Beyers makes strong start at the Velodrome

BERNETTE BEYERS opened her campaign on a high note when she took top honours in the Elite Women’s Sprint Race at the South African National Track Cycling Championships at the Bellville Velodrome yesterday.

“I’m very happy with my sprint,” Beyers said, after beating Jennifer Abbot who strongly challenged her at the African Continental Champs two weeks ago.

“We know each other’s riding styles quite well. I took her two times in the sprint so I got the gold for that and I’m very happy,” said Beyers.

Beyers, pictured, also competed in the 3000m Individual Pursuit on Monday, placing second behind Charlene du Preez. “It’s not the event I specialise in because it’s an endurance race, but I am trying to ride every race possible for SA Champs just to be there for the girls, because there aren’t a lot of women in these races. I’m very happy for taking the second place in the Pursuit,” she said.

Another event on her roster is the 1500m, as well as the Points race later this evening. “I won the Points race at the African Continental Champs but that was an absolute surprise for me,” she said, saying that her win was due to the fact that her competitors had raced the Omnium event the day before. “This time around there will much fresher legs out on the track so it should be really good competition,” she said.

Courtney Smith won the Junior Women’s Sprint against Jessica Brown in a tightly contested race.

In the Junior Women’s Individual Pursuit, Ashleigh Parsons grabbed the gold medal ahead of second placed Smith.

For Parsons, the Pursuit is a race that means a lot to her. “To gain a title in that race really means a lot to me and I know that I can do well in it.

“I started off slow and easy, and then began to pick up my speed at the right time, and then I was very consistent with my leg speed and that’s how I managed to win it.”

Gert Fouche (37) claimed the Elite Men’s Individual Pursuit title, an event he had focussed on and trained very hard for.

“After qualifying the fastest, I raced in the final against Josh van Wyk and I managed to catch him. I was very happy with my performance, especially against some of the younger guys, with myself being a Master.

“The organisers allowed me to race in the Elite category this year and I wanted to see if I could raise my own bar a little bit, especially focusing on World Champs later on this year. It has been was a very good start to the week,” he said.

Fouche is hoping that he continues his momentum through the rest of the week. “The bigger bunch races will be very hard with some great competition.

“With guys like Nolan Hoffman against whom I’ll have to compete, I’m looking forward to racing hard the rest of the week.”

The Championships continue throughout the week, with the final events taking place on Saturday.

For more information or for any updates, please visit https://www.cyclingsa. com/2017-sa-track-champs/.