The new Susan Deacon 7 Passes Weekend MTB event taking place in April 2015 will start in George central and follow the famous 7 Passes road through indigenous forests, pine plantations and private farmlands.
“This truly is a route for everybody as it offers racing snakes the opportunity to blast out from the word go, whilst simultaneously offering a great challenge to mountain biking beginners,” said race director Pax Mosterd. “The route literally covers seven mountain passes. There will be three water points planned for the 77km long route, each at approximately 20km apart to make sure that the participants are well cared for.”
The inclusion of the Leeuwenbosch short route option, which starts at Karatara, will also afford juniors and those starting out in the sport the opportunity to race 36km. “The short route also ends at the Knysna waterfront – race village finish venue extraordinaire! A real wow factor is the Penny Pinchers floating bridge planned for the finish,” Mosterd continued. “This will make for a super exciting race finish and will find riders challenging themselves to make the bridge before the cut-off time.”
“Only riders who enter the long route and who finish within the predetermined time will be eligible to take on this dramatic race finish,” confirmed Knysna Waterfront Manager Sheldon Meese. “We are really excited about this event and specifically the floating bridge, which will add an exciting edge to the finish and make it super spectator-friendly.”
Title sponsor director Marcel Deacon of Susan Deacon properties decided to join this exciting initiative in a title sponsorship capacity. As an avid mountain biker himself, he fondly remembers a similar event years ago and is happy that the new event will include more single track on neighbouring farms to add a slight technical aspect to the predominantly district road route. The introduction of a few surprise sections through privately owned properties will be pleasantly received by participants as some of the tarred surfaces are being eliminated in this way.
Entries open on Friday 14 November 2014. Be sure to be one of the first 200 confirmed participants at this inaugural event in order to receive the limited edition Susan Deacon 7 Passes race item as well as a Knysna Waterfront voucher.
Enter at www.7passesmtb.co.za or go to www.gardenrouteevents.co.za for more info.
This one is in my bucket list.