The eight riders in the main all had good starts which kept Skizo out wide, the Mtn/Qhubeka rider using his race experience swooped down early in the first turn emerging in 4th position. Liam Phillips was out front with Jelle Van Gorkom in second, Nhlapo made a pass taking him into podium position and on the last section Phillips making a mistake allowing Dutch rider Van Gorkom to take the win.
Elite Men: 1 Jelle Van Gorkom (NED) 2 Liam Phillips (GB) 3 Sifiso Nhlapo (RSA)
Nhlapo commented after the race, "it's a great way to start the season, First race on my own bike and to get on the podium again to thank all my sponsors for their support and belief in me while injured."
2008 Bmx Olympian Sifiso Nhlapo showed once again that injury does not slow the young South African down but that he bounces back to top form every time. Spending a week at the Red Bull DTC with his coach Herve Krebs testing strength & speed the two were confident leading into Manchester that Nhlapo could get on the box. With a strong contingent of European riders Skizo new that racing was going to be tough. He would need to get used to the track and his new signature bike the "1zero5" displaying his South African team MTN/Qhubeka colours very quickly.
The moto's came with mixed results which saw Nhlapo transferring to the main and starting towards the outside. When the riders were being introduced Great Britain's Liam Phillips was clearly the crowd favorite as the indoor stadium erupted when his name was announced.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.