2015 South African XCO Championship - Stellenbosch

The 2015 XCO SA Championship went down this past weekend at the ever popular town of Stellenbosch, with loads of spectators flocking there to show their support despite the bitterly cold morning temperatures. The 4.8km Coetzenburg loop was mostly the same as for the WP Championship, however course designers Hanno Lategan and Corrie Muller added in a number of A-line / B-line options to step up the difficulty as this was a National event. Some A-line options featured very technical rock drops, a steep log chute onto the start / finish area and a super tricky rock garden which caught out a number of riders. Because of heavy torrential downpours the Friday afternoon and evening, the race director kept all A-lines closed until 12pm, leaving just enough time for the mud to dry out a bit and reduce the chances of injury.

A total of 20 different categories meant riders from all shapes, sizes and ages signed up for the day. First off would be the nippers and sprogs with an early 8am start, with the last category of Elite men starting at 2pm. Most notably would be the Youth and Junior men's categories, totalling 34 and 37 entries respectively, meaning XCO racing in South Africa has a very bright future. As for the Elite women's racing. It was a very small lineup of riders on the start line, and with team OMX rider Cherie Vale fresh of the World Cup circuit in Europe, it was an easy win with a margin of just under 7 minutes to second place. Contrasting to the women's race, Team RECM's James Reid took an impressive sprint finish win over team Kargo Pro MTB's Alan Hatherly, so close that the times registered as exactly the same.




























[PI=12479410 size=h align=c]Hanli Cilliers - 3rd Elite Women/PI]


































Top 3 Elite women:
1. Cherie Vale - 01.36.47 5
2. Candice Neethling - 01.43.56 5
3. Hanli Cilliers - 01.56.32

Top 3 Elite men:
1. James Reid - 01.28.41
2. Alan Hatherly - 01.28.41
3. Travis Walker - 01.29.05

Full results can be found here.

Thanks to our sponsors: Novus Holdings, Subaru Cape Town, Sappi, Mondi, PWC, Durbanville Commercial Printers (DCP) for making this event such a success.