The intense mountain bike rivalry between Hoërskool Lydenburg and Hoërskool Nelspruit continued in the true sporting spirit both schools are known for during the 2024 Mpumalanga TWK School Sports MTB Series, which concluded at Mankele on Saturday.
The competition was so tight that a difference of 10 points determined the winner after the final leg.
The series was held over five races. The riders were allocated points for their positions and these contributed towards the schools’ total. Lydenburg topped the high school log from race one and held the top position going into the final race at Mankele. The log table read LHS – 1 982 and NHS – 1 965.
ALSO READ: Kwagga and Koch retain Springbok spots for Argentina tour
The Nellies had to score 18 points more than the Lydens to win the 2024 TWK series. The NHS riders did enough at Mankele to win the title, finishing the series on 2 567 points to LHS’s 2 557. Hoërskool Secunda was third on 2 135 points.
Three NHS riders took first place on Saturday. Jemma Barnard won the youth girls’ race in 00:52:10, Dalmyn Pretorius took gold in the junior boys’ race in 00:48:46 and Megan Botha crossed the finish line first in the junior girls’ category in 00:45:55.
Curro Nelspruit’s Maya de Vries was in a class of her own in the subjunior girls’ race. She took the lead early and won gold in 00:44:13. The talented and dedicated Curro rider also scored the maximum of 250 points over the five races. Curro Nelspruit finished the series in seventh place with 671 points.
The primary school series was won by Laerskool Secunda. Their riders dominated the five races, finishing with 4 470 points. Laerskool Piet Retief was second on 1 705 and Laerskool JJ van der Merwe third on 775.
The best primary school from the Lowveld was White River. They finished sixth on 547 points. The school’s Zianay Rademeyer won the nipper girls’ race at Mankele in 00:21:03.
Photos: Memories 4 U Photography.
