SA's Hatherly crowned mountain biking world champ!

Cape Town - South Africa boasts a new world champion in the form of mountain biker Alan Hatherly who won the Under-23 cross country title at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Switzerland on Friday. 

Hatherly finished ahead of Christopher Blevins of the United States and David Nordemann of the Netherlands, stopping the clock in a time of 1:21.22 after six-laps of the cross country course. 

South Africa's last win in the event came in 2009 with the late Burry Stander crowned champion.

Hatherly took to Twitter after his incredible achievement. 

"U23 World XCO Champion! ???? Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible and for the support out there, especially from those cheering at home ???? ????"

Hatherly managed second place in last year's event.

U23 World XCO Champion! ???? Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible and for the support out there, especially from those cheering at home ???? ???? PC: michalcervenyphoto @ Lenzerheide https://t.co/VdzWkV8HsQ

— Alan Hatherly (@alanhatherly) September 7, 2018