The Gauteng Nissan TrailSeeker Series moves a little further north than usual for Saturday’s Lionman edition of the popular mountain bike racing series.
The 3200-rider entry limit was reached some time ago for the event, which takes place entirely in the Mabalingwe Big Five Game Reserve, nestled in deep bushveld vegetation on the edge of the Waterberg Mountain Range. The venue is just a 90-minute drive from Pretoria.
Recently crowned South African marathon champion, Gawie Combrinck (EAI Cycling), will line up for the 70km marathon race. It will be his first race in his national champion’s jersey and despite not being in peak form, he’s looking forward to the event.
“I love racing in the bushveld!” Combrinck said excitedly. “I train in similar conditions every day, riding in places like Mankele, near Nelspruit. I think that should give me a bit of an advantage even though my form is not that sharp.”
Combrinck is expected to find his biggest opposition in HB Kruger and Pieter Seyffert. Seyffert was a former professional road cyclist, now plying his trade in events on South Africa’s healthy mountain bike racing calendar, while Kruger is a current road pro, but never to be discounted in a shortish race like this due to his mountain biking background.
Favourite in the women’s marathon is South African champion, Robyn de Groot. The Ascendis Health rider will surely be the woman to beat on Saturday. None of her usual professional rivals are on the pre-entry list, but she’s experienced enough to know that nothing is a given in mountain bike racing and that there are a number of strong up-and-coming women that she needs to be wary of.
Advendurance, the company that organisers the Nissan TrailSeeker Series, has had staff at the venue for the past two weeks ensuring the race routes on the rugged, hilly terrain are appropriately challenging, yet highly rewarding. Riders can expect to tackle singletrack, 4×4 trails and gravel roads.
The 70km marathon includes 917m of vertical ascent, while the 40km half-marathon has a moderate 336m of climbing. There is also a 20km Fun Race and a 10km Fun Ride. Participants in the two longer distance events can expect to see a wide variety of game, including rhino, elephant and buffalo (lion are kept in a separate section to where the riders will be).
Nissan TrailSeeker Lionman schedule of events:
Venue: Mabalingwe Game Reserve
Registration:
Friday, 10 July at Mabalingwe Game Reserve (on the airfield): 16h30–19h00
Race times:
Saturday, 11 July
07h45: Riders briefing
08h00: 70km
09h05: 40km
10h30: 20km
11h00: 10km
13h00: Prize giving
There are no late entries available. Riders can however pre-enter the remaining three rounds of the Nissan TrailSeeker Gauteng Series at www.trailseekerseries.co.za.
