![\"ccs-62657-0-91437800-1415888225.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-91437800-1415888225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nTIB Insurance’s Andrew Hill (front) is relishing the opportunity to make it three wins from three in the 40km Half Marathon MTB clash when the 2014 STIHL Sharks Trail Adventure takes place on Sunday 7 December. \/\/ Photo: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media.<\/span><\/p>\n The upper highway local\u2019s superior knowledge of the trails gives him a strong advantage annually however it is the TIB Insurance rider\u2019s embodiment of the event\u2019s unique end of year, festive atmosphere that has proven to be his greatest lucky charm.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be there again this year; the Sharks Trail Adventure is definitely on my radar,\u201d confirms Hill.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve won there a couple of years in a row now so it would be cool to try win it again!<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also such a great event as a whole; a great family atmosphere and the perfect end of year day out for everyone so I\u2019m looking forward to heading up to Summerveld again in a couple of weeks\u2019 time,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Having edged out good friends and regular training partners Leeroy Emslie and Quattro\u2019s Tyron Bird in 2012 and 2013 respectively, Hill is looking forward to another competitive outing despite many of his fellow elite riders engaged in off-season breaks and pre-season programmes.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of guys are enjoying a bit of a break now and will start their base training period in a couple of weeks so while I won\u2019t exactly be in top form in December, it\u2019s nice to take part in the Sharks Trail Adventure for some excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cI always factor the race in as part of my base training programme and see it as a very good training session.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill knows the region\u2019s trails well but believes the course builders\u2019 efforts to keep the route fresh and entertaining annually means there will always being something new and exciting for participants to look forward to.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of guys ride through the area quite often throughout the year but the way in which the course builders link all those sections come race day can make the route seem brand new.<\/p>\n \u201cSummerveld is also such a perfect venue to stage an event like this and if it\u2019s a clear day, the views of Shongweni Dam and the surrounding valleys are amazing and really add immensely to the whole experience participants enjoy,\u201d says Hill.<\/p>\n Once again Hill is set to line up on the 40km half marathon start line however the TIB Insurance star looks forward to seeing a continued growth in numbers throughout the day\u2019s various events, particularly the 10km Family and 19km Intermediate rides.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more people we have entering events like this, the better it is for the entire sport so it\u2019s great to see all the races of such a great event continuing to grow.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is something for everyone at the Sharks Trail Adventure and hopefully we\u2019ll see plenty of people taking part in this year\u2019s event once again, regardless of whether it is the 40km event or the 10km Family ride or even the trail runs.\u201d<\/p>\n Having recently completed the FNB Wines2Whales stage race in the Western Cap and now midway through his off season, this weekend\u2019s final leg of the 2014 Quattro ROAG Series \u2013 the Mountain Splendour Mania in the central Drakensberg \u2013 will be Hill\u2019s final race outing before his Shongweni triple crown challenge in three weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n The 2014 STIHL Sharks Trail Adventure takes place at Summerveld Estate, Shongweni on Sunday 7 December. Entries can be submitted via www.roag.co.za<\/a> and more information is available at www.sharkstrailadventure.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Andrew Hill is looking forward to challenging for a third consecutive triumph in the STIHL Sharks Trail Adventure\u2019s 40km half marathon mountain bike race when the 2014 edition of the popular family day out takes place at Summerveld Estate in Shongweni on Sunday 7 December. TIB Insurance’s Andrew Hill (front) is relishing the opportunity to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[476,2031],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-20732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-andrew-hill","tag-sharks-trail-adventure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20732","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=20732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20732"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=20732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}