![\"ccs-2-0-84332100-1398868847.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-2-0-84332100-1398868847.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAnika Langvad (left) and Ariane Kleinhans of Team RECM approach the finish line on Stage 2 of the 2013 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek at the summit of the Swartberg Pass. In 2014, the first women’s team to the summit will earn the equal prize money to the first men’s team to the summit. With a total of R250000 (about US$ 25000), it’s the richest stage in mountain bike stage racing.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo credit: Zoon Cronje\/Nikon<\/strong><\/p>\n The seven-day race, which follows a different route each year, will take participants over 550km through three different eco-regions in South Africa\u2019s Western Cape province \u2013 the Great Karoo, the Klein Karoo and the Garden Route. This year\u2019s edition will be the first as a UCI-graded event, which ensures minimum standards relating to the racing end of the field, including prize money amount and depth, as well the awarding of UCI rankings points to top finishers.<\/p>\n While the new UCI status of the event will attract more big name professionals and offer improved benefits to the top racers, the bulk the entrants, who are simply aiming to complete the event, will continue to enjoy the Cape Pioneer Trek\u2019s trademark benefits, including the warm small-town hospitality.<\/p>\n The route for the 2014 edition will be announced next month. Although it changes every year, it will still include event\u2019s trademark mountaintop finish of Stage 2 (Day 3), which sees riders ascend the formidable, majestic Swartberg Pass. This will be the first year that the first women\u2019s team to the summit finish will receive the same prize money as the men.<\/p>\n Bridge, the event\u2019s title sponsor, has committed a total of R250 000 (about US$25 000 to the stage, with the first men and women\u2019s teams each receiving R125 000 (about US$12 500). It\u2019s the richest single stage prize in mountain bike racing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m absolutely delighted about the news of the equal prize money on the big mountain-top finish stage,\u201d said Swiss Marathon champion, Ariane Kleinhans, who, with RECM teammate Anika Langvad, won the event\u2019s Queen Stage and the women\u2019s race overall in 2013.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a demonstration of the organisers\u2019 respect towards us ladies\u2019 performances and their motivation to increase female participation in our great sport. Equal prize money will attract more top riders to the race and push us to a higher level. Us ladies will definitely do our best to make it an exciting race,\u201d added Kleinhans.<\/p>\n \u201cEach year we fine-tune the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek to be even more rider-focussed. Our riders aren\u2019t only our clients, but also have become our friends and we want to ensure they feel as at home and comfortable at the Cape Pioneer Trek as possible,\u201d said Carel Herholdt of Dryland Event Management, the company that founded and manages the event.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek, our focus is on quality, not quantity. Our stages aren\u2019t long just for the sake it. They\u2019re designed to offer as much reward as they offer challenges. They\u2019re real mountain biking routes that include some of the Karoo and Klein Karoo\u2019s greatest natural spectacles,\u201d added Herholdt.<\/p>\n The sixth edition of the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race, scheduled to take place in South Africa from 12-18 October, 2014, is set to deliver a next-level experience for its 500 entrants, both the podium chasers and those aiming just to complete the event within the cut-off time. Anika Langvad (left) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[30],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-cape-pioneer-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21150","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=21150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21150"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}