was confidently leading the pack. Including his qualifying rounds over the two days, Mulder won 12 of his 14 races, showing that his inclusion in the BMX South Africa's High Performance Programme is paying off. It was a domestic racing highlight for Mulder, who says his long-term goal doesn't differ much from that of most young BMX racers:
"I'd love to race as a full-time pro, but at this stage it's not possible for South African-based riders. So I'm studying part time with my short term goal being the 2008 World Championships in China and my long-term goal being the 2010 World Champs right here in Pietermaritzburg."Although I have won races at nationals before, winning the Elites is a great feeling, especially being able to clean up like that on both days."
Using a points system tallied up over three finals on each day, Mulder's consistency was evident as he won five out of the six mains. It was encouraging to see a total of 11 riders competing in the two eight-rider final rounds, an indication of the improving depth, especially with first-year Elites like Lloyd Dodd, Calvin Whittle, Paulo Selicato, Nzuzo Mngadi and Chris Becker making an impression.
"There was a high standard of racing throughout most of the age groups, but the Elite Men's events were particularly impressive," said Kim Stiebel, chairman of the KwaZulu-Natal BMX Commission. "Besides the likes of Deon Mulder being so consistent, it was great to see Cyril Ndlovu, one of the unsponsored riders on the Gauteng BMX development Programme reaching the mains in Round 1."Other expert class riders that showed supremacy over the weekend of racing winning all three rounds (the Elite men only race two rounds), were Zimbabweans Broc Meyer (8 expert) and Kurt Pollen (10 expert); KwaZulu-Natalians, Tasia Simons (12 & Uncder Girls) and Christopher Austin (15 Expert); and Gautengers, Tristan Brown (13 Expert), Kyle Dodd (14 expert) and Byron Robertson (16-29 Cruiser).
Elite Men Round 11) Deon Mulder
2) Craig Eustace
3) Paolo Selicato
4) Anthony van Wouw
5) Lloyd Dodd
6) Nzuzo Mngadi
7) Cyril Ndlovu
8) Wayne Abbott
Elite men round 2
1) Deon Mulder
2) Kane Herbert
3) Lloyd Dodd
4) Anthony van Wouw
5) Chris Beeker
6) Calvin Whittle
7) Wayne Abbot
8) Nzuzo Mngadi
www.gibagorge.co.za
Pics: Lloyd Ramsay
Text: BMXSA
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.