Tyronne White achieved his main goal for the season when he was crowned the winner of the season-long Roag series in Pietermaritzburg at the weekend.
The Grand Prix-style competition took place in conjunction with 10 of KwaZulu-Natal’s top one-day mountain bike events.
It ran from February to September and saw participants earn points according to their results.
Tyronne White won the season-long Roag series in Pietermaritzburg at the weekend. Photo: Tim Whitfield
“It really felt amazing to win the 2019 series,” said White, who ended the season with 600 points after winning six of the races.
“It was my main goal for the season so it was great to achieve that. Sharing the overall podium with friends Andrew Hill and Andrew Johnson, who is also my training partner, was definitely a bonus.”
Previous winner Hill (452 points) and Johnson (440) were second and third respectively.
White won the Illovo Wartburg, Kamberg and Husqvarna Classics, as well as the Gooderson Drak Gardens, Scottburgh and Tour de Krantz. He also finished in the top four at each of the 10 events.
“It means a lot to me personally to win the series as I’ve finished second twice before. So it’s great to have finally managed to get the win – especially with such strong competition in the KZN classics.
“All 10 races in the series are unique and special in their own way. The racing is always really hard, but we all still have a lot of fun together and that’s what makes the racing in KZN so cool.”
White, who won the solo race at the Colin Mayer Tour, said for him it had been an amazing season. It had all been about having fun and enjoying the riding while racing as hard as he could.
“For 2020 I think the goals will be similar to this year for me.
“I still want to focus mainly on the DriveTrain Academy while keeping as fit as I can. I will aim to do the series again and will see what else comes up.”
He was encouraged by how much mountain-biking was growing in the younger age groups.
“The numbers at the events are definitely improving and I feel a lot is being done to help nurture the riders.”
