Although the first race got postponed due to excess water, the rest of the series was completed in almost perfect weather and it was really great to see an increase in numbers, especially among the junior riders.
The series is aimed at the beginner or novice rider as an introduction to Cross Country lap racing and was hosted at the Garden Route Botanical Garden, which provided the perfect venue for a great family outing. The botanical garden, with its soft grass and shade trees, was the perfect spot for all the supporters and family who were not riding to relax under while enjoying some refreshments provided by the local Lions Club.
In the Fun Class riders could determine themselves how many laps they wanted to ride of a course that provided riders a number of riding surfaces with grass, hard pack road along with flowing trails among the pine trees and even a bridge crossing. The juniors picked up the pace quite a bit with some great racing going on at the front while the seniors had a mix of the usual race snakes as well as novice riders, which had the group spread out over quite a distance.
Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Ride Life, Louis Barkhuizen, whose name was drawn from all the entrants, walked away with a Giant bicycle.
The winners of the different categories (Junior Girls)were: 1. Nadia van Niekerk. 2. Marinelle Fourie. 3. Chane Fourie. (Junior Boys): 1. Hennie Anderson. 2. Tristan Nortje. 3. Neil Erasmus. (Open Women): 1. Barbara Hage. 2. Dannah Mostert. (Open Men): 1. Billy Flattery. 2. Hannes Neethling. 3. Maartin van Rensburg.
Full results are available on the club website at www.hillbillies.co.za.
The winners of the Giant Summer Series' junior girls category were, from left: Marinelle Fourie (second), Nadia van Niekerk (first) and Chane Fourie (third).
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