FNB Schools MTB challenge draws to successful close

The 2017 FNB Schools mountain bike final was held at the Hollard Bike Park last Sunday. In total 70 school children aged between 6 and 18 took part in the event.

The Namibian team selected to attend the Spur Schools Mountain Bike final event in Magaliesburg, South Africa on 7 and 8 October will consist of Marcel Holtz, Alex Miller, Hofmeyr van Blerk, Nicolaas Swart, Hugo Hahn, Dieter Koen, Justin Vosloo, Bergran Jensen, Cindy Rowland, Monique du Plessis and Mayvonne Swart.

Against the top qualifiers from every province in South Africa, the competition will once again be fierce – although Namibian riders have achieved a fair amount of success at Magaliesburg previously.

Earlier this month, Marcel Holtz competed in tough conditions at the cross-country world championships in Cairns, Australia. The Namibian suffered a puncture on the second lap, losing valuable time, and had to fight hard to stay in the race. More than 20 riders had quite serious falls during the race, while dusty winds made it extremely difficult to follow or catch up to riders ahead. Holtz however managed to finish in 63rd place – thereby keeping Namibia’s hope alive of earning a spot at the next Youth Olympics.

The Namibian FNB Schools mountain bike league is open to all schools and all school going children, as age groups from under 6 to U18 are catered for. The series consists of five race events. Riders collect points for both participation and race positions. These league points then determine the league winners in respective categories.

Gordon Pokolo, Sponsorship Manager at FNB Namibia, says: “The FNB Namibian Schools Mountain Bike League took place for the sixth consecutive year and has grown from a small group of dedicated cyclists to approximately 70 school children per event.

“We have been part of this series since the beginning, because we see the value of the sport, especially amongst youth.”

Gordon added that FNB Namibia, through the FNB Namibia Foundation Trust, has spent more than one million Namibian dollars annually on sports development over the years in codes such as tennis, table tennis, rugby, soccer, netball and horse-riding, to name a few.

This remains a priority, especially when looking after the health and well-being of young Namibians,” he said.

JUNIOR MEN (12 laps)

1 Marcel Holtz (Waldorf) 0:30:58

2 Hofmeyr van Blerk (WAP) 0:32:57

3 Nicolaas Swart (Pro Ed) 0:32:59

4 Yoshua Becker (Pro Ed, 11 laps) 0:33:40

JUNIOR WOMEN (10 laps)

1 Steffi Grossmann (DSSW) 0:30:33

UNDER 16 GIRLS (8 laps)

1 Cindy Rowland (St Paul’s) 0:29:26

2 Mayvonne Swart (Pro Ed) 0:31:20

UNDER 16 BOYS (10 laps)

1 Dieter Koen (St Paul’s) 0:26:41

2 Hugo Hahn (St Paul’s) 0:27:52

3 Divan du Plooy (WHS, 9 laps) 0:27:11

4 Benjamin Coury (St Paul’s, 9 laps) 0:28:22

UNDER 14 GIRLS (5 laps)

1 Monique du Plessis (Whk Gym) 0:20:32

2 Fiona Vorster (Whk Gym) 0:24:34

UNDER 14 BOYS (8 laps)

1 Justin Vosloo (Whk Gym) 0:21:21

2 Bergran Jensen (DHPS) 0:22:52

3 Ethan Lestrange (St George’s, 7 laps) 0:22:15

4 Anton Engling (DHPS, 7 laps) 0:23:07

UNDER 12 GIRLS (6 laps)

1 Ada Kahl (WAP) 0:13:28

2 Adrielle Baumgarten (Suiderhof, 5 laps) 0:14:26

3 Anneke Opperman (Gobabis Gymnasium, 5 laps) 0:14:52

UNDER 12 BOYS (10 laps)

1 Kevin Lowe (DHPS) 0:18:09

2 Rico Steinfurth (DHPS) 0:18:15

3 Daniel Hahn (St Paul’s) 0:18:51

4 Adrian Key (DHPS, 9 laps0:18:56

5 Hansie de Villiers (Whk Gym, 9 laps) 8 0:19:58

UNDER 10 GIRLS (4 laps)

1 Delsia Janse van Vuuren (Whk Gym) 0:08:45

2 Rose-Marie Thiel (DHPS) 0:10:51

3 Hana Jackman (St George’s) 0:11:37

UNDER 10 BOYS (8 laps)

1 Roger Surén (DSW) 0:15:19

2 Marco Thiel (DHPS) 0:15:54

3 Sean Lowe (DHPS) 0:16:10

4 Nathan Chase (St George’s) 0:16:58

5 Dieter Setzkorn (St George’s, 7 laps) 0:15:32

UNDER 8 GIRLS (2 laps)

1 Nicole Surén (DSW) 0:05:30

2 Santa van der Westhuizen (WAP) 0:07:16

3 Shanisha van Wyk (Omeya) 0:10:36

UNDER 8 BOYS (6 laps)

1 Micah Chase (St George’s) 0:15:37

2 Cúan Ahrens (DSW) 0:15:38

3 Malik Cheikhyoussef (DSW) 0:15:58

4 Hugo Maritz (Omeya) 0:16:26

5 Max Vermaak (St George’s) 0:16:29

UNDER 6 BOYS AND GIRLS (2 laps)

1 Tahro Opperman (DSW) 0:05:26

2 Johan-Albert Vorster (Whk Gym) 0:05:27

3 York Ahrens (DSW) 0:05:41

4 Christian Vermaak (St George’s) 0:06:26

5 Matthew Vermaak (St George’s) 0:06:37