Events

Final SA MTB Cup race set to light up Hayterdale Trails

· By Press Office · 0 comments

The fourth and final round of the 2014 Southern African Mountain Bike Cup Series takes place at Hayterdale Trails near Addo in Port Elizabeth, from 21-22 June.

ccs-41808-0-37233600-1403183609.jpg Image credit: Morne Marais

The last event in the National Cross-country (XCO) and Downhill (DHI) Cup Series for 2014 will see riders in some of the age categories jostling for the final top positions in the 2014 Series log.

Hayterdale Trails is situated in the Zuurberg Mountains, close to the Addo Elephant National Park, and boasts an extensive network of dedicated MTB singletrack trails. The team at Hayterdale Trails have been hard at work to ensure a spectacular event with top-notch XCO and DHI courses.

Cross-country riders will race along a 4.2km track with 130m of climbing per lap. Riders will tackle drop-offs, a rock garden, steep and technical climbs, a series of sharp bermed corners dotted with some jeep track sections. Features such as Trevors Surprise, Richard’s Steps and the Tree Drop are bound to keep competitors focused throughout the lap.

The downhill track is 1.77km in length with a vertical drop of 240m, and can be divided into three main sections: the top, middle and bottom sections. The top section offers gently winding singletrack between trees and bush with small berms. The 6m double-jump marks the start of the middle section, and clearing this jump will give you the speed you need for the flat middle section. The bottom section has a scaffold ramp with a 2m vertical drop into a rock garden. And of course, the 8m high Game Fence jump to finish off your run.

Prize money and UCI Points
Although this is the last event in the series for 2014, it is worth noting that being a Category 1 UCI event, as all of the 2014 races have been, it attracts high UCI points as well as a prize purse well in excess of any of the large marathon races in South Africa. It is also a huge opportunity for riders to accumulate UCI points towards qualification for Rio Olympics 2016, which will enable South Africa to field the best team possible.

The XCO carries a UCI Category 1 rating for the Elite men and women, while the DHI carries a UCI Category 2 rating for the Elite men.

As this event forms part of the UCI Junior World Series, juniors will also be able to earn UCI points towards the Junior World Ranking. In order for downhill Junior riders to be eligible to earn UCI points, all Juniors need to race in the Elite Category – the UCI Elite Category is 17+ and includes Juniors.

Online pre-entries are now closed, but late entries will be accepted at registration.

For any further details regarding accommodation and race info, as well as detailed course descriptions, please visit www.mountainevents.co.za.

Detailed start times for the various categories can be found by viewing the Southern African Mountain Bike Cup Series 2014: Standard Programme of Events, which can be downloaded here: http://www.cyclingsa…ILE00003152.pdf

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