![\"ccs-62657-0-42565400-1432219328.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-42565400-1432219328.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMartin Dreyer’s RMB Change a Life Academy member Mboneni Ngcobo charges through the Sappi plantations of the Sappi Howick MTB Classic. With a reworked 40km route, the 2015 edition of the event takes place on Sunday 7 June.<\/span><\/p>\n \/\/ Photo: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve run the previous route for the past three years and so we felt it was time to freshen things up a bit,\u201d explains race coordinator and Howick MTB Club chairman Gordon Beard.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new route will still incorporate all of the features of the previous route that proved so popular such as single track, jeep track and a couple of technical sections however these elements will be experienced on a completely new course.\u201d<\/p>\n Starting at its traditional venue at the picturesque Howick High School, the route sees riders head out of town with the first seven kilometres of good quality jeep track and the Yellow Brick Road climb set to spread the field ahead of the first of many single track sections.<\/p>\n \u201cThe single track is where all the fun really begins!\u201d explains course designer Kemsley Wood.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have incorporated most of our well used and favourite trails in this year\u2019s course but many of them we will be circulating in the opposite direction to what they are normally ridden in, making for a totally different ridding experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have also broken up the single track stretches with short bits of jeep track to allow for passing,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n The 10km mark signals the start of the biggest climb of the day as participants make their way from the Dip Tank single track, along five kilometres of single track and jeep track and up to the renowned Fire Tower.<\/p>\n \u201cJust as riders approach the top of this climb they will be faced with a little sting in the tail that will test even the more skilled of riders or may produce a brief portage for the less skilled,\u201d says Wood.<\/p>\n Participants of the 2015 Sappi Howick MTB Classic on Sunday 7 June can look forward to a complete rework of the 40km race route that includes vast stretches of the region’s renowned single track trails. \/\/ Photo credit: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnce at the top, the next 6km or so are awesome as the course heads towards the Karkloof region via some of their magnificent trail network!\u201d<\/p>\n Arguably, the best part of the ride then starts at the second water table at the 24km mark with 14 of the final 16km stretching out along the trails of region\u2019s renowned single track including stretches through some of Sappi\u2019s plantations in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is some technical rocky riding to start with, then it opens up to some wonderful flowing single track where you will come across the short, sharp, rocky climb Bramble Dip \u2013 gear down and take the challenge head on, not many people can say they have ridden Bramble Dip!\u201d encourages Wood.<\/p>\n At the bottom of the decent riders then turn and work their way back to the Curry’s Post road crossing via many of the original trails such as Bonga Bonga Dip, Fast Track, Zig Zags, Rock and Roll and Harry’s before taking on Greg\u2019s, Tickety Boo and Mr Nice Man\u2019s once they\u2019ve crossed the road.<\/p>\n \u201cA short sprint on the tar back to the school takes riders to the finish line where they will know they have done a tough yet hugely rewarding 40km ride!\u201d says Wood.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not the fittest person around and I went for a test ride on the route recently and while I was a little out of breath in the latter stages, I was still able ride the route quite comfortably and cope with its challenges throughout,\u201d added Beard.<\/p>\n For those a little less fit, less adventurous or less willing, the 19km Sappi Intermediate Ride also offers cyclists a memorable time in the saddle while the 10km Family Fun Ride is the ideal chance for the younger members of the family to enjoy their slice of the action.<\/p>\n The 2015 Sappi Howick MTB Race takes place from Howick High School on Sunday 7 June with participants able to choose from the 10km Family Ride, 19km Sappi Intermediate Ride and the 40km Sappi Howick Classic. Entries can be submitted online via www.roag.co.za<\/a> by 3 June and more information can be found at www.howickmountainbiking.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mountain bike enthusiasts taking part in this year\u2019s Sappi Howick MTB Race on Sunday 7 June \u2013 the oldest event on KZN MTB\u2019s calendar \u2013 are already looking forward to trying out the all-new 40km Classic route at this year\u2019s race. The revised course is still set to offer riders a raw and unplugged mountain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3994,825,1658,3993],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-19959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-howick-mtb-club","tag-kzn-mtb","tag-sappi-howick-mtb","tag-sappi-howick-mtb-race"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19959","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=19959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19959"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=19959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n