Events

Mountain biking comes home with the Pennypinchers Origin of Trails

· By Matt · 4 comments

Stellenbosch’s status as the mountain biking mecca of South Africa will be further enhanced with the introduction of the Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails, a two day mountain bike stage race that will take place on Friday, 29 and Saturday, 30 November 2013.

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The Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails, a two day mountain bike stage race, will debut in Stellenbosch on Friday, 29 and Saturday, 30 November 2013. Seen here (from left to right): Bobby Behan (Director, Specialized Bicycles, Africa), Theodore De Klerk (CEO: SteinBuild) and Michael Meyer (Managing Director of Stillwater Sport & Entertainment). Photo Credit ~ Cherie Vale / NEWSPORT MEDIA

A mountain bikers’ dream come true, the Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails will combine a vast network of world class trails with beauty and exclusivity. Riders can look forward to experiencing a spectacular combination of single-track that to date has been unknown to the mountain biking community of Stellenbosch.

According to Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sport & Entertainment, mountain biking enthusiasts can look forward to an unforgettable experience at the end of November. “Stellenbosch promotes riding and running trails that are stunningly beautiful and diverse. The Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails will combine routes that are accessible to riders with trails that are currently inaccessible. The goal behind the Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails is to offer participants an unbelievable cycling experience, while raising funds to further trail building in Stellenbosch. A large portion of every entry fee will go directly towards trail building and local organizations aligned around these trails,” says Meyer.

On the team that is building the trails he added: “We have put together a very exciting team to build a very special route for the riders. Hendrico Burger from the Stillwater team is responsible for some of South Africa’s most notable mountain bike routes and is one of the first mountain bikers to take up the sport locally in the mid 80’s, and Corrie Muller, a champion mountain biker and local dentist, are teaming up to ensure a very special experience”. Riders can expect the final route announcement on Thursday, 22 August.

One of the driving forces behind trail building in Stellenbosch, Bobby Behan (Director of Specialized Bicycles Africa) is extremely supportive of the event. “The goal of the Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails stems from a collective desire to develop seriously fun trails. At the end of the day this is what cycling is all about, having fun. Over time the goals have become more focused, for example, developing more challenging all-mountain trails, a cross-country circuit in Coetzenburg and of course the foundation of maintaining and developing the existing trail network. Long term we’d like people to associate Stellenbosch as one of the world’s cycling destinations, which will attract world-class athletes who train here and develop all-round cycling tourism both local and international. We set the bar high with these goals, however, the impact of these trails will first benefit the local rider, who will be spoiled for choice and this is the primary goal. Specialized really believes that cycling can solve many of the worlds’ problems including health and well-being, therefore the development of Stellenbosch as a cycling friendly town bodes well for the long-term future,” says Behan.

The proud title sponsor of the Origin Of Trails, Pennypinchers is a leading supplier of building materials and home improvement products. The Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails is presented by Stillwater Sport & Entertainment, South Africa’s leading lifestyle sport organizing company. Well known events under the Stillwater Sport & Entertainment umbrella include: FNB Wines2Whales MTB Events, Totalsports XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT® SPORT and ProNutro AfricanX Trailrun presented by New Balance to name just a few.

Event Information:

The Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails is an individual two day mountain bike stage race.

STAGE ONE: Friday, 29 November 2013

Distance: +- 71km or +- 38km

Start: Church Street (Stellenbosch)

Finish: Paul Roos Gymnasium (Stellenbosch)

STAGE TWO: Saturday, 30 November 2013

Distance: +- 68km or +- 42km

Start: Church Street (Stellenbosch)

Finish: Paul Roos Gymnasium (Stellenbosch)

Entries Open: Friday, 09 August 2013

Final Route Announcement: Thursday, 22 August 2013

Follow us on Twitter: @OriginOfTrails

Like our Facebook page: Origin Of Trails

For more information on the Pennypinchers Origin Of Trails please contact Stillwater Sport & Entertainment on 086 138 3591, email entries@stillwatersports.com or visit www.stillwatersports.com.

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Comments

waveduke

Aug 6, 2013, 10:25 AM

Mmmh - the race description looks promising - could be a really nice event.

But the entry fee??? R1800 per rider excluding accommodation?

Shebeen

Aug 6, 2013, 10:38 AM

same thought for me, but not sure if there's a surcharge for the trailbuilding or just general hype.

 

I'd like to know what the plan is with all these new trails. If they're really awesome, but off limits/expensive then they are going to get poached. it's a student town and the attitudes filter up from there!

JGR

Aug 6, 2013, 10:45 AM

R900 a day ... i dont understand events like this. A single day event costs between R250 - R300 a day but the moment its more than one day the prices per day triples? Would really like to give a stage race ago but there is hardly anything priced well enough to give it a chance or a first timer.

porqui

Aug 11, 2013, 5:27 PM

Moertoe!

 

This old ballie needs a sponsor!

 

Why oh why! - are we making this exclusive?

 

We get ripped off because we allow ourselves to get ripped off.

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