Dodd over there with him for the past three months. Teagan O'Keeffe’s been in Switzerland at the UCI World Cycling Centre for the past six weeks and Kane Herbert was SA Elite Champ last year, so we should be pretty competitive,” he added.
Chislett, who himself only stopped racing at the start of the year so as to be able to concentrate more on his athletes, is excited by the fact that South Africa and Pietermaritzburg in particular will again be given the opportunity to showcase their ability to host top international BMX events.
“Last year’s World Champs were awesome and the fact that we’re hosting the Supercross this year is definitely the best way for us to get guys into the sport,” said Chislett. “The riders have very few costs in comparison to the expense of travelling to international events and the fact that the track will remain behind afterwards means we’ll be able to get loads of practice on it which is great.”
“The South African crowd last year was fantastic! It didn’t matter which local rider it was who was racing the crowd would get behind them no matter what and I’m sure it will be the same for the Supercross,” he added.
With a couple of the top contenders being unable to compete in this World Cup opener, the door has been flung wide open for someone to get their season off to a great start.
“Mark Willers from New Zealand and Sam Willoughby of Australia have been two of the most consistent performers around recently. Luke Long also seems to regularly be making finals these days, but when it comes to the final of an event like the Supercross anyone can do it on their day, it’s so difficult to predict who will win!”
The Pietermaritzburg leg of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup takes place at Alexander Park on 8 and 9 April 2011.
More information can be found at bmxworldcupsa.co.za
South African team coach Jonathan Chislett is optimist that the local riders who will compete at the event will fly South Africa's flag high, despite the loss to injury of superstar Sfiso Nhlapo. When all the action gets underway at Alexander Park in Pietermaritzburg on 8 and 9 April the bulk of the host nation’s hopes will rest on the shoulders of talented Gavin Lubbe, whom Chislett expects will almost certainly be aiming to at least qualify for the final, with the likes of Kane Herbert, Teagan O’Keeffe and youngster Kyle Dodd carrying a portion of the weight as well. “The fact that Skizo (Nhlapo) won’t be there is obviously a great pity but this hasn’t affected the way the rest of the guys have been preparing in anyway. They’ve all been working really hard since mid-December to be ready for the nationals which are just around the corner and then the Supercross shortly after that so they’ll definitely be one hundred percent ready,” said Chislett.
“Gavin Lubbe’s been training hard in the States and has had Kyle
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