WESTERN CAPE – Western Cape will play host to the 2014 African Continental Mountain Bike Championships, which will kick off the 2014 mountain biking season in South Africa, from January 25 to 26, 2014.
The cross-country (XCO) and downhill (DHI) disciplines will take place at the Willowbridge Shopping Centre on Saturday January 25, and at Contermanskloof on Sunday, January 26 respectively.
There is good news for riders wishing to participate as Cycling SA-MTB has confirmed that there will not be a participation quota, and that all riders who wish to enter, may enter. Cycling SA has opened the African Continental Champs up for maximum participation to create greater opportunities and to be of greater benefit to our riders and to our sport.
The Elite, u.23 and junior UCI category riders must compete in SA National Federation kit. The Sub-Veteran, Veteran, Masters, Youth, Sub Junior, Sprogs and Nippers will be competing in the Africa Challenge.
Now four years old, the popular Slammer track at Willowbridge has been an inclusion on the SA National XCO Cup Series calendar for the past two seasons. Located on the banks opposite the Willowbridge Shopping Centre, the location provides easy spectator viewing along most of the course. Track builder Bryan Strauss and his team of volunteers have been working hard to create a course that is suitable for all the various age categories, yet challenging enough for the top riders. Two different tracks will be used on the day: the shorter track for Nippers, and the longer track for all the other categories.
The slopes of Contermanskloof in Durbanville will come alive once again for the DHI competition. The trail venue is a 20-minute drive from Cape Town, and the working farm’s mountain bike trails welcome visitors on a regular basis on the weekends. Chris Nixon describes the course as steep and fast with lots of corners. The first few 100m are relatively tame, and then suddenly steep with some switchbacks. Riders will also face a road gap with a steep landing; a tricky rock garden, a few jumps and a tabletop jump right before the finish. The course drops 236m in 1.29km.
Entries are open, and riders can enter online. Online pre-entries close on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. Late entries will be accepted at registration for both the XCO and DHI, at an additional charge of R50 per entry.
