![\"ccs-62657-0-49418400-1463557924.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-49418400-1463557924.jpg\")
<\/a>Junior Men’s DHI Series Log leader, Christopher Philogene, hopes to stay on top at the third and final round of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial DHI Series \u2013 presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles, taking place in Karkloof on Sunday 22 May. Photo credit: Paul Botma<\/span><\/p>\nThe 17-year-old says that being \u201cup there\u201d in the rankings, where he currently lies third overall on the National Series Log, is \u201crad\u201d. \u201cJono (my brother) is also up there in first place for the SA DHI Cup Series, and being up on the podiums with him is awesome,\u201d he said. \u201cWe both have been putting in the effort together and he’s helped me a lot, so being up on the podium with him and seeing the hard work pay off is a great feeling \u2013 I\u2019m sure he would say the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2 Bro\u2019s Racing rider says that he only began to take Downhill riding seriously last year, when \u201c2 Bro\u2019s\u201d started. Him and his brother have been riding since the age of eight and had been intermittent with the Downhill discipline until the past few years. \u201cWe originally started motocross at the age of four until it got a bit to costly for my parents, although Downhill isn’t far off now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Both brothers had dabbled in other disciplines as well, such as Motocross, BMX and XCO. \u201cWhile racing our first cross-country race at Worlds View in Pietermaritzburg, we saw a much more exciting and crazy sport on the other side of the mountain, which was obviously the Downhill. Ever since then I’ve loved and enjoyed the sport. I decided that this is what I want to make a success out of in my life and now put everything into my riding,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
Taking part in both events is Elite Women\u2019s contender Lauren Hoyer. And in order to keep her energy up for Sunday, she says: \u201cAfter the Enduro on Saturday, the key is to get hydrated and then just to relax, normally by having a few post-race beers. For me, the Downhill event is a mental race so I can generally ignore the pain in my arms and legs from two days of hard riding because you don’t really have a choice but to just suck it up and carry on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her first ever visit to the Karkloof course was last weekend. \u201cI am so excited to race there,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Like the younger Philogene, Hoyer also experimented with cross-country racing. \u201cUntil I realised it really was not all that fun, so I started on a Downhill bike about two years ago and raced my first season last year. Now I plan my yearly calendar around the races,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
When asked about the possible pressure of the Downhill Provincial also counting as a National Cup race, she said: \u201cI am not very fast, so for me competing in the races helps me to push myself to develop my riding skills and have fun with all my mates. I am not racing for places or points, although getting good results is always a great feeling!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sitting second in the Elite Women\u2019s category for Downhill and third in the Enduro in the KZNMTB Series Logs, Hoyer says that the major difference between Downhill and Enduro is the length of the race. \u201cFor the Enduro, the stages for this weekend are really long and you have to be strategic about where to go flat out and where to rest. I\u2019m not sure how I\u2019m actually going to get through all three of the stages without passing out,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Downhill is all about practice, line choice and making as few mistakes as possible to get the cleanest and smoothest run. A smooth run in a Downhill race is one of the best feelings ever, whereas in Enduro, if you mess up on one stage you could possibly make it up on another,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n To view the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Enduro Series Log after two events, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n To view the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial DHI Series Log after two events, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n To view the 2016 SA DHI Cup Series Log after three rounds, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The third and final rounds of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Enduro and DHI Series \u2013 presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles, takes place in Howick on Saturday 21 May and Karkloof on Sunday 22 May respectively. Entries are open and close at midnight on Wednesday 18 May. Click here to enter: https:\/\/www.roag.co.za\/online-entries.aspx?EventID=1729<\/a>. <\/p>\n For more information, contact Rebecca van der Linde info@kznmtb.co.za.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The sublime trail network and heavenly singletracks that are synonymous with mountain biking in the Howick and Karkloof areas will play host to the third rounds of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Enduro and Downhill Series \u2013 presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles, on Saturday 21 May and Sunday 22 May respectively. Sunday\u2019s Downhill event will no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":42561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[207,220,825,824,2719,2733],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-18151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-downhill","tag-enduro","tag-kzn-mtb","tag-kznmtb","tag-kznmtb-provincial-downhill","tag-kznmtb-provincial-enduro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18151","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=18151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18151"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=18151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Elite Women’s rider, Lauren Hoyer is looking forward to her weekend at the third and final rounds of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Enduro and DHI Series \u2013 presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles, taking place in Howick on Saturday 21 May and Karkloof on Sunday 22 May respectively. Photo credit: Ink Black Photography<\/span><\/p>\n