International riders like Andrew Neethling (Giant) participated at the Simonsberg Enduro, which formed part of the Delheim Outdoor weekend, held on the 23rd & 24th of November near Stellenbosch.
The biggest South African Enduro to date was won on the Sunday by Darren Stow, with Jonty Neethling in second place and Andrew Neethling in third. Riders raved about the trails built by Dirtopia, which will open soon for all to enjoy. Dirtopia will have a summer program of outrides to the region and special open days, so keep a look-out on www.dirtopia.co.za.
A record number of entries were also received at the Delheim Trail Run on the Saturday, while a nightride took the experience to a whole new level of MTB. Sunday morning’s funride took the long route to the Quoin Rock & Muratie trails as well.
Dirtopia has opened their second Trail Centre at Welgevonden to service the large Welgevonden mountain bike (& trail running) community with trail permits, bike sales, wash & lube, Giant bike rentals, bike accessories, outdoor gear and sport supplies. It is also more accessible for tourists and they can even rent a bike and ride to the Delvera Trail Centre while tasting wines and visiting the amazing restaurants of the region.
This December it will be 15 years since Dirtopia’s first event – 1998’s Downhill in Du Toitskloof and in 2014 it will be twenty years since Meurant Botha (founder of the company) started helping Village Cycles with events like the Caledon National. Since then Meurant has built trails far and wide and already in the nineties started building trails in the Simonsberg area.
The new Simonsberg routes is a joint initiative between Dirtopia and local landowners, with the Simonsberg Conservancy being the main beneficiary of all permits sales, as it has been with the existing Delvera trails.
Since 1998, Dirtopia has been a key driver of the MTB industry through events, trail construction and profiling the sport. The new Trail Centre continues this drive and is sure to enhance the fantastic Stellenbosch mountain bike trail opportunities even further. The scenic vistas of the Simonsberg will fast become one of the most sought-after single track trails in the Cape.
