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<\/a><\/p>\nNel says the MTB race \u2013 to be held at the Voortrekker Monument from 1-3 December 2016 \u2013 is for accomplished riders looking for an extreme challenge or for those who want to get themselves in shape for next year\u2019s mountain bike Cross Country Olympic (XCO) season.<\/p>\n
He explains that although the Cross Country Marathon (XCM) format appears to be more popular in South Africa than XCO, the latter is the only Olympic mountain bike discipline. That\u2019s why South African riders with aspirations to perform on top level will welcome events like the Monument MTB Festival, as it combines elements of both XCM and XCO. Herein, says Nel, lies the uniqueness of the Monument MTB Festival: \u201cWe combine XCO (lap racing) and XCM (out-and-back racing) without sacrificing the challenges of these two mountain bike disciplines! Add to this the back-to-back, 5-6 hours extreme endurance per day over two days and you have a recipe for a unique challenge. The event is furthermore perfectly timed, ensuring competitive XCO and XCM riders will benefit from the race\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Monument MTB Festival is also the only XCO endurance event which demands skills on par with those needed for a UCI Category 1 XCO track. Participants partake in an XCO race following a 5 km XCO race track on day one and a 60 km XCO endurance route on day two and three. A range of challenging and technical XCO obstacles will have to be combated by riders.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s spectator friendly, highly entertaining and draws generous sponsorships like those from Johan Hattingh of LCB, who also sponsors and owns the SCOTT LCB Factory Racing team, with SCOTT Cycles. The combination hails well for the development of the sport,\u201d Nel says.<\/p>\n
\u201cRiders crossing the finishing line will have a pretty good idea of their technical prowess, with some time left to work on weaknesses before the 2016 Cape Epic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riders will be able to enter two-member teams in the following categories:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Juniors (male participants of 17 and 18 years), for a shortened race;\n<\/li>\n
- Elite (mens\u2019, ladies\u2019 and mixed teams existing of male and female participants of between 19 and 29 years of age);\n<\/li>\n
- Master (mens\u2019, ladies\u2019 and mixed teams, all of whom older than 29).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n