{"id":17747,"date":"2016-08-12T12:35:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2016\/08\/12\/scottburgh-ready-for-mountain-biking-mania-r5392\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T07:49:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T07:49:01","slug":"scottburgh-ready-for-mountain-biking-mania-r5392","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/scottburgh-ready-for-mountain-biking-mania-r5392\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottburgh ready for mountain biking mania"},"content":{"rendered":"

With less than 48 hours to go to the 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race on Sunday, a cloud of uncertainty still looms over the participation of men\u2019s defending champion, Brendon Davids.<\/p>\n

The popular annual event \u2013 race three of the inaugural South Coast MTB Series \u2013 starts and finishes at the picturesque Scottburgh Main Beach and sees participants tackle the 45km Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race, 28km Dash & Splash or 10km Family Fun Ride.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-87696800-1471005466.jpg\"<\/a>Brendon Davids remains undecided as to whether he will look to defend his Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race at Sunday’s third leg of the inaugural South Coast MTB Series. Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/p>\n

Having charged home ahead of 2016 Rio Olympian, Alan Hatherly last year, Davids remains unsure if he will be on this year\u2019s start line to defend his title.<\/p>\n

Should he opt to race this Sunday, Davids \u2013 currently competing as an unsupported rider \u2013 will challenge for the rare record of becoming the event\u2019s first ever multiple winner of the men\u2019s title.<\/p>\n

Coming off a frustrating yet beneficial two month racing stint in Europe, the 23 year-old raced to second place in a four-rider end-sprint at last weekend\u2019s 60km Illovo Eston Marathon and so will bring good form into this weekend\u2019s Sappi Scottburgh battle – should he compete.<\/p>\n

The talented former Maritzburg College pupil will however have to overcome the challenge of three regular top ten performers on the KZN circuit \u2013 ROAG Racing\u2019s Jedson Tooms, Leigh\u2019s Cycle\u2019s Leeroy Emslie and RMB Change a Life MTB Academy\u2019s Mboneni Ngcobo.<\/p>\n

Local challengers Darryn Purtell and Wesley Parker-Dennison will also tackle Sunday\u2019s 45km event and will undoubtedly be eyeing a top five finish in their own backyard.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-48448500-1471005465.jpg\"<\/a>Defending women’s champ, Candice Parker-Dennison will compete in Sunday’s 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race, race three of the inaugural South Coast MTB Series. Finish Line Photos\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike Davids, women\u2019s defending champion, Candice Parker-Dennison has already confirmed her participation as she looks to become just the second ever female competitor to claim more than one Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race crown.<\/p>\n

In order to achieve this though, Parker-Dennison will need to overcome the stiff challenge of the current holder of that record, Kargo Pro Cycling Team\u2019s Hayley Smith.<\/p>\n

\n\"ccs-62657-0-90957600-1471005467.jpg\"<\/a>Kargo Pro Cycling Team’s Hayley Smith hopes to become the first competitor to claim three Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race titles at Sunday’s third leg of the inaugural South Coast MTB Series. Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Smith, who finished fifth in a strong women\u2019s field in Eston last weekend, hopes to add the 2016 title to her 2013 and 2014 victories as she builds towards the gruelling 100km Sunday Tribune Compendium Hill2Hill event in September.<\/p>\n

Flooding that ravaged much of the province, and the South Coast in particular, a month ago left a bitter-sweet taste in race organiser, Flavio Scarpa\u2019s mouth.<\/p>\n

While celebrating the rain\u2019s much needed compacting effect on the previously bone-dry course, Scarpa was also confronted with washed down rivers and heavily rutted paths.<\/p>\n

Many man hours later, Scarpa and his team of volunteers have restored the 45km Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race, 28km Dash & Splash and 10km Family Fun Ride routes to their traditional \u2018raw and untamed\u2019 stature, paving the way for participants to enjoy another true mountain biking challenge this weekend.<\/p>\n

With spectacular mountain biking action and KZN\u2019s idyllic winter weather, participants are also encouraged to make a weekend of their South Coast trip by taking advantage of Blue Marlin Hotel\u2019s \u2018pay for two nights, get the third night free\u2019 accommodation special.<\/p>\n

In celebration of the recent National Women\u2019s Day, the same venue will also be hosting an acoustic music festival on Saturday afternoon at 13h00 with local acts The Kickstands, Gus Brown Band and The Subway Run set to entertain the crowd.<\/p>\n

The 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race is the third and ‘sea’ leg of the inaugural South Coast MTB Series and takes place on Sunday 14 August. More information can be found on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With less than 48 hours to go to the 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race on Sunday, a cloud of uncertainty still looms over the participation of men\u2019s defending champion, Brendon Davids. The popular annual event \u2013 race three of the inaugural South Coast MTB Series \u2013 starts and finishes at the picturesque Scottburgh Main Beach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[134,959,1065,1066],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-17747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-alan-hatherly","tag-brendon-davids","tag-sappi-scottburgh-mtb-race","tag-scottburgh-mtb-race"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17747"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=17747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}