Mountain
Bike Races
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 Mountain
bike races in South Africa are very common and
one of the best ways to really experience the sport.
Competing is good fun and a challenge for all who
participate but for some it means real competition and
racing for some good MTB race results. These events are almost always out in the
country in some beautiful locations with routes that often
are only rideable for the event. Staying over and seeing
more of South Africa, meeting other riders and generally
just hanging out is what makes it all so attractive. These
events may be called races but for most they are really just
personal challenges and a way to get out and ride.
Every year the calendar seems
to get longer and offer more options to mountain bikers. Not
only are the number of events increasing, but the number of
different types of events have also increased in the last
few years. Traditional club, provincial and national
mountain bike cross country was the cornerstone of racing.
Then there were also some classic endurance mountain bike
races and
marathon events like the Sabie Classic, Rhodes challenge, Giants Castle
Challenge and Karoo to Coast. But as more and more people
started entering races the classic distances of 60-80km were
a bit long for new comers. This led to half marathons in the
30-40km range, making mountain bike racing more accessible
to more people.
But at the same time the longer endurance
multi-day mountain biking
events have also become very popular. With the inaugural
Cape Epic 2004 a multi day stage race covering over 800km in
8 days, a new benchmark was set. Now there are several multi-
day mountain bike races around, including the Sabie
Experience and the Sani2C. 24hour mtb races have
also gained more prominence. They had been around for a
while, but recently sponsors and organisers have put
together a 24 hour mtb series that takes place
around the country. Night riding and racing is another new
area which has become popular. With the use of special
bright night lights, mountain biking at night has brought
another whole dimension to riding your everyday trail.
The more extreme types of
riding like trails riding, freeriding and downhill
mountain biking are gaining popularity in South Africa.
Traditional downhill racing has gained more publicity
through the achievements of South African and World Champion
racer Greg Minaar and more recently Andrew Neetling.
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MTB
Race Results
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Biking Stage Race | MTB Festivals | Pros sites | Cycling races
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Events
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MTB
Race Results and Entries
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Adventurezone
Mountain Bike races, results, race reports and
info on the national Mazda and RCI mountain bike
series races.
Entrytime.com
Entries and results for mountain bike races
nationally
Raceday
Entries and results for races nationally, but
concentrated in the Western Cape.
ROAG
Race Organisers Admin Group is an event
administration system. ROAG's primary objective
is to simplify and streamline the administration
of minority sport events in South Africa. ROAG
provides both sports people and events with a
unified admin portal.
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Supercycling
Online entries and results for cycle racesChampion
Chip
ChampionChip offers the most professional
results service in South Africa and has the
power to more than satify athletes' natural
hunger for results.
RaceTec
The other timing chip company handling many of
the major events
Ndorfin
A dedicated race calender site with many events
including mtb races. |
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Mountain Bike Races - Classic challenges
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Subaru
Sabie Classic
One of the most challenging and oldest mountain
bike events in South Africa. Staged as early as
1999 this event takes place in Sabie Mpumalanga.
Barberton
Mountain Bike Challenge
This event will take place in the most scenic
mountains found in the Lowveld, starting in
Barberton Mpumalanga.
Ride
Crater Cruise
Home of Ride magazine’s annual Crater Cruise™,
a mountain bike ride through the largest
meteorite impact crater in the world - the newly
proclaimed world heritage site, the Vredefort
Dome, Free State, South Africa.
Karkloof
Classic Mountain Bike Marathon
One
of the must-do events on the calendar. This
event attracts over 1,500 riders every year.
Come and enjoy this event in the beautiful
Karkloof area, Karkloof Nature Reserve, KwaZulu
Natal.
Vigne
a Vigne
The Vigne à Vigne is an annual one day mountain
bike race that coincides with the final leg of
the legendary Epic. Just like the last day of
the 8-stage Epic it leads riders from vineyard
to vineyard through the beautiful Winelands of
the Western Cape.
Hill to Hill MTB Marathon
Billed the Hill2Hill this Kwa Zulu Natal race
takes place in September and starts in Hilton near
Pietermaritzburg and finishes at the Songweni Polo
Grounds in Hillcrest Durban. This is a tough event
with a great course by all accounts
Stellenbosch MTB Challenge
Stellenbosch Mountain Bike Challenge is held in
conjuction with the wine festival in August. The
route traverses several local mountains and is not
for the faint hearted as it circles Stellenbosch
with some amazing views and routes through the
vinyards.
Stellenbosch MTB challenge 2007 review
Induna MTB Classic
The Big Induna Mountain Bike Race in Hazyview
Mpumalanga is an opportunity to ride in a unique
and spectacular environment. The race includes
hand cut trails snaking through indigenous
forest, a mix of short sharp climbs, rock
shelves, rooty drops and fast bermed
switchbacks, throw into this a few shallow water
crossings and even some single tracks beaten
flat by hippos and you will not regret taking up
the challenge!
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Sani
Pass Transfrontier Mountain Bike Epic
The 72kms EPIC takes
riders up Sani Pass, along the Sani Flats in
Lesotho, before climbing up Black Mountain Pass
and then back again. The altitude at the start is
1566metres, while the altitude at the turn
around point is 3240metres - a climb of
1674metres in 36kms! This is an epic with
Altitude and a rare chance to cycle in a World
Heritage Site.
Giants
Castle Mountain Bike Challenge
In April 2006
we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the
greatest mountain biking event in South Africa!
The one and only 75km test of endurance in the
Giant's Castle Game Reserve in Kwa Zulu Natal.
The Challenge takes place in one of the most
beautiful parts of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg
Park; part of a spectacular World Heritage Site.
Karoo
to Coast Mountain Bike Challenge
Uniondale to Knysna via the Prince Alfred's Pass
100 km offroad Race - Not for the faint-hearted
Karoo to Coast 2007 Review
Trans
Baviaans - Mountain Bike Challenge
A team race over the distance of 230 km from
Willowmore to Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape,
must be completed in 24 hours to qualify for a
medal & certificate.
Trans Baviaans 2007 Review
Knysna
Pick 'n Pay Rotary MTB Challenge
The Mountain Bike Challenge has been the biggest
in South Africa since 1997 and includes
outstanding cycling routes through the Knysna
Forest.
Akkedis
Soutpansberg Mountain Bike Challenge
This is a new mountain bike race that takes
place through previously restricted areas on the
Western side of the majestic Soutpansberg
Mountains, an area rich in pioneer history and
archaeological interest. The venue is the
Schoemansdal Environmental Education Centre with
three race options - a 70km, 35km and a 10km fun
ride.
Asishove Mountain Bike Events
The organisers of the popular
Amashovashova have introduced two mountain
bike races the day before the big Amashova road
race. They will be held at the all new Giba
Gorge mountain bike park park just outside
Shongweni.
Magoebaskloof Mountain Bike Classic
Starting and finishing at the Magoebaskloof
Hotel the 75km route takes riders along logging
roads, fire breaks, jeep tracks, single track
and a bit of portage. Spectacular down hills and
an awesome 23km climb up to the highest point at
1735m. Great scenery and venue and takes place
in November. |
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Mountain
Biking Stage Race
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The
Cape Epic - The Magical + Untamed African MTB
Race
The CAPE EPIC is the largest full-service
mountain bike stage race in the world. Starting
in Knysna riders will have to ride more than 900
grueling kilometres and climb some 16000
vertical metres during their adventurous
eight-day journey which will end Spier Wine
Estate near Cape Town.
Imana
Wild Ride - Imana Wild Coast Mountain Bike
Challenge
A 4 day adventure taking you, your partner and
MTBs along 200+ km of arguably one of the most
spectacular and beautiful coastlines in the
world, namely the Transkei Wild Coast from Kei
River Mouth to Port St Johns.
Sani2C
Sani2c is a three day mountain bike event to be
held off road between the mountains of Sani Pass
and beaches of Scottburgh in Southern KZN.
Sani2C Race Review 2009
Freedom
Challenge
Mountain biking 2200 kms across South Africa
KKKCycle Tour
An 8 day mountain bike tour/race from Knysna into
the Klein Karoo via Prince Albert, Oudtshoorn,
Uniondale, De Rust and then Uniondale to Knysna on
the Karoo to Coast Race.
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The Dirty
Double Series
A unique new mountain bike racing series.
Each of the Dirty Double races is
two stages over two days giving the teams a
maximum of eight stages to earn points and then
comes the grand finale of the Sabie Experience
and its additional four stages.
The
Sabie Experience
Four days of picturesque riding in the
challenging and beautiful Sabie area lie ahead
for mountain bikers wishing to test their
endurance and pit themselves against a new
challenge.
The
Dragon
A 3 day mountain bike stage race in the
Drakensberg Kwa-Zulu Natal
Tour
de Wilderness
These cycle tours provide cyclists with an
incredible opportunity to ride through amazing
wild areas and scenic National Parks while at
the same time raising funds for – Children in
the Wilderness, a rural children's environmental
and life skills programme.
These tours visit Tuli, Kruger and Zambesi.
Tour
d'Afrique - Cairo to Cape Town mountain bike
race in 100 days
An 11,900-kilometer (7,438-mile) bicycle
race/expedition across the world's most exotic
and alluring continent.
Rhodes Extreme
The Rhodes Extreme (formerly the Rhodes
Challenge) is a
extreme multiday high-altitude team MTB stage
race based on a ‘clover leaf’ out of
Rhodes Village in the Eastern Cape Drakensberg
Highlands. |
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MTB
Festivals & Other Events
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Crater Cruise
The Crater Cruise started as just a 100km race
on dirt roads but has turned into a full weekend
of activities. It now includes a bike expo, kids
rides, fun events, a half marathon as well as a
decent 100km marathon mtb race.
24hourMTB
- 24Hour Mountain Bike racing in South Africa
24 hour mountain bike team relay racing series
in South Africa
Eselfontein
Mountain Bike Festival
The Ceres MTB Festival has become a must do on
every serious mountain biker's calendar.
Even though an array of disciplines and
distances cater for all levels of riders, the
true magic of the Eselfontein Experience lies in
the, variety and quality of single-track
incorporated in the event. Greytown
MTB Festival
The Greytown Mountain Bike Festival held in May
organised by Greytown Mountain Bike Club
celebrated its 11th annual event in 2007. There
is something for everyone with, adventure race,
downhill, night race, classic, intermediate, fun
rides, Playgrounds and Stalls. The also hosted
on of the
Dirty Double Series.
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Dirtopia
Dirtopia is a mountain bike event and trail
construction company, focusing its activities in
the Western Cape region of South Africa. They
are well known for organising the long running Dirtopia
mountain bike festival, the Argus MTB challenge,
24h mountain bike races and other mountain
biking events.
Salamon Adventure Nights
The Night Bike races are held at night. Two
person teams race against the clock around a
course that is described by a "Route
Book" á la Rally Style. The teams start in
minute intervals and team members must stay
together for the duration of the race.
Nelsons Creek MTB Festival
The MTB Festival takes place in September and
mountain bikers can look forward to a great
weekend for the whole family featuring some of
the best mountain biking in the Boland region.
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Pro Racers
and MTB Race Team Websites
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Greg
Minnaar Racing
South Africa's world champion downhill racing
legend, UCI ranked no. 1 in 2006 and all round nice guy Greg
Minnaar.
Andrew
Neethling
After dominating the local downhill scence
Andrew is now busy making a name for himself on
the international downhill race circuits.
Sauserwind.com
The official website of 2004 and 2005 UCI
Mountain Bike World Cup Champion Christoph
Sauser
Roel
Paulissen
Top ranked UCI rider and Cape Epic Winner
Gunn
Rita Dahle
Womans mountain bike racing champion
Ned
Overend's Official Home Page
One of the mountain bike pioneers that still
features prominently on US racing schedules.
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Burry
Stander
Follow Burry Stander during his overseas
campaign with the GR racing team. Burry will
update the site on a regular basis with results
and news.
Burrys i-am-specialized blog
Burry Stander Interview
Mr
African - Manie Heymans
Manie Heymans the Nambian mountain
biker who has made a name for himself in Europe
as well as dominating many of the local south
African races.
XLB
Racing
Roan Exelby's racing blog.
JP Pearton
JP is a well known South African mountain biker
originally honing his skills at the Rockhoppers
in Honeydew. He comes from a strong mountain
biking family with a world champion mom. |
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Major
Cycling
Races
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Argus
Cycle Tour
The biggest road race in Cape Town South Africa
is a must do even for mountain bikers.
Amashovashova
The biggest road race in Kwa-Zulu Natal and one
of the biggest cycle events in South Africa |
The
94.7 Cycle Challenge
The second biggest road race in South Africa.
Get the freedom of the streets in Johannesburg,
its a great opportunity to ride the freeways on
your bike. |
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International
Mountain Bike Events
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Merida
100 Marathon Series
Mountain bike marathons in the UK. This website
will provides regular updates, useful tips on
diet, training and technical questions,
information about the various events of the 2006
series and the chance to enter the events via
the entry form page.
Transalp
Multistage mountain bike race across the Alps
TransRockies
Challenge
In its short existence, the TransRockies
Challenge has quickly earned the reputation as
being the wildest and most rugged of the epic
multi-day mountain bike races.
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Crocodile
Trophy
The worlds longest and hardest MTB adventure for
professionals and amateurs takes place in the
Australian outback, rainforests and mountainous
areas. Is a 13 stage 1400km race..La
Ruta de los Conquistadores Costa Rica
A 3 day hard-core mountain bike race in Costa
Rica covering the same gruelling terrain that
original Spanish conquistadores endured during
the first expedition ever to cross the continent
from coast to coast.
BC Bike Race
The BC bike race is
claimed to be the ultimate singletrack
experience. The race is a mountain bike stage
race that runs from Vancouver to Whistler in
British Columbia Canada. |
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