The second leg of the Junior Eliminator Series 2016 is all set to kick off in one week in KwaZulu Natal on Thursday 16 June(Youth Day). There are two fantastic courses designed to offer plenty of action for riders and spectators. This year sees the series returning to Northwood Boys High school, Durban North as well as its first visit to Thomas More College, Kloof.
Last year saw 27 school teams being represented, but a runaway battle at the top of the leader board with a very close tussle between Northwood Boys High School, Thomas More College and Maritzburg College with Northwood just edging ahead to walk away victorious and defend their 2014 title. Northwood are now two times defending champs, do they have it in them to get the hat trick or will Thomas More or Maritzburg steal their thunder? However, with the addition of the u/10 and u/12 age groups it leaves the title chase wide open and the series is set for a thrilling finale.
Eliminator is a short course heat racing format of mountain biking, riders race four at a time around a course roughly 800m in length – just one lap, a flat out sprint interval. The top two finishers advance to the next round whilst the bottom two are eliminated from the competition. Every rider gets to race a minimum of two times per event(no elimination in round one).
Riders get one hour to practice the lap once they have registered giving them the opportunity to learn sections and obstacles to then work on their race strategy. This time also allows “newer” riders to potentially overcome a fear or learn a new skill like riding down a set of stairs or confidently riding over a bridge or through a whoop section.
The great part of the Eliminator Series is it puts all riders on a more level playing field as most riders(especially as they have youth on their side) can be competitive over the short distance and there is no real “favourite” to win as racing is tight and the smallest mistake can cost you a position but open the door for a new podium contender. It is also great for newer participants to the sport as they dont get “left behind” and are urged on and encouraged by fellow team mates and spectators as they make their way around the course.
As with all events, they are not possible without the support of sponsors and we are thankful to Trek Bikes, Fox Racing, Skullcandy, OGIO, Frog Bikes and GoPro for making this series possible.
Entries are open and can be done online at www.onemovement.co.za It is only R150 which covers both events, all entrants will be entered into the raffle draws at each event to stand a chance to get their hands on some of the amazing product supplied by our sponsors.
