpmekaar High) 58:22
3 Josh van der Merwe 1:02:37
Sub-Junior Boys (3 laps)
1 Justinus Deyzel (Affies) 53:09
2 William Pienaar (Curro Hazeldean) 53:50
3 Jaco Aldum (CVO Pretoria) 57:32
Sprog Boys (4 laps Lite course)
1 Deowen de Jager (Garsfontein High) 42:10
2 Evan Naude 43:32
3 Liam Labuschagne (Tygerpoort Primary) 45:37
Nipper Boys (3 laps Lite course)
1 Nicholas Norton (Dainfern College) 40:09
2 Sam Clark (Montrose Primary) 41:26
3 Christoff Pieterse (Rooihuiskraal Primary) 55:31
Sub-Veteran Men (6 laps)
1 Dewald Lotter (Kempton Park CC) 1:31:16
2 Ruan Louw (Team Cycloworx) 1:38:08
Veteran Men (6 laps)
1 David Cooke (The Practice CC) 1:26:09
2 Alby Nel (ROAG) 1:35:51
3 Paul Davies 1:39:13
Master Men (5 laps)
1 Rynard van Hoven (Van H) 1:22:48
2 Jason Duffin (Rockhoppers) 1:23:41
Overall Women (5 laps)
1 Tania Bugarin Ortiz (Bester Performance) 1:40:58
2 Lize-Ann Louw (CG Virtual Club) 1:49:06
3 Anneke van der Walt (Team Vitality) 2:03:53
Elite Women (5 laps)
1 Tania Bugarin Ortiz (Bester Performance) 1:40:58
Under-23 Women (5 laps)
1 Lize-Ann Louw (CG Virtual Club) 1:49:06
2 Anneke van der Walt (Team Vitality) 2:03:53
Junior Women (4 laps)
1 Tarina Naude (Helpmekaar High) 1:35:23
2 Lianke Fourie (Hatfield Christian School) 1:50:15
Youth Women (3 laps)
1 Bianca Botha (Montana Krugersdorp High) 1:15:38
2 Anais Huyser (Helpmekaar High) 1:22:10
Sub-Junior Girls (4 laps Lite course)
1 Mieke Gilbert (Constantia Park Primary) 1:01:10
2 Anel Verster (Constantia Park High) 1:11:02
3 Jadeline Gardner-Sandiford (Trinity House Little Falls High) 1:13:12
Sprog Girls (3 laps Lite course)
1 Bella Grobler (Aston Manor Primary) 42:40
2 Lana Coetzee (Monument Park Primary) 1:00:16
3 Nina van Hoven 1:04:02
Nipper Girls (3 laps Lite course)
1 Lana-Leigh Du Toit (Garsfontein Primary) 34:14
Sub-Veteran Women (3 laps)
1 Christina Louw (Team Cycloworx) 1:01:53
Veteran Women (3 laps)
1 Leonora Changuion (The Practice) 1:02:36
2 Donna Winter (The Practice) 1:08:47
Master Women (3 laps)
1 Christelle le Roux (Cycle Shack) 1:13:46
LITE RACE RESULTS
Sport Men (7 Laps)
1 Bladen van Rensburg 27:59
2 Chris Kuun 30:25
3 Graeme Bezuidenhout 31:49
Junior Men (7 Laps)
1 Nathan Atkins (Helpmekaar High) 28:04
2 Yashlin Perumal (St Stithians) 31:14
3 Ziyad Khan (St Stithians) 32:14
Youth Men (6 Laps)
1 Tyler Lang 24:12
2 Jared Falck (St Stithians) 24:14
3 Michael Falck (St Stithians) 26:04
Sub-Junior Boys (5 Laps)
1 Damian van Eeden 26:20
2 Christian Rademeyer (Helpmekaar High) 27:30
3 Devin Koekemoer 29:37
Sprog Boys (5 Laps)
1 Jaiden Lee Nel (Monument Park Primary) 22:51
2 Andrew Becker (St Davids Marist Inanda) 23:12
3 Leon Seyffert 24:36
Nipper Boys (4 Laps)
1 Joshua Oosthuysen 23:08
2 Levi Smith 23:42.0
3 Nate Gavin 24:42.2
Sub-Nipper Boys (3 Laps)
1 Eric Daniel Smit (Tygerpoort Primary) 20:11
2 Joshua Grobler(Aston Manor Primary) 21:49
3 Lihan Serfontein 21:59
Sub-Sub-Nipper Boys (3 Laps)
1 Kairo Tshabalala (24/7 Baby Castle) 33:45
Youth Women (6 Laps)
1 Megan Boschoff 28:07
2 Mia Woo 35:38
3 Mikaela Wessels 38:17
Sub-Junior Girls (5 Laps)
1 Mikyla Duif 26:36
2 Ilna du Preez 34:21
Sprog Girls (4 Laps)
1 Anri Lambert (Tygerpoort Primary) 28:47
2 Nina Kleynhans 37:18
Nipper Girls (3 Laps)
1 Alivia Kay Nel 17:21
2 Mika Coetzee 21:58
3 Nikita Woest (Constantia Kloof Primary) 24:54
Sub-Nipper Girls (3 Laps)
1 Sume Fourie (Constantia Park Primary) 24:49
