For those not part of our Facebook Page, here is a copy of my post from last night - it is long, but needed to be, as there is a whole lot of GREAT folk out there, who deserve so much more recognition and gratitude, than what they are getting. I raced myself, and just like in the past, the Vets, Sub-Vets, and Masters' start chute had the best gees of them all - was awesome to say the very least ! "Its all over folks - two days of exquisite XCO racing, but more importantly participation. Close to 600 entries over the two days, with increased numbers in each age category. XCO world wide has become one of the most keenly followed disciplines, and after this weekend, there could be no doubt as to exactly how much hunger there is among riders for some lung burning fun. As club, we are extremely proud of WP MTB'ing who we have officially partnered with, to ensure that provincial racing in XCO, Enduro and Marathon can not only continue this year, but also grow, as seen from 2018. The first WP and SA Cup event of this weekend was a huge success from so many angles, and we want to congratulate each participant, from the lovely young boys and girls in the nippers, right up to the well matured folk in the grand masters, who continue to live by the old saying "age is just a number". The weekend came to a close today with close to 30 internationals / foreigners lining up next to SA's best. Some of the world's best elite men and ladies, were again going at it, and frankly, it still feels surreal seeing the likes of Briton's Annie Last, Hungary's Barbara Benko, Kathrin and brother Matthias Stirnemann from Switzerland, Simon Andreassen from Denmark ,Sam Gaze and Ben Oliver from NZ, and World Marathon Champ and ranked 2nd in the world in UCI XCO, Henrique Avancini from Brazil, race our very own Mariske Strauss and Alan Hatherly, on our own trails. #superproud It was heartwarming to hear today's winner Henrique Avancini say in a post race interview that the course was on par in terms of elevation gain, and offered many similar challenges as one would expect from an UCI event. The sentiment was echoed by Alan Hatherly : "The course at Bloemendal Wine Estate is really tough. There’s a lot of climbing per lap that is wide open so overtaking is superb. Makes for proper racing because there’s no ‘easy’ moment. The course has awesome flow with some fun obstacles and jumps to style it out for the spectators on route." In closing, a weekend like this does not just happen, that I can promise you. I want to offer a MASSIVE thank you and applaud the voluntary organisation Western Province Mountain Biking Commission, mostly made up of club members as well, who have not slept much in the last few weeks - some of them turned themselves inside out. It takes a VERY special person to do voluntary work, which for the most is hardly unseen by the general public. To each one of you, as supporting partner and fellow voluntary organisation, we salute you ! Big shout out to SRAM, for again stepping in as XCO title sponsor this year. Hosting venue Bloemendal Wine Estate for their continues support and sharing our vision, you guys remain awesome, and thank you for allowing us to make dreams come true. A special word of thanks to Liné Penderis for all her time, effort and organisational assistance in helping history get made this weekend with a first ever UCI accredited SA Cup on our trail network. For the club members and others who supported all the riders and got sunburn yesterday, and stood in the rain today, thank you - you were part of something very special.....if you were not there, you surely missed out on some sick tail-whips, huge air, fighting spirit, watt bombs upon watt bombs, sportsmanship, camaraderie, gees, top notch racing, smiles, tears, good looking ladies NOT taking B lines (sorry had to try and subtly get this in), and buckets loads of personal satisfaction from all riders and abilities, for achieving their goals. Tygerberg MTB Club - Committed to making a difference !! #tygerbergmtbclub #wpmtb #memories #givingback #partnership"
