Luke Moir, 15, has caused a stir in the world of South African junior mountain-biking after clinching both the national marathon and youth cross-country championships titles this month.
Competing against some of the best 17- and 18-year-olds in the country, Moir, schooled at SACS in Cape Town, claimed his first national junior marathon title in Grabouw on July 14.
He finished the 40km route in 1:40:08, beating Tristan Nortje by 45 seconds.
Luke Moir (pictured), 15, has caused a stir in the world of South African junior mountain-biking after clinching both the national marathon and cross-country championships this month. Photo: Supplied
A week later he backed that up by winning his fourth cross-country national title when it took place at Happy Valley Conservancy in Bloemfontein on July 21.
Here he competed in the youth category, where he completed the four-lap course in 59:51, over two-and-a-half minutes ahead of Travis Stedman in second.
Although Moir did not compete in the junior field at the cross-country championships, his average lap time was faster than that of junior winner Daniel van der Walt.
Moir had an average lap time of 15 minutes, precisely 19 seconds faster than Van der Walt’s average.
“I’m really proud of myself and I’m glad all the training and hard work has worked out,” a delighted Moir told In the Bunch today.
“It was a great achievement to win two national titles back to back.”
The Grade 9 pupil, who rides for Silverback Bikes, although having won the cross-country national title three times before, was disappointed in his third place last year.
“I set high standards for myself and that result was not good at all,” he said. “I didn’t train or prepare hard enough.”
He knew this year it was always going to be a challenge taking on riders older and more physically advanced than him, but he was prepared, Moir said.
“That always poses an extra challenge,” he said. “But I’m always up for the challenge.
“I always thought the other riders would have been stronger towards the end of the races, but I showed and surprised myself that I was better – especially in the marathon race.
“I think the training I have been putting in worked out really well; I felt really good in both races and I think this is a very good sign ahead of the rest of the year.”
Moir felt what set him apart from the other riders was his ability to get ahead on the technical sections.
“I really think I had the upper hand on the downhills compared to the other guys, probably because I do a lot of enduro racing and riding.
“It was just about getting that small gap near the beginning and increasing it as the race went on. I feel like I showed great perseverance.”
Although having excelled in both disciplines, Moir said he saw himself specialising in cross-country riding in the future.
“I enjoy the speed and intensity of cross-country racing; I find marathon racing a bit too slow for me and there is less interaction.
“Cross-country racing is fast and also technical, which is fun and also suits my style of riding.”
Moir said he started cycling at around the age of five, when his father Mark Moir taught him how to ride after he saw his older half-brother, Matthew Nordoff, cycling.
“I started at that young age because I always wanted to compete and try to be like my brother,” he said.
“My dad then taught me how to ride and at first we just used to ride around the park in my suburb.”
Moir said he aspired to become the world’s number one-ranked junior cross-country rider and to “win as many Olympic races as I can, while doing my best and riding to the best of my ability”.
