Mountain bike battle
Avid young mountain bikers from all over the Garden Route district came together at Knysna Montessori School on Saturday 15 September for the Eden Spur Schools Mountain Bike League.
The cold weather and few raindrops did nothing to deter these adrenaline junkies of the future to take on the quite technical course set out around Montessori’s grounds. At the end of the day, the hosts would place fifth overall out of 18 primary schools, and sixth out of 11 high schools.
The winners of Saturday’s primary school event was Blanco Primary School, and the winners of the high school event Outeniqua High School – both from George. Of the local schools, Knysna Primary did the best, taking third place, while Oakhill came in second in the high school leg.
The Spur league is aimed at expanding the reach of mountain biking among learners, and encouraging schools to enter as many riders as possible. Points are awarded for the completion of the race, which runs on the Olympic cross-country (XCO) lap-racing format. Participants complete a set number of laps on a short mountain bike course and are divided into age categories – primary school seven to 13-year-olds, and high school 14 to 18-year-olds.
Knysna Montessori, which has been hosting the event since 2014 and is the first school in the Southern Cape to have built a track, has hosted four races to date. This year’s race was the final race in a series of three, with Oakhill hosting the two previous events.