Cape Town - Three young Cape Town cyclists did everyone proud at the African Continental Track Champs held in Pietermaritzburg last week, where they all came out tops.
The trio from the Kinetic Cycling Club in Ravensmead brought home gold after competing against six other African countries - Egypt, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria and Seychelles.
Carl Bonthuys, 22, from Kraaifontein, Jonathan “Jonty” Bouwer, 16, from Rosendal and Matthew Fortuin, 17, from Bellville, won gold and silver in their individual categories.
Kinetics chairman O’Ryan Bruintjie, 42, says they are chuffed with the excellent results.
“We are immensely proud of our riders as they are part of our development programme for the last five years,” he says.
“We are striving to create the blueprint for other development clubs in SA.
Glen Bonthuys and Justin Bouwer with the cyclists.
Successful
“We want to show that with limited resources, it is possible to become successful and deliver champions like Matthew Fortuin, Carl Bonthuys and Jonathan Bouwer.
“If we can get this right at club level, we believe we will be able to influence the future of cycling in the country.”
Carl competed in the Elite Men’s section where he scooped the gold medal in the Scratch race and took fifth place in the Points race.
Matthew competed in the Under-19 Junior Men’s section where he won gold in the Omnium race, silver in the Scratch race, gold in the Madison race and silver in the Points race.
Matthew Fortuin can't wait for the next big competition.
Jonathan also took part in the Under-19 Junior Men’s section and won golds in the Kieran race, Match Sprint and Madison race.
Jonathan says: “I was very excited going into this competition as a first-year junior. I could now test my abilities against the older riders in my category.
“I was very honoured to represent my country, and on top of that, do so well in the event itself.”
Carl adds: “It was a great experience racing and interacting with some of the best track riders from Africa.”
An excited Matthew says he can’t wait for the next competition.
“It was a great racing experience as it was my first time racing track internationals and I learnt a lot.”
The event took place last week and the trio arrived to a hero’s welcome from their club and families at Cape Town International Airport on Sunday.