Downhill and Enduro racers have put in their final track preparations and are ready for the 2015 KZN Provincial Enduro and Downhill Championships, sponsored by NMI-DSM, which takes place at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on 6-7 June. Competitors of all ages will be vying for a chance at the provincial title in their respective age categories on some of the most sublime trails and tracks that the highly acclaimed venue has to offer.
Craig Scott enjoying a fast and flowing section of the Enduro trail, which can be expected at the KZN Provincial Enduro and Downhill Championships, sponsored by NMI-DSM, which takes place at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on 6 and 7 June respectively. Photo credit: Gavin Ryan/Quick Pix
With the fairly new Enduro discipline gaining in popularity, event organiser Dave Drummond has promised a course worthy of a championship event. Two stages of the four-stage Enduro will be made up of trails consisting of steep downhills and challenging technical sections, while the other two stages will be fast and flowing trail.
Drummond would like to remind the riders that there will be no shuttle uplift on Saturday, so participants will need to pedal to the top of the Cascades forest to the start of the first stage. They will then tackle the first of the four timed stages, which are interspersed with “untimed liaison” stages where they transition to the start of the next timed stage.
“The beauty of Enduro racing is that anyone can enter on any bike!” reiterates Drummond. “It’s a competitive event where the number one focus is on fun.”
Veteran competitor, Grant Dekker, is keen to take on both the Enduro and Downhill events, even after a recent knee operation.
Enduro event organiser, Dave Drummond, reiterates that the number one focus is on fun for the KZN Provincial Enduro and Downhill Championships, sponsored by NMI-DSM, which takes place at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on 6 and 7 June respectively. Photo credit: Gavin Ryan/Quick Pix
“I will be there – I’ll be limping up the hill but I will be there,” said Dekker. “I had to have a knee op because Mankele “owned” me. I still did my seeding run and raced the National Cup race against the advice of the nurses there, and my knee was pretty much the size of a soccer ball.”
Dekker practiced on the Cascades track at the weekend to see if he could even manage the ride. “I did some riding on Saturday and then spent the whole day at the track on Sunday and I’m feeling good.”
When chatting about the Enduro Championship event, Dekker had this to say: “There are mates of mine that are riding who I know I can beat but in my current condition, I’m not sure if I can. There are no excuses in this game but one thing is for certain – you can’t ‘not’ rock up to KZN Champs! It’s the ultimate bragging right.”
Downhill riders will battle it out for the KZN Provincial Enduro and Downhill Championship title, sponsored by NMI-DSM, which takes place at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on 6 and 7 June respectively. Photo credit: Gavin Ryan/Quick Pix
Mountain biking’s highly skilled Downhill riders will be in action on Sunday as they take to the track to determine the fastest descender who will be crowned the provincial champion.
KZN Downhill Champs event organiser and course designer, Nigel Hicks, says that the track will be exactly the same as that of the 2013 Elite World Championships. “It’s very dry and very dusty, which is going to make for very fast riding. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
The event organisers appeal to the Downhill competitors to register for the race on Saturday so that the start lists and correct seeding orders can be finalised by the timing crew before the start on Sunday. Registration will be open at Cascades until 15:00.
Spectators to the park will be able to see some of KZN’s best riders in action in two separate events – the popular and relatively new Enduro discipline on Saturday with the Downhill on Sunday. Both events start at 11:00 and not 12:00 as previously advertised.
Riders will get the chance to socialise while riding in the Enduro discipline’s untimed liaison stage at the KZN Provincial Enduro and Downhill Championships, sponsored by NMI-DSM, which takes place at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on 6 and 7 June respectively. Photo credit: Gavin Ryan/Quick Pix
Event details:
Date: 6-7 June 2015
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Location: Cascades MTB Park
Entries Close: 3 June 2015
Starting Time: 11:00
Registration: Cascades, 08:00-11:00 & Cascades, 07:30-10:30
Late Entries: Yes
Timed By: Elite Timing
ROAG Registration: No
Event Website: http://www.kznmtb.co.za
Online pre-entries are open, and close at midnight tonight. Click here to enter: http://www.roag.co.za/eventinfo.aspx?EventID=1469. Late entries will be accepted at registration with a nominal charge of R50 in addition to the entry fee.
Entrance for spectators is free, and all are welcome to attend to watch some spectacular mountain bike racing.
For more information, contact Rebecca van der Linde info@kznmtb.co.za or Dellah Paul dellah@cyclingsa.com.
