The fourth round of the National Cross Country Championship took place this weekend in dry dusty conditions at the well-known routes around Zorgvliet near Bronhorstspruit. In what was widely described as a brutal route where riders and machines were pushed to the limit.
Brad Cox who has been on the comeback trail after injury had a frustrating day on the bike. “I actually felt really good but battled with passing some slower riders that cost me time and then I suffered the loss of my back brakes which was frustrating!” he commented and went on to add “it was frustrating out there today but I’m happy with my comeback thus far”. Cox finished in third place in the OR1 class and in sixth overall.
Kerim Fitz-Gerald continued his string of solid results raking in the podiums claiming the second spot in the OR2 class and the third spot overall. “This was one rough track” he mused afterwards saying it was probably one of the hardest races he’s done to date. “got lucky with second place in the time trial. “I struggle to ride in the dust especially racing in dust and knew from the third lap it was going to be a slog” he added and went on to say that he hasn’t raced in three weeks due to illness so it was even more of a struggle, but finishing third overall and second in class that he could not be too upset.
Matthew Wilson had a great start and managed to get a decent-sized gap before suffering some mechanical issues. “Kevin really did some magic with the spanners to get me back in the fight and managed to get second in class,” Wilson said. “It was super dusty and very difficult to make any passes, most of my passes were actually done in the pits as a result” he added.
“Round 4 done and dusted and wow that was a long day in the saddle over 6 really challenging laps” Scott Heygate commented. “I’m really happy with how today went, I had one scary moment out there where I went flying and dug myself into the ground so very happy that I made it to the finish” he went on to say. “I managed third in class and fourth overall today and I am happy with where I am at this point in the season,” he said and added that he will look to use what he learned this far and put it towards getting a podium at the two remaining rounds this season.
The next round of the National Cross Country Championship heads down to Porterville in the Western Cape which is sure to see some more fireworks from the boys in orange.
