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Tel: 033-
330 7374
HERALD Number 199 • Friday 6th June 2008
S p o r t
74 Main St.,
Howick

Local cyclists
making
their mark
internationally
Two local cyclists have much to
look forward in 2008 to. For
each year, Sharlene McGilvray
and Craig Paul, both of
Howick, compete in the
annual World Championships
as well as starring in the
numerous local races. Varsity
College graduate Amy Jordaan
caught up with them.
GEARBOX & DIFF
EXCHANGE & REPAIRS
Midlands Branch
Telephone 033-330 5568/96
Repairs to all Gearboxes & Diffs
Wide range of reconditioned
units available. Clutch
overhauls.
ALPINE
Alpine Automation
SA (Pty) Ltd
TRUSS CITY
SUPPLIERS OF:
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Right: Craig Paul of
Howick in action at the
offroad mountainbiking
World Championships in
Scotland last year. Craig
was further honoured
when the picture was
used for promotion in the
SA mountainbiker
magazine.
Craig Paul in Scotland and perhaps Italy
Craig Paul of Howick competed in the
offroad mountain biking World
Championships in the foothills of Ben Nevis
in Scotland last September.
He was among a group of 19 South
Africans racing in the under-23 age group.
Back in South Africa, and now 23, he is
currently third in the elite men’s category
(age 23 to 29) in the local championship.
He finished second last year in the U23
category.
In Scotland at the World Champs,
competitors were required to complete the
7.8km circuit five times.
Member of the Truss Plate
The first lap started with multiple crashes
but Craig managed to recover later on.
The lap began with a track width of
around 10m, narrowing down to five metres
further on before further decreasing to a
single-lane track less than one metre wide.
“This causes the competitors to bottle up
and meant that there was a large amount of
waiting, running and walking, while waiting
for the bottleneck to clear,” he explained.
“In an international event the competitors
are all so evenly matched that the bottleneck
obviously gives some an advantage.”
The answer would be for Craig to compete
overseas more — from the small sponsorship
available to South African cyclists he
manages only to attend the World
Championships — and thus obtain an
international seeding.
Hence — those starting lower down in the
field getting caught at the bottlenecks.
From the second lap onwards everything
settles down to racing per se, he said.
In 2006 Craig finished 73rd in New
Zealand and in Scotland in 2007 improved
to finish 58th overall. Burry Stander from
the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast finished a
staggering 6th overall in the event.
“I was a lot more satisfied this year
compared to last year,” Craig said, noting
that the experience is helping.
The 2008 World Championship will be
held in Italy in June, and as a reserve Craig
will only go in the event of injury.
Sharlene
McGilvray in France,
Brazil, Canada
and China
Sharlene McGilvray is looking forward
to competing in her fourth BMX World
Championships this year, in China.
In Canada last July she was placed second
in her class.
Riding a Crusader (a BMX bike with 24-
inch wheels), she managed a “hole shot” —
the vital achievement of being first out of
Continued on page 15

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