Two members of the Maties Cycling Club – Max Sullivan (Master's degree: Public Administration) and Jacques Lloyd (BAcc) – will be representing University Sports South Africa at the World University Cycling Championships (WUCC) in Portugal.
Action starts on 31 July. The other members of the SA team are Jacques Horn and Elmari de Wet from UP-Tuks. The event comprises a time trial and a road race.
The recent USSA Championships in Pretoria played a big role in the preparation for Sullivan and Lloyd. The Maties team won the championships and Maties cyclist Gert Heyns won the General Classification. Lloyd won the Green Jersey as the best sprinter and finished second overall as well. It was the fourth year in a row that Maties won the team competition and a hat-trick of titles for Heyns as an individual. Ben Fish won the King of the Mountain jersey.
In the women's competition Maties finished second and Linda Hitchings finished second overall.
Sullivan and Lloyd are both amped for not only a great experience in Europe but also for a good performance for Maties and South Africa.
“Two years ago, Maties sent three riders to the Philippines where SA claimed 13th spot in the criterium and 6th place in the road race. We are hoping to return home with similar results!" said Sullivan.
He added: “We will be riding in SA colours, but be sure that we will be flying the Maties flag all the way!"
- Heyns won the SA Marathon Championships held in Grabouw this weekend. “The SA Marathon Championships was my main objective for the year and to successfully pull it off feels very rewarding. I am very proud to wear the SA stripes for the next year," said Heyns.
