Murray Loubser © Eric Palmer
Johannesburg, South Africa, 3 June 2024 – The 2024 South African BMX Freestyle Championshipstook place as part of the Park Lines BMX Tournament over the weekend. The event, sanctioned by Cycling South Africa and UCI, was presented by LW Mag and Dragon Energy in association withGarmin, Balwin Sport and DJI and saw Murray Loubser and Jenna Byrnes crowned the champions in the Pro Men and Women categories, respectively.
Jenna Byrnes @ Eric Palmer
The iconic Gold Reef City Theme Park was the backdrop for the tournament, which took place at the venue for the first time with an event-specific park built in the Town Square. The park offered riders a variety of obstacles and line choices to showcase their skills in their bid to impress the judges.
50 riders competed in the Amateur and Pro divisions as judges took use-of-park, amplitude, execution, trick variety and difficulty into account when scoring the riders’ runs. The Pro riders not only competed for South African rankings but also their share of the R37 500.00 prize money and Garmin Instinct Smartwatches. The winner of Amateur devision took home a new Mongoose BMX with the other podium finishers winning Garmin Instinct Smartwatches and prizes from Leatt. A DJI product voucher to the value of R10 000.00 was up for grabs for the Best Trick award.
Amateur Division
The biggest division of the day saw eight riders qualify for the finals. The development and growth of the sport were showcased through this division as riders stepped up their riding in comparison to the 2023 Park Lines event.
14-year-old Patrick Wodrich impressed the judges with his progression and consistent riding. He landed his first Backflip in competition and used the entire park to place third.
First-time Park Lines competitor Jabsi Louw made his name known by putting down an impressive run, kicking off with a Caveman into the quarter straight into a 360 over the box. A big Backflip Can Can over the big box scored Louw the points to earn 2nd place.
Last year’s 3rd-place finisher, Duan Stapelberg, stepped it up to claim his first Park Lines win.Stapelberg’s run saw him trick most of the obstacles with a solid run that included a 360, Suicide No-Handers over both boxes, a Toboggan and a Tyre Grab over the spine to earn him 1st place. The win will see Stapelberg advance to the Pro Men category next year.
Pro Divisions
The only competing female rider in the Pro Women category, Jenna Byrnes, displayed her talent by making use of the whole park while including a Backflip, 360, Barspin, Tuck No-Hander, a No-Footer and Can Can over the big box into her run to be crowned South African Champion yet again. Byrnes is still the only female rider to land a Backflip on a BMX in South Africa.
A competitive field of top riders from all over the country competed in the Pro Men category, with the chance of earning valuable UCI points and an official SA ranking by qualifying for the 12-rider final. Unfortunately, as the final was about to kick off, the predicted cold front with rain reared its head and put an end to the competition. The decision was made to take the scores from the qualifying rounds as the final results.
Nkosinathi Nkosi, known for his stylish riding, was no different as he took to the course with a big 360 Toboggan over the big box, Turndowns and stalls on the quarters to finish in 5th place overall.
Doran Mathewson made use of his racing background to speed through the park, landing Supermans and Tailwhips over the big box. 360s, Barspins and Flairs were thrown into his run for good measure, finishing in 4th place.
Malcolm Peters is a legend of the sport in South Africa and took to the course with a big 360 Tailwhip over the big box, a 360 Barspin over the spine, and an Opposite Flair on the quarter, amongst other tricks to claim 3rd place. Peters’ Opposite Flair also earned him the DJI Best Trickaward.
The defending South African champion, Vincent Leygonie, was on form all weekend long, making use of the whole park and riding through it in every direction possible with speed and amplitude.His runs were stacked with big tricks like a 360 going the opposite direction over the box, a Backflip and Double Truckdriver over the big box, a 360 Tuck No-Hander over the spine, a Lookback and 540 on the big quarter and a 360 Tailwhip over the box. His combined score of 83.38 points from both runs saw Leygonie take the second step of the podium.
Vincent Leygonie @ Eric Palmer
Cape Town’s Murray Loubser is a podium threat in any competition he competes in. Loubser’s execution and use of park were unmatched as he tricked everything possible during his runs. His trick-filled runs included an Opposite 360 Lookback and a Cannonball over the big box, Suicide No-Handers over the box, big Flairs on the quarter, a 360 and off-axis Backflip over the spine, a Tailwhip transfer between the boxes, a Barspin to Fakie over the spine, and a G-Turn over the box.Loubser’s score of 85.20 was enough to dethrone Leygonie and be crowned the 2024 South African BMX Freestyle champion.
It’s been a back-and-forth battle between Leygonie and Loubser in the Pro Men category for the past four years, with both riders now having two Park Lines wins under their belts.
Park Lines organiser Ryan van der Spuy said at the conclusion of the event, “We are proud to have hosted another incredible Park Lines BMX tournament at such an incredible venue, bringing the sport of BMX Freestyle to the people and enabling them to witness this action-packed sport.
With BMX Freestyle an official Olympic sport, it is important for us to host events like this, especially a South African championship round, where riders can earn UCI points that will enable them to qualify for the World Championships and the Olympic Games.
Park Lines is an event for the riders and the perfect platform to encourage the progression and growth of the sport locally. A huge thank you goes out to not only our event partners for making this all possible but also the competing riders who put it all on the line over the weekend. We can’t wait for the next instalment.”
2024 Park Lines Amateur Results:
1st Duan Stapelberg – 58.33 Points
2nd Jabsi Louw – 54.66 Points
3rd Patrick Wodrich – 53.25 Points
4th Chad Randall – 50.83 Points
5th Mathys Putter – 50.33 Points
2024 Park Lines – Pro Results – South African Championships:
Pro Men:
1st Murray Loubser – 85.20 Points
2nd Vincent Leygonie – 83.38 Points
3rd Malcolm Peters – 82.16 Points
4th Doran Mathewson – 65.50 Points
5th Nkosinathi Nkosi – 59.58 Points
6th Dylan Lamb – 56.83 Points
7th Francois Bodenstein – 56.66 Points
8th Morgan O’Kennedy – 53.16 Points
9th Victor Sawkins – 53.08 Points
10th JD Baird – 50.33 Points
11th Damion Fourie – 49.16 Points
12th Mark Pienaar – 47.75 Points
Pro Women:
1st Jenna Byrnes – 46.83 Points
Video: 2024 BMX Freestyle South African Champions Crowned at the Park Lines BMX Tournament
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