{"id":22307,"date":"2012-06-15T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-15T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/the-stage-set-for-great-2012-sappi-scottburgh-mtb-race-r187\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T12:39:34","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T12:39:34","slug":"the-stage-set-for-great-2012-sappi-scottburgh-mtb-race-r187","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/the-stage-set-for-great-2012-sappi-scottburgh-mtb-race-r187\/","title":{"rendered":"The stage set for great 2012 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scottburgh \u2013 A last minute flood of online entries has seen the field for the Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race on Saturday surge towards record levels, with South African Olympic medal hopeful Burry Stander and his new wife Cherise topping the bill.<\/p>\n

A last minute sprinkle of rain has helped to settle the track, leaving riders and the organisers looking forward to a popular outing along the KZN South Coast, and a far cry from the drama-laden debut of this now well-established race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first ever Scottburgh MTB Race had to be cancelled after sudden flash floods saw the river burst its banks, destroy bridges and various others structures in the area,\u201d said event director and course designer Flavio Scarpa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the heavy rain started on Wednesday evening flashbacks from that first year came racing back! We woke up to clear blue skies this morning though and we\u2019ve had guys out checking the entire course and they\u2019re very happy with the state the track is in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything the rain has probably helped smooth things out just a bit and will harden a couple of patches as well. Besides, what\u2019s a mountain bike race without the odd bit of muddy anyway?\u201d he chuckled.<\/p>\n

The confirmation of Olympic medal hopeful and South African mountain biking superstar Burry Stander\u2019s participation has caused quite a stir amongst many of the local mountain biking community, none more so than Scarpa himself.<\/p>\n

\"12NatStanderRockGarden.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite heading off to Canada on Sunday Specialized Racing’s Burry Stander wasn’t going to miss out on the rare opportunity to race on home turf two weekends in a row and is relishing the chance to tackle this weekend’s Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Darren Goddard\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI used to ride this area with friends and I always said it would be so awesome to put together an event in the area,\u201d said Scarpa. \u201cSo when I got the call from Billy Harker (former event director) five years ago saying he wanted to arrange a race I was over the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the event has progressed over the years I\u2019ve always said how I\u2019d love for some of our top riders to come give the course a go so when I heard Burry (Stander) was taking part this year it was a dream come true and now to have his wife Cherise joining us as well really is something special!\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

As he makes any last minute adjustments and touch ups ahead his departure for next weekend\u2019s World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada on Sunday Stander (Specialized Racing) is expected to claim a comfortable victory in Sunday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

The race for second however is set to be one of epic proportions as defending champ Nick Porteous (Specialized\/Songo) looks set to have his work cut out for him with the likes of Shaun Peschl (Peschl Sports), Darryn Purtell (Duracycles), Evan \u2018Buck Norris\u2019 van der Spuy and Robert du Preez (both Varsity College) all hot on his and together the bunch will be ready to pounce should Stander happen to make a rare error.<\/p>\n

\"Sappi2011NickBruce.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With the presence of mountain biking superstar Burry Stander defending champ Nick Porteous (left) will have his hands full if he to make it two in a row at this weekend’s Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Gilham\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The ladies race is also set to be a great contest as the other half of the Stander newlyweds, Cherise Stander (ne\u00e9 Taylor) takes on last year\u2019s runner-up and fellow South Coast competitor Hayley Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Burry competing and the whole family being there I thought I\u2019d give it a go as well,\u201d said Stander. \u201cI\u2019m not on the road too much at the moment so this is perfect training for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sappi2011HayleySmith.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The young, talented, South Coast based rider Hayley Smith will be egaer to improve on her last year’s runner-up perfromance however she will enjoy stiff competition with the likes of Bianca and Tamika Haw, Angela Egeland and newlywed Cherise Stander (ne\u00e9 Taylor) at this weekend’s Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Gilham\/Gameplan Media<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love living on the South Coast, it\u2019s definitely the place to be in South Africa during winter, so I\u2019m definitely looking forward to racing close to home this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super slow on the single track though so I\u2019ll have to try make up as much time as possible on the dirt roads,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Despite being better known for her abilities on the road Stander won\u2019t deviate from her ever competitive nature and will look to continue her good MTB form this weekend after victory in last weekend\u2019s Sardine Classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always looking to try win,\u201d chuckled Stander. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody ever really goes out there trying to get second place but at the end of the day it is also just a training ride for me so a podium finish would be great!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Hayley Smith well, especially with her also being from the South Coast. She unfortunately had an asthma attack early on last weekend so she struggled a bit but she\u2019s so quick in the technical stuff and will definitely be one to look out for on Saturday,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Angela Egeland, who finished third at last weekend\u2019s Sardine Classic, will also add to the ladies mix however Stander and Smith\u2019s nearest rival is likely to appear in the form of defending champ Bianca Haw with her older sister Tamika not likely to be far behind.<\/p>\n

\"Sappi2011TamikaBianca.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ladies defending champ Bianca Haw (left and her sister Tamika will enjoy an epic battle in the women’s race along with talented youngster Hayley Smith and top road rider Cherise Stander (ne\u00e9 Taylor) at this weekend’s Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Gilham\/Gameplan Media<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Consistently producing top results in the paddling world of river marathons the young sisters are impressive mountain bikers as well, which can be expected considering their father is none other than Farmer Glen himself, Glen Haw.<\/p>\n

The legendary mastermind behind the revolutionary Sani2c and joBerg2c events will be on the start line on Saturday alongside his two daughters and his son Murray.<\/p>\n

The course for this year\u2019s event follows a very similar track to last year\u2019s with a lengthened stretch of single track through Sappi\u2019s Cannonbrae plantation being one of a few standout adaptions which participants can look forward too.<\/p>\n

The Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race takes place on Saturday 16 June. The event starts and finishes at Scottburgh main beach and riders can take part in either the 45km Classic, 28km Intermediate or the 10km Fun Ride. More info can be found at www.c4m.co.za<\/a> or www.roag.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scottburgh \u2013 A last minute flood of online entries has seen the field for the Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race on Saturday surge towards record levels, with South African Olympic medal hopeful Burry Stander and his new wife Cherise topping the bill. A last minute sprinkle of rain has helped to settle the track, leaving riders […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":53727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-22307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22307","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22307"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=22307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}