Events

Unique seaside experience awaits 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB cyclists

· By Press Office · 0 comments

Mountain bikers from across the province are gearing up to join the South Coast’s off-road cycling fraternity at the 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race on Sunday 14 August for the 2016 edition of the popular cycling challenge.

The launch of the five-race South Coast MTB Series earlier this year has seen a heightened interest in the region’s major cycling events and the series’ ‘sea’ leg again promises to offer participants a unique, coastal MTB experience as they soak up the magnificent winter weather.

ccs-62657-0-53793600-1469106354.jpgMore broad smiles are set to be beamed on Sunday 14 August when the action from the 2016 edition of ever popular Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race, an event which doubles as the third and ‘sea’ leg of the the inaugural South Coast MTB Series, unfolds. Finish Line Photos/ Gameplan Media

Organised by the Cycling for Mobility team, the Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race serves as the primary fund raiser for the organization that strives to purchase and distribute wheelchairs to disabled members of underprivileged communities in the area.

Starting and finishing at Scottburgh’s picturesque Main Beach, all three of the event’s races – the 45km Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race, 28km Dash & Splash and the 10km Family Fun Ride – give riders a spectacular scenic cycling adventure as they wind their way through the region’s variety of terrains.

From the single track through Sappi’s Canonbrae plantations, meandering jeep track through the region’s sugar cane, a brief trip through the South Coast landmark, Crocworld and finally, the much-anticipated final stretch across the sand, over the lagoon and up to the finish line on the grass bank.

Routes also include some testing yet rewarding ascents totalling 800m of climbing together with some fast and furious downhill stretches as well as natural forest sections, switchbacks and some open district road riding.

While much of the top class event competitors have come to expect and enjoy in recent years remains the same, organisers continue to tweak things – such as the addition of a bridge over a particularly troublesome gully – to ensure they continually raise the bar.

Curiously, the event has never enjoyed a multiple men’s winner with the likes of Shaun Peschl and Andrew Warr (both Kargo Pro Cycling Team), Nic Porteous, the late Burry Stander, Evan van der Spuy, Tyronne White (PYGA Industries/Thule) and Brendon Davids (Trek SA) all having claimed just a solitary crown.

An equally remarkable trend exists on the women’s front, with a South Coast local having claimed victory in six of the seven Scottburgh clashes to have been staged to date since the event’s washed out debut in 2008.

Hayley Smith (Kargo Pro Cycling Team) remains the race’s only multiple champion while the likes of Bianca Haw (Red Bull/Specialized), Cherise Stander, Brenda Potts and Candice Parker-Dennison have also claimed the ladies’ spoils previously.

Over and above the 10km Family Fun Ride, the 2016 Sappi Scottburgh MTB Race also offers the family friendly Halfway Toyota Kids Zone, managed by teachers from the Umkomaas Pre-school, ensuring all members of the family can enjoy their dose of the South Coast’s fresh air and warm sunshine.

More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scottburgh-Mtb-Race/221420711386243.

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