South Africa’s first ever UCI Trade Team, Kargo Pro MTB, claimed three of the top four positions at the opening leg of the 2015 STIHL South African Mountain Biking Series in Port Elizabeth this weekend.
Kargo Pro MTB team members William Mokgopo (left), Alan Hatherly (centre) and Brendon Davids (right) together with Emil Lingren and Marco Joubert started the season on a positive note at the recent STIHL SA Cup Series opening leg in Port Elizabeth. Photo: Supplied
Kargo flyer Brendon Davids takes great confidence from the weekend’s SA Cup Series clash after coming close to claiming victory from SCOTT Factory Racing p/b LCB’s Philip Buys, 5.
The Eastern Cape clash also afforded Davids’ teammate Emil Lindgren the opportunity to adapt from the sub-zero temperatures he has been training in to the heat and dust of SA ahead of the Absa Cape Epic showdown later this month.
Lindgren and Davids will take on some of the best stage racing pairs in the world at the Cape Epic from March 15 to 22.
While setting themselves personal goals per stage and eager to challenge for a top five position overall, Davids and Lindgren will also be focused on gaining vital UCI points at the globally renowned Western Cape clash.
Riders around the world are desperately seeking opportunities to earn points to ensure individual and national qualifications for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
A positive points return and a subsequent improved global ranking will also aid in the team’s rider’s position on the start line of the upcoming World Cups, a major focus for the Kargo setup in 2015.
Kargo’s World Cup campaign kicks off in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on May 23 and 24 before heading to Albstadt in Germany the following weekend.
The Kargo team returns to their cross country roots at the second leg of the SA Cup Series in Johannesburg on March 28 and the Pietermaritzburg Mountain Biking Festival‘s HC category cross country event on April 3.
