André van Rooyen (16) of Grey-kollege was crowned the new youth XCO South African Mountain Bike Champion during the South African XCO Championship that was hosted in the Happy Valley conservation area from Friday (01/07) to Sunday.
Young and experienced cyclists from around the country converged on Bloemfontein this weekend, and 19 cyclists made up the Free State team.
There were 19 cyclists awarded Free State Sports Confederation (FSSC) colours and six received Free State Cycling colours.
The Free State first team, consisting of André van Rooyen, Jean-Jacques Koekemoer, Louis Burger, Charl Coetsee and Carla Kotze, came fourth in the team relay on Sunday and the second team, with Gerrit Moelich, Tian Carreira, Ricardo Baadjies, Adrian Claassen and Ludwig du Toit, came 11th.
Jean-Jacques Koekemoer (15, of Grey-kollege) secured fourth place in the highly competitive youth category.
Jacques Malherbe came second in the category for veteran men and Boesman Moelich came fourth in the sub-veteran category.
Jacques Koekemoer, president of Free State Cycling, says 360 of the country’s best cyclists competed in age categories ranging from the one for eight years to that of 60 years and older.
“This is a record for the South African Mountain Bike Championship,” he said.
