EVENTS
OUDTSHOORN YOUTH CYCLING FESTIVAL 2018 Eden Cycling will host the annual Oudtshoorn Youth Cycling Festival for the 8th consecutive year, during the first week of the June school holiday from Monday, 25 June to Thursday, 28 June 2018.
The focus is more on bike skills and therefore bunch track events on Mountain bikes were incorporated to allow the youth to develop their skills in a safe and secure environment, and at the same time, to give them the opportunity to watch and learn from the more experienced participants. It also provides cross-pollination of events and exposure to different cycling environments. This year the Cross Country (XCO) has been added to strengthen the skills development component of the competition. The program will start on Monday with a Road Race at Highgate Ostrich Show Farm and a Team time trial in the afternoon. On Tuesday the Criterium will take place on the Aurial College Circuit in Bridgeton. Wednesday all the racing will move to the Oudtshoorn Quad Club where the XCO will take place in the morning and the start of the MTB Oval Track racing. On Thursday morning the racing will conclude with the MTB Oval Track racing and final Prize Giving.
The Oudtshoorn Youth Cycling Festival is the stepping stone for young cyclists to develop bike skills and this event aims to create an opportunity for all riders under the age of 19 to participate against other riders with similar abilities. The emphasis is on team and mass participation and all participants will earn points for their respective provincial team and be awarded for their individual performance. This is also an opportunity for the Provinces to identify talent, and assist with development and transformation goals. It is difficult to identify a young rider’s potential if they participate in mass events with adults or other age categories as their competitors.
SYLVESTER MTB
BECOMES A 3-DAY STAGE RACE! The second edition of the Sylvester MTB Challenge will take place on the weekend of 22 - 24 June 2018 with the race village at Grantham Camp in the Karoo National Park, near Beaufort West celebrating the freedom of Sylvester, the Karoo Lion and ride where he once roamed freely! There will be some significant changes with this year’s race. The Sylvester MTB Challenge 3-day stage race will start with a 4.1km prologue on 22 June where riders can choose between a long or a short 3-day stage race. The Long Race race consists of: Day 1 (4,1km prologue), Day 2 (90km), and Day 3: (70km). The Short stage race will test your abilities as follow: Day 1 (41km Prologue), Day 2 (50km), and Day 3 (43km). If a 3-day stage race is not your scene, you will be able to enter any of the abovementioned races and ride the Sylvester MTB Challenge as a 1-day stage race or enter the 11km Trail Run on 23 June 2018.
Photo Credit: Gerhard de Lange
The Oudtshoorn Youth Cycling Festival provides a strong healthy platform to develop riders into future cycling professionals such as Burry Stander, Louis Meintjes, Nicolas Dlamini and Stefan de Bod. Corné Bence, President of Eden Cycling, and organizer of the event said that the Oudtshoorn Youth Festival has shown a good progressive growth and a high level of competition. The entry fee for 2018 has not been increased and the riders can compete in 7 different cycling disciplines. Online Entries for the event will close on Sunday, 17 June 2018. No late entries will be accepted after the closing date. For more information and online entries visit www.edencycling.co.za
THE GREYT ESCAPE MTB CONTINUES TO EVOLVE
Greyton, one of the Western Cape’s best loved mountain biking meccas, plays host to the Greyt Escape three day mountain bike stage race from the 15-17 June 2018. The event showcases the amazing riding on offer in the Riviersonderend Mountains and provides the perfect excuse for a long weekend away in a peaceful country village. Route director Andrew White, has been assisted by iMTB Africa’s, Warrick Kemp to establish challenging but rewarding routes for each stage. All three stages feature iconic singletracks and fabled climbs, but while the routes are undoubtedly tough they are not unduly so – with the distances kept to below 65 kilometres on each stage and with no more than 1 250 metres of climbing on any day.
True Karoo hospitality at the race village at Grantham Camp will be on offer to all riders and supporters with lots of entertainment, food and drink.
Background on Sylvester the Lion: Sylvester arrived at Kuzuko Lodge, a contractual Area of Addo Elephant National Park on 15 May 2016, after escaping twice out of the park of his birth, the Karoo National Park. From the moment he arrived Gerhard De Lange, General Manager at Kuzuko Lodge bonded him into a coalition with another young male from Addo - it fitted Sylvester like a glove. The new coalition was introduced to two young females and eventually opened up out of the original holding boma on 11 November 2016 with the females into a 300ha camp. On 21 January 2017 the four animals were released onto the 15 000ha Kuzuko Reserve.
“All is well with Sylvester and he was seen mating one of the lionesses a couple of weeks ago. He has settled, and is part of a dominant coalition and never once gave me any indication that there is any part of the old Sylvester left – it is an amazing experience to see this animal on a daily basis,” Gerhard said. For more information contact Corne on 074 260 2871 or visit www.cycleevents.co.za
The race also boasts an e-bike category for the riders who want to experience Greyton’s mountain biking to the fullest without having to suffer up the climbs like UFO, Maermanskloof, the Bakenskop Cobra, Davey’s Sprocket and Rocky Horror. That said for riders on purely human powered machines the rewards of the Middelplaas singletracks, Blue Hippo Slide, Nguni Singletracks, Bone Shaker, Luislang and R.I.P descents will more than make up for the altitude gained. Off the bike the treats of Greyton await. With accommodation options left up to the riders’ discretion the bed and breakfasts of Greyton are sure to be bursting at the seams. The event offers entry options which include or exclude dinners – with lunches for the three days included in all event entries – allowing riders the freedom of choice between soaking up the race village atmosphere or visiting one of the village’s eateries for a more private meal. For the riders who choose to spend their time dining in the race village the festive atmosphere of Greyton is sure to take the edge off the riding. The Greyt Escape epitomises the stage race experience, catching up with old friends and making new ones over the shared love of the great outdoors and the amazing sport of mountain biking. For more information visit www.thegreytescape.co.za or contact Race Director Anneke Viljoen on 084 228 0414 or email anneke@freebody-sports.com
Photo Credit's: Jacques Marais
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