Cycling on the up

Kicking dust: Oliver Munnik gave the UCT Cycling Club some cause for celebration at the recent USSA championships.

Not too long ago, the UCT Cycling Club boasted a well-sponsored, professional team of cyclists that could hold its own at local races.

But as students graduated, the club lost its star performers, a feature of many sports clubs at UCT. This may explain its less than glittering showing at the recent University Sport South Africa (USSA) championships, hosted by nearby University of Stellenbosch.

UCT finished fourth overall in the men's road race, and fielded only one cyclist - Susan Melmed - in the women's category.

UCT didn't leave the event empty-handed, however. Oliver Munnik, one of the club's more senior members and its top performer in the road race, won the mountain biking event. Kristi Jooste and Lara Hopp took fourth and fifth places respectively in the women's event.

Respectable results given the hole the club was in last year, says Melmed. And the team's enthusiasm more than made up for the dearth of silverware.

"We were really chuffed to take part, and everyone trained really hard," says Melmed.