Benoni’s record breaker brings home a Minnaar Trophy
The challenge was a five-man cycling sprint and van Wyk managed to smash the 25-mile (40km) record.
Benoni’s Josh van Wyk competed in the 122nd edition of the Helivac Medical Services Paarl Boxing day track challenge in Paarl, recently.
The challenge was a five-man cycling sprint and van Wyk managed to smash the 25-mile (40km) record by more than a minute and had the honour of lifting the Minnaar Trophy which Gary Beneke held for 34 years (54:23).
Van Wyk now holds the record, which sits at 53:07 after taking first place on the podium.
Graeme Ockhuis came in second, Belgian Jonas Rickaert rounded off the podium in third, seven-time winner Nolan Hoffman narrowly missed out on the podium and came in fourth, while Matthew Fortuin closed off the top five.
“I spent a lot of time in the first half of the race and realised half way through that I had to try and save something,” said van Wyk.
“The racing was just so volatile that you couldn’t risk being at the back – it was extremely tough.”
The crowd, which gathered on the day, left the competitors in awe.
“It’s an incredible feeling racing in front of so many people,” van Wyk said, as he referred to the capacity of the crowd that endured a stop-and-start day due to the rain, yet they continued watching, refusing to leave and showing support from under the shine of floodlights at 7pm, when the race finally started.”
ALSO READ:
Dan Triangle karatekas receive awards
The Helivac Paarl Boxing Day Track Challenge, presented by Alfa Bodyworks and the City of Drakenstein, is the oldest event in all forms of cycling in the world’s existence, and this challenge has not missed a year since it began in 1897.
The day concluded with a very special moment as the Minnaar trophy was handed over to van Wyk by Johan Ekermans, who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his Boxing Day win in 1969.
