It was confirmed on Friday that each event in the 2015 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bikes Series will include a TREAD Buffalo Category, starting with the first round of the Series at Meerendal in the Western Cape on Saturday, 31 January 2015.
GD Kotzee, highest points scorer in the TREAD Buffalo Category in 2014, has welcomed the news of the addition of the weight division to the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series for 2015. // Photo credit: Dino Lloyd
The TREAD Buffalo Category is a weight category developed for mountain bikers that weigh 90kg or more. It was implemented at 20 established, popular South African mountain bike events in 2014, mostly stage races, and was welcomed by both race organisers and participants.
For events, the weight division adds depth and a little more needle among finishers that usually find themselves further down the field; while bigger mountain bikers get to be competitive in a sport that generally favours smaller, lighter riders.
“We are very pleased to have confirmed the agreement with Advendurance today,” said Sean Badenhorst of TREAD – Mountain Biking With Soul, the company that created and manages the TREAD Buffalo concept.
“We felt that we needed to expand the category outside of stage races in 2015 and approached Advendurance, the organisers of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series with a proposal. They immediately saw the value in the association and will begin at the first of the seven events tomorrow at Meerendal,” added Badenhorst.
“We’re always looking for new ways to add value to participants in our events and like the TREAD Buffalo concept a lot. We’ll build it into our entry system from next week and will retroactively include the results and points of the first round at Meerendal tomorrow,” said Fritz Pienaar, Director of Advendurance.
“It’s great news to hear that the category is expanding to more one-day races this year. It was the main motivational factor for me to train hard in my first proper year of mountain bike racing last year and I know it was a big thing for many other bigger mountain bikers, which make up a large percentage of many races.This new has certainly made me consider adding some of the Ashburton Investments Series races to my schedule for this year,” said GD Kotzee of Heidelberg, Gauteng, the top TREAD Buffalo Category points scorer in 2014.
The TREAD Buffalo Category will be contestable in the Ultra-marathon, Marathon and Half-marathon events at each round of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series, which are:
- 31 January, Meerendal, Western Cape
- 21 February, Sabie, Mpumalanga
- 18 April, Clarens, Free State
- 7 June, Van Gaalen, North West
- 26 July, Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal
- 8 August, Rooberg, Limpopo
- 12 September, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga
For more on the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series, visit www.nationalmtbseries.com.
All mountain bikers weighing 90kg or more can register at any time on the TREAD Buffalo website, where they get a unique profile and will be able to track their progress and that of others in the racing category throughout the year. Visit www.treadbuffalo.co.za to register or find out more
