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I’ve been lucky enough to have done most of the major mountain bike stage races in South Africa, but for some reason I’ve never made it to sani2c. This year the stars finally aligned and I was able to experience the grand daddy of three-day mountain bike stage races in South Africa for the first time. The Details The KAP sani2c is a three-day, 270-kilometre mountain bike stage race held annually in KwaZulu-Natal. Founded in 2005 by ‘Farmer’ Glen Haw, it starts near the foot of the Sani Pass in the southern Drakensberg and finishes on the shores of the […] View full article

Will be interesting to see how the roads out there held up to this weather onslaught. Their drainage is generally good but they'll probably be heavily rutted from the water runoff. A suspension fork will be a blessing.

Not to mention how truly horrible it would have been to ride it. Most of us need a parent to say, "Don't be an idiot, of course you can't do that" every now and then.

considering how fast you went there I think gone are the days when you were a roadie that can't handle his bike properly

I have one lonely Formula brake lying in a box, post a picture of yours, maybe it's the same.

No surprise. The three bridges crossing the Kammanassie river by Daskop have all been washed away, so no cycling over the river is possible. Emergency vehicle access is also cut off which makes it a non starter. My parents farm right by that section and they're cut off from leaving the farm other than 4x4 wheeling over the farm into the neighbouring farm. That and the fact that there is no viable cell phone towers still standing makes hosting an event a legal quagmire.

Might be a few 36One manne spilling over to this race now!

great stage, not the usual boring type thanks to Movistar setting a ferocious pace for their climber that can sprint. UAE mixing it up in the end too so that Jan Christen could claim the Maglia Rosa but I reckon he went too early which setup Navaez perfectly for the win. Happy UAE did not take it as they would've had 3 riders to control all day every day they held onto the jersey. Any other day I reckon those big sprinters survives.

Ya all good man. My post was really just me thinking out loud about the 3 possible outcomes you mentioned. Option 1 sounded most likely. Turns out the guys I fancied for the win got dropped about 3km into the climb. Good stage though.

Looking forward to this race.

Gallows single track was rad for me. Even as a roadie. that being said I don’t think my girlfriend would have enjoyed it.

thanks just caught that now on the replay.

I would say, go for mullet of the XLPR option. Depth of range isn’t there with the XPLR Groupset, especially if you want to have a bigger chainring for the chance you take it out on the road. Here’s my SuperX stock standard, but with the XX Derailleur, Cassette and 45mm tyres. I think it is 8kg with pedals, cages and computer mounts. Will double check tomorrow. I slapped some 30c road tyres (blew up to 35mm on those rims) and a 50t ring for a TTT a couple of months ago and it worked great. It’s an aero bike, but with some great compliance so when things get rough, it’s still comfy. Obviously not on the same level as Topstone though. You cannot fit a fork on SuperX, but the Topstone is fork corrected. Clearance is 51/47mm, but that’s super conservative, you can easily go 50mm on the rear and 55mm on the front. Enjoy bike shopping!

Got dropped just over a km from the top of the climb, spent aaaaages chasing back with Ben Turner (who dropped back to help him), Gee (puncture) and a couple of others. Would have taken a lot of unnecessary energy. Hopefully just one of those bad days and legs will come to the party tomorrow…

Agreed - Dryland know what they’re doing. Sad to miss it.

He never lost time, did I miss something on/off camera?

Bernal didn't have a great day did he

Was not suggesting a GC contender would break away on the climb and attempt a solo ride to the finish, it’s hardly a tough climb for that, nor was I suggesting that Jonas would want the scraps of Bonus Seconds but more for those targeting top 5-10 on GC , Jonas will/can take minutes in the mountains if he so wishes to but it would be better for him to not go too deep and save something for the tour if that is even possible.

no debate necessary The right call was made in the end

I’m after a Formula C1 front brake lever and caliper. The XT brake has given up the ghost and the right brake is already a C1 as the XT brake failed there a long time ago 😊 Happy to pay so my kiddo can have a matching, working set of brakes!

Till next year...

The puncheurs had their way today and at, roughly 5 w/kg, they could distance the men with the big thighs and top end speed. The GC guns kept their powder dry because tomorrow will be a good test with a 4000 m + vert tomorrow. And 3 weeks is a long time.

Sucks to be an organiser. Even if they could get detours for the route .... they NEED an event permit. 1. These detours would most likely not be accessible to emergency services 2. With a "state of emergency" declared, emergency services are barely coping, so Council can hardly justify assigning staff to a sports event during this time. SUCKS to be a paid up participant !!! Even worse for those that already booked and paid for travel and accommodation .... And then the reality hits when a Hubber's sister has to be recued by boat off her house's roof this morning (granted, closer to Worcester). All round these storms have reaked havoc.

After extensive consultation with the relevant authorities, route inspections, landowners and our title sponsor, 36ONE Asset Management, Dryland Event Management has taken the extremely difficult decision to cancel the 2026 edition of The 36ONE MTB Challenge scheduled for 22 May 2026. The unprecedented flooding, infrastructure destruction and ongoing severe weather conditions across the Klein Karoo and Garden Route regions have rendered large sections of the event route unsafe and in many cases impassable. Numerous gravel roads, river crossings and drainage structures between Oudtshoorn, De Rust, Calitzdorp, Louvain and the Swartberg region have been severely damaged, while many rivers remain in […] View full article