Jason Oosthuizen won the junior men’s points race at the SA National Track Championships in the Western Cape yesterday.
He said that every 10 laps he went for the points and towards the end they were left with five riders and he took as many sprints as he could.
“It’s a 250m track, so it is hard to get the gap and I knew it wouldn’t be possible to lap the riders,” said Oosthuizen.
“Luckily I could turn a bigger gear and gain an advantage on the other riders. It’s been a great vibe here and there has been some nice racing so far.”
Jason Oosthuizen rides hard to claim the top points in the junior men’s points race at the 2017 SA National Track Championships. Photo: DoubleST
Oosthuizen added that the indoor track made a huge difference for their times and race tactics especially in a race like the points race, as it is not the strongest rider who wins.
“No one wants to set the pace so we all held a steady pace,” he concluded.
In the junior women’s category, Courtney Smith added more gold medals to her tally, when she won the time trial and scratch races.
Steven van Heerden accumulated the most points to add the National Championship title to his repertoire and used race tactics to claim his victory.
“Going into the race I knew I had my work cut out as there were a few strong guys there with us – guys that are fast in the sprint,” said Van Heerden.
“I had to tire them out in the beginning and get my points on the board earlier, which placed less pressure on me in the end.
“From there, David and I got away and we put more pressure on the guys to just get more points on the board. It was a fine race and I enjoyed it a lot.”
Bernette Beyers racked up yet another two gold medals when she won the elite women’s scratch race as well as grabbing the elite women’s 500m time trial title.
