Fastest female: 15-year-old Pretorius of Kamloops makes statement at nationals

Pretorius, 15, finished more than 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in the Under-17 Sport/Expert Division, posting a time that sent a message to the mountain bike community nationwide.

She was the fastest female at nationals, outduelling all comers in both the Sport/Expert Women U19 Division and Elite (Pro) Women 19-and-Over Division.

ON THE PODIUM. (Image Credit: Lennard Pretorius)

“I got a hat, I got glasses, some dollar-store-looking-Canada Day glasses, a nice axe from Sweden or something and a big Canada flag,” Pretorius said of the swag she donned on the podium. “I got the jersey, too. I’m going to have to rock the sleeve now.”

Male and female winners in the U17, U19 and pro divisions earned the right to don Maple Leaf sleeves until nationals next year.

Pretorius, who claimed gold in the under-15 division at nationals last year, said she loves the country and will be proud to wear the sleeve.

“I feel like my ego might get a little too high,” Pretorious said with a laugh. “No, I’m feeling great. It definitely makes me feel more confident. Just today (July 27) on track practising, I feel way better. This season’s been really good. I think I’ve improved a lot.”

Pretorius, competing at Crankworx this week in Whistler, is too young to join the World Cup circuit, but international success seems inevitable and she is aiming to make some noise at the US Open of Mountain Biking in September in Utah.

“They give out a lot of prize money, so a lot of the pros go there,” Pretorius said. “I’m going to race against them in their category. It’ll be cool to see how I stack up.”

With each head-turning result, Pretorius’ profile – and social-media following – is growing.

“It’s pretty crazy,” she said. “Probably two weeks ago, my Instagram wasn’t very busy. My friends would like my stuff and every once in a while someone cool would follow me. But now, just in the past couple weeks, with [sponsor Forbidden Bike Company] and stuff, every day I get like 10 new followers and a bunch of nice comments on my posts. It’s pretty cool. I try not to focus too much on the social media stuff, though.”

Growing renown does not seem to be boosting vanity.

“She’s a really good kid, too, which really comes across,” nationals race organizer Stephen Exley said. “Last weekend [at the Canada Cup in Sun Peaks], she had some bad luck with the weather and she was the first one up congratulating the woman that beat her in her category. She’s got a really good head on her shoulders. She’s a really good ambassador for the sport.”

Pretorius was not the only Kamloops racer to reach the podium at nationals on Sunday. Johnathan Helly won silver in the Elite (Pro) Men 19-Plus Division.

by Marty Hastings

Fastest female: 15-year-old Pretorius of Kamloops makes statement at nationals

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