South African marathon champion, Max Knox (New Holland/This Way Out) is eager to defend his title and continue his successful start to 2017 when he competes at Round 1 of the Nissan TrailSeeker Series at Legends MX, east of Pretoria on Saturday.
This year the route designers have promised more singletrack at Legends MX, reducing the amount of farm and gravel roads used. Photo Credit: www.zcmc.co.za
The 29-year-old Knox comes off a close second place and a victory at the first two rounds of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series and says he’s motivated to secure another win as he continues his build-up to the Absa Cape Epic later this month.
“I’m in a good place at the moment. My training is going very well and my results from the first two races of the year have given my confidence a good boost. Last year this race came down to a five-man sprint, which I managed to win. It was really exciting for the riders and the spectators,” said Knox.
“This race last year was actually the first Nissan TrailSeeker Series race I’d ever done. I thoroughly enjoy this series because the courses make the most of the local terrain and the Advendurance team puts together very well-organised events that cater for all mountain bikers,” added Knox.
“It’s quite a flat route at Legends MX, but with some very cool sections of singletrack. I did a XCO race in Paarl at the weekend where I had some tyre trouble for the last half, but was still able to confirm that my speed is good currently. It will be a good burn for me on Saturday as it’s my final race before the Cape Epic,” explained Knox.
As was the case last year, Knox is likely to face strong opposition the 2016 Nissan TrailSeeker Series winner, Nico Bell and his Team NAD Pro teammate, Gawie Combrinck.
“Gawie and I are in a big training block for the Cape Epic. This is the last big week of training so the legs are going to hurt on Saturday. But it’s also a very flat race so the pace will be high and it will probably end in a sprint like last year,” said Bell, who was pipped by Knox in the finish line dash last year.
Others sure to be in the podium-hunt mix include Arno du Toit (LCB Racing), Jan Withaar and Guylin van den Berg.
Last year’s women’s division winner, Robyn de Groot (Ascendis Health), will not be defending her title. There is still likely to be a fairly good turn out in the women’s race though, where the prize money is equal to that of the men.
In 2016 there were over 3000 participants at the Legends MX event, with a large number of women and young riders. The course is sufficiently challenging, but not considered technical and therefore ideal for riders still lacking confidence.
The 72km marathon includes 683 metres of accumulated elevation. The region between Pretoria and Bronkhorstspruit isn’t particularly hilly, but the route designers have ensured optimal use of the available gradient in order to deliver as balanced a course as possible. The 40km half-marathon has a total elevation gain of 379 metres.
There is also a 20km Fun Race and a 10km Fun Ride. Both take in some of the best sections of the Legends MX mountain bike trails.
As usual, the race village will cater well for spectators and offer a relaxing environment for riders and supporters before the start and after the finish. Entries will be available until prior to the start at www.trailseekerseries.co.za
Nissan TrailSeeker Legends MX schedule of events:
Venue: Legends MX, East of Pretoria
Registration:
Friday 3 March
10h00–16h00: Lynwood Cyclery, Pretoria
10h00–16h00: Centurion Cyclery, Centurion
10h00–16h00: Concept Cyclery, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg
Saturday 4 March
06h00-09h00: Legends MX
Race start times:
Saturday 4 March
06h45: Riders briefing
07h00: Start Marathon
08h15: Start Half-marathon
09h35: Start Fun Race
10h05: Start Fun Ride
12h00: Prize giving
For more information on Saturday’s event, visit www.trailseekerseries.co.za
