Full steam ahead for MTB team

May and June had been a busy period for the team, with lead rider Rourke Croeser, together with team manager Shaun Peschl, flying both the team’s and nation’s flag on the international circuit.

After a disappointing few days at the UCI MTB World Cup season opener in Pietermaritzburg in April, Croeser headed for round three in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, where he tackled his first major international cross country event on foreign shores as an elite competitor. He subsequently finished 57th overall.

“I don’t think many people quite understand just how high the level is over there in Europe,” Croeser said.

“The field in Czech Republic was nearly three times the size of the field at the Pietermaritzburg World Cup so I was really pleased with my result in Nove Mesto.

“My ride there would probably have been good enough for a top 30 finish in Maritzburg so it was a good eye-opener for me and helped just prove to myself again that I do have what it takes to be competitive as an elite internationally.”

At home, Croeser’s team-mates put in a valiant effort at the third round of the South African MTB Cup Series at Mankele in Mpumalanga where Travis Walker finished third, Stuart Marais sixth and William Makgopo — in his first outing in the team colours — eighth.

Marco Joubert, together with Walker and Makgopo, then jetted off to join Croeser and Peschl for the fourth World Cup leg in Albstadt, Germany.

“Unfortunately Rourke crashed out of the elite men’s race on just the third corner when the riders were forced into a nasty bottleneck,” Peschl said.

“Travis finished 58th in the under-23 men’s race and Marco 78th in the juniors’ which, considering the size and strength of those fields, was very pleasing.

“William struggled to get going in the under-23 men’s race after he got caught in the same type of bottleneck Rourke got stuck in, but he was recovering really well before he unfortunately suffered a crash and lost too much time whilst we fixed his derailleur.”

The team then headed back to South Africa, in time for last weekends South African National MTB Marathon Championships in Pietermaritzburg.

James Reid (Trek South Africa) took the spoils ahead of Croeser and FedGroup ITEC’s Kevin Evans, while Croeser’s Kargo team mates Marais and Walker finished 14th and 21st respectively.

The team would now shift its focus on the UCI MTB Marathon World Championships on June 29, while on the cross-country front, their next assignment would be the fourth and final round of the South African MTB Cup Series in Port Elizabeth on June 21, before tackling the 2014 SA National MTB Cross-Country Championships in July.

– Sapa