Vincent Leygonie crowned Park Lines winner

The inaugural BMX Freestyle South African Champions were crowned on Saturday at the 2023 Park Lines BMX Tournament.

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LW Mag and Dragon Energy Drink, in association with Dickies, Garmin, GoPro, Leatt and Mongoose Bikes, presented the Cycling South Africa and Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) sanctioned event.

Vincent Leygonie put on an impressive display of skill and determination to claim the overall pro title.

The tournament at the Stoneridge Skatepark in Edenvale attracted spectators and competitors from Kempton Park and its surrounds.

Over 50 riders competed in the amateur and pro divisions as judges took use-of-park, amplitude, execution, trick variation and difficulty into account when scoring the riders’ runs.

The qualifying pro riders competed for their share of the R37 500 prize money, Garmin Instinct 2 Solar smartwatches and other prizes.

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The winner of the amateur division took home a new Mongoose BMX.

The best trick competition closed the day, with the winner walking away with a GoPro HERO11 Mini.

The amateur division saw a host of new riders compete in this year's event, adding to the development and growth of the sport in SA. Eight riders qualified for the closely fought finals.

Duan Stapelberg's run consisting of a suicide no-hander, 360 can-can and tuck no-hander saw him score another Park Lines podium in third place.

Mathys Putter combined several tricks, including tailwhips, barspins, no-handers and a 360 X-uUp with good flow through the park to finish second.

Dylan Lamb, who finished third last year, showcased his progression with technical riding throughout the park.His run, including 360s both ways and a big backflip over the hip, secured the top spot on the podium.

In the pro finals, a stacked field of top riders from all over SA competed for their chance to qualify for the 12-rider final, where official SA ranking and valuable UCI points were awarded.

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Jenna Byrnes, the only female rider competing in the pro ladies category, again showcased her skill throughout the park with incredible bike control and tricks like a 360, Superman, and can-can to be crowned SA Champion.

Dylan van Belkum has progressed through every contest he has entered, and it paid off this year as he slotted into third place with an impressive run that included a backflip barspin, tuck no-hander, backflip over the hip, a flair and a 270 backflip.

Defending Park Lines champ Murray Loubser produced a technical run, making use of the whole park while throwing in a tailwhip, an opposite tailwhip, a double truckdriver, a flair over the hip, a 360 nose manual and a 360 lookback to take the second step of the podium.

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On his final run, Vincent Leygonie took to the course with speed and style, throwing a huge Superman tailwhip over the big box jump, big airs in the bowl, a corked backflip, a tailwhip and a barspin to barspin back on the quarter pipe.

His run impressed the judges the most, and he was awarded the overall win and crowned the Pro Men South African Champion.

A selection of pro riders took to the park for a 30-minute jam session. It came down to the opposite 360 opposite tailwhip by Malcolm Peters and the 360 to nose manual to 360 out by Murray Loubser.

The prize went to Loubser.

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