![\"ccs-2-0-25236500-1398329323.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-2-0-25236500-1398329323.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe FedGroup Berg & Bush will give teenagers their first real taste of stage racing by allowing them to take part in the two-day mountain bike event in the Central Drakensberg on October 18. Photo: Kelvin Trautman<\/span><\/p>\n According to Cycling South Africa regulations, riders aged 15 to 18 may only participate in a maximum of three stages, which cover no more than 60km per day.<\/p>\n Race director Gary Green said organisers had decided to shorten their first stage slightly to meet the maximum permissible distance and allow more families to take part.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are really excited about being able to cater for teenagers at this year\u2019s event.\u201d<\/p>\n Green said the two-day event had always been a family occasion, as children would usually accompany one parent as supporters, while the other rode.<\/p>\n He said the demand from eager parents to include their teenage children in the racing had become an annual issue.<\/p>\n \u201cPreviously the first stage was 63 kilometres, so special permission had to be obtained and many were disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n Green said there were very few other stage races on the national calendar that offered this opportunity for youth category riders.<\/p>\n \u201cThe two-day route is a perfect mixture of farm and cattle tracks, a few swooping smooth descents, some long climbs which aren\u2019t too steep, and shorter technical sections that are rideable for the average cyclist.\u201d<\/p>\n Free bike washes, roving mechanics, sundowner tours and a festive race village atmosphere round out the weekend experience.<\/p>\n He said the two-day option took a more light-hearted, sociable approach than the event\u2019s two senior signature races \u2013 the three-day Descent and Great Trek.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always had fun categories, with trophies presented for the top parent and child, husband and wife, and sibling teams.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year we are introducing a parent and teen prize category, as well as the Tread buffalo category for heavies!\u201d<\/p>\n As parents of three children who had all competed in provincial sports, Green said he and his wife Nicky appreciated the need to encourage teens to enjoy a healthy love of sport instead of \u201changing around in shopping malls\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can imagine a mum or dad\u2019s pride in being able to stand on the podium with their youngster.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully sharing this two-day adventure for the first time will be something the family remembers for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Enter at www.bergandbush.co.za.<\/p>\n Find the race on Facebook or follow @bergandbush and @FarmerGaryGreen.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The FedGroup Berg & Bush is set to give talented youngsters their first real taste of stage racing by allowing teenagers to participate in the two-day mountain bike event in the Central Drakensberg on October 18. The FedGroup Berg & Bush will give teenagers their first real taste of stage racing by allowing them to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[49,4703],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-berg-bush","tag-fedgroup-berg-bush"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21161","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=21161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21161"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}