@BigJohnSwan

Event Name: Swartberg 100 Gran FondoWhen: 27/04/2024Where: Prince Albert, Western CapeCategory: GravelTREK UCI Gravel world series event. 170km 2900m of ascent. Go to Event Page.

Event Name: Swartberg Gran FondoWhen: 29/04/2023Where: , Prince Albert, Prince Albert, Western CapeCategory: GravelThe Swartberg Gran Fondo is a 170 km gravel bike race starting and ending in Prince Albert, Western Cape. It incorporates Meiringspoort and Swartberg Pass. There are other events on the day such as the Staffeta (relay), Medio Fondo and the e-Fondo for e-Bikes. The e-bikes have their own race, and are not integrated with other standard cycling categories. The Swartberg Gran Fondo is part of the Trek UCI Gravel World Series. Go to Event Page.

Event Name: Karoo GravelGrinder - Graaff Reinet When: 27 April 2021 - 30 April 2021 Where: Graaff Reinet, Eastern Cape Category: MTB The Karoo GravelGrinder, a 3 day, cycling, social and culinary adventure you can experience with a group of colleagues or friends. Non-Rider companion tours and entertainment included. The routes are designed to accommodate mountain bikes, e-bikes and gravel bikes. Go to Event Page

Hi All, As yet we don't know how long the 100 persons max ruling on events will last. We are hoping it's for 30 days like the other rulings, but we will hear more today from the cabinet apparently. We are hoping that things will have changed in the positive in 6 weeks time, and that we will be able to run the event. regards John Swanepoel, Race Director

Event Name: Swartberg 100 Gran Fondo 2020 When: 25 April 2020 Where: Prince Albert, Western Cape Category: Cyclocross 171 kilometres, 3000 metres of ascent, 79 kilometres of gravel in 3 Sectors. The start gun goes at 7am (Sunrise) ​The last 2 km to the Swartberg summit is at an average gradient of 12% The summit is at the 150km mark, from there it's a nail-biting 20km descent into Prince Albert Cut off at the end is at 5pm ​Finishing this race is an achievement. Go to Event Page

Yup. Can't be helped.

Check out the snowfall on 7th Sept 2018, not a good time of year to run a race over the pass !

Gallery on Swartberg100.com is up and results have a link from the homepage, enjoy

Plenty of accommodation in luxury and standard tents. Brand new ablution block, grassed field. Non-Rider companions can also stay in tents, first come first served. Go back to your Entry Ninja entry and add tent or tents. Breakfasts supplied.

No worries ! Your "early commute incident" with your bike was one of the catalysts that made me decide to pull the trigger and offer a tented village to address the accommodation issue in the town. Hopefully we can create a great vibe on the event field with lots of food, beer and a big after-party. We are organising a pre-ride on Friday and post-ride picnic affair for the Sunday.

..... Entry

I did reply to a Roulof Hefer not sure if that's you?

Event Name: Karoo GravelGrinder September 21st 2018 When: 21 September 2018 - 24 September 2018 Where: Prince Albert and environs, Western Cape Category: MTB The Karoo GravelGrinder, a 3 day, social, cycling and culinary experience you can share with a group of colleagues or friends. The routes are designed to accommodate gravel, cyclocross and mountain bikes. E-bikes are also welcome. We've settled on around 60km per day , it's long enough to be a challenge but short enough to leave you with some energy to enjoy the afternoon. In addition we have shorter options on the same route if so desired. 3 days and nights Spectacular Swartberg Pass The Great Karoo expanses Different terrain each day Remote gravel roads and tracks Luxury accommodation Local cuisine and great wines Fully supported Your own group - great social Runs throughout the year Non-Rider companion packages available with daytime entertainment and touring Go to Event Page

Eddy, please contact us on swartberg100@mtbafrica.co.za with your details, we have a little gift for you, for next year...

Hi All, Accommodation in Prince Albert is getting booked up already for next year. Discounted early-bird entries end on June 30th. We are offering luxury and standard tents, but if you want to stay in a B&B you need to hurry. Make sure you are on that start line for next year.

Event Name: 2019 Swartberg 100 Fondo's When: 26 April 2019 - 28 April 2019 Where: Prince Albert, Western Cape Category: Cyclocross South Africa's Premier Gravel Bike Event ! Friday 26th 3pm a social pre-race ride / leg stretch. 5pm registration through to 8pm - Supper, refreshments and craft beer available on the event field. Saturday 27th 6:00 am Breakfast and late registration 7:00 am Gran Fondo start - 170km and 3000m of climbing 8:30 am Medio Fondo start - 55km farm roads, rolling hills Full catering with lots of food choice all day, beer tent 3pm prize-giving 6:30 pm supper is served 8:30 pm After-Party and music in the Main Marquee. Sunday 28th. 9:00 am Family breakfast / picnic ride - spectacular setting - all welcome. 8km or 16km or just come to the picnic in your car. 300 Luxury and Standard tents, hot showers and ablutions will be available on the event field. Entries open 15th of June 2018 The Swartberg100, in true South African tradition, will be one of the toughest Gran Fondo's in the world. We have created a course that goes back to the days of old when mountain passes were all gravel and brave cyclists climbed them on single speed bikes weighing in at 16 kg. A course that allows us to pit our modern training knowledge and technology against an old foe, a road surface that isn't always friendly.​ Choose your weapon carefully for this race, too much rubber could slow you down, too little could make the gravel sectors a lot tougher. Watch those gears, not enough top end and you'll spin out on the flats, not enough bottom end and you'll be walking up those 14% inclines. - Bike choice is key... Go to Event Page

Apologies we will update cut off times etc. shortly and send out a communication. Water points and cut-off times have shifted since 2016

No Worries, remember that an 11-40 cassette from Shimano is dished inward to take a MTB width axle. Road bike cassettes are mostly flat for a shorter axle. So the 11-40 will not fit on a road specific wheel build.

Hi All, There is a lot of discussion on what tyres and gear range to use on your weapon of choice for the race. I thought I would share what I am riding with, but please note I am above 100kg and of average fitness. Santa Cruz Stigmata Kenda 40c Flintridge on the front Vittoria 38C Adventure Trail on the rear All tubeless, 3 bar pressure at the back 2 bar at the front Wheelset Mavic Crossmax Groupset Shimano Ultegra 11 speed hydro Compact Crank 50 - 34 Wolflink on medium cage Ultegra Derailleur Shimano XT 11-40 Cassette I have climbed and descended Swartberg Pass on both sides many times and have had no issue with the cadence at about 6km/hr on the 14% inclines with 34-40. The descents get a little sketchy when the pass in bad condition but it is always manageable. Currently the pass is in very good condition, so I still feel comfortable at 50km/hr + on the straight sections of the descents. With a 50-11 on the flats, you tend to drop those on mountain bike gear ratios with ease. Remember there are many long "slightly down" gradients on the race. This is where the big gear ratios will make all the difference.

Event Name: Karoo GravelGrinder When: 7 September 2017 - 10 September 2017 Where: Prince Albert, Western Cape Category: MTB The Karoo GravelGrinder, a new format for competitive riding 3 days Spectacular Karoo Remote gravel roads and tracks Strava segments Luxury accommodation Local cuisine and great wines Different terrain everyday Navigate with supplied GPS unit Fully supported Your own group - great social Runs throughout the year http://www.mtbafrica.com/uploads/5/8/4/6/58469259/published/karoo-gravelgrinder-alt-logo_1.png?1495552388 South Africa has no shortage of incredible mountain bike stage races and road races to choose from. Most of these races are run in fairly populated areas for the simple reason that you need a high number of entrants to make staging the event worthwhile. Infrastructure, safety and logistics at these events are the major challenges facing the race organiser. The costs are prohibitive and to run the event successfully requires a large team of dedicated personnel. These phenomena tend to exclude remote inaccessible places where many of us would love to ride our bikes, unhindered by vehicles and crowds of other riders. Riding with a selected group of your friends and colleagues where there is a "crowd" but not so many that it becomes impersonal. And yes, you want at times to be a little competitive, after all that's part of the fun, it's why we train and try to improve our fitness, it's what motivates us to ride. What if we could race each other in a virtual sense? What if we could decide what time of year we do it and choose who you are going to experience it with? What if we could explore wide open spaces and different terrain each day fully supported by a dedicated team? Racing each other on a stage race, yet overnighting a central place in luxury accommodation with great local cuisine and wines. The Karoo GravelGrinder is your answer, an adventure stage race which runs on a regular basis throughout the year and has an annual leaderboard logged on Strava. It's not just a race, it's a social, cycling and culinary experience you can share with a group of colleagues or friends. The routes are designed to accommodate gravel and cyclocross bikes as well, so you can choose to ride it on anything from a full suspension mountain bike to a hardcore endurance road bike. We've settled on around 80km per day for the adventure race, it's long enough to be a challenge but short enough to race really hard each day if you so choose. In addition we have 40km options for social riders on the same routes. E-Bikes are welcome for social riders as long as Strava segments are not logged on them. Spouses and Spectators Welcome - special packages will be arranged Choose your weapon - get your gravel grind on Go to Event Page

I'm answering anyway. Mike Posthumus won last year on a Cannodale Synapse with 32C tyres. I think the Domane has enough clearance for 32C so you should be fine

Check my post on the Pass, you must definitely ride your Stigmata

The entries passed the 250 mark today, thank you all for your support. We will be organising a fun ride and breakfast/brunch on the Sunday after the race.. a little flat leg loosener and social just to get rid of the lactic acid from the day before. The route will go North into the serious desert terrain. Entries close in a few days, get your mates to come and be pioneers on SA's new racing format. The scenery and water-points will not disappoint. Sections of the fun ride in video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2HtNeb5Wy4

Hi All The descent of Swartberg Pass has a few sections that are rocky and loose, this year but are still rideable on a gravel bike, it is a small percentage of the overall descent. The first two gravel sectors are incredibly smooth, have a look the footage on youtube it's at the end of the first gravel sector https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toSDegI8bkw The footage is taken on board a Santa Cruz Stigmata. It would be a mistake if you already have a gravel bike to change to a full sus simply because of 1 or 2km of bumpy descent. The time you will lose is minimal by slowing down for that section against the overall time you will lose by riding a mountain bike. This event is fantastic on a endurance road bike / Cyclocross Bike / Gravel Bike. I will be chatting to the Prince Albert municipality to grade the pass if possible before the race. Enjoy the training John Swanepoel - Race Director

Event Name: The Swartberg100 Gran Fondo (Cancelled) When: 29 April 2017 Where: Prince Albert, Western Cape Category: Road Why a Gran Fondo? An Italian Tradition.... The term "Gran Fondo" loosely translated in Italian means "Big Ride"another name that is commonly used for an event of this type is"Cyclosportive", these events always involve long distances with tough climbs on difficult terrain that includes cobblestones or gravel sectors. The first Gran Fondo was the Nove Colli, held on July 12, 1970 in Cesenatico, Italy, home of Marco Pantani. Nove Colli means "Nine Hills". The Nove Colli now hosts 13500 riders every year, it is truly a race for everyone, professionals, amateurs and leisure cyclists alike. http://www.mtbafrica.com/uploads/5/8/4/6/58469259/7707539.png?318 http://www.mtbafrica.com/uploads/5/8/4/6/58469259/8414958.png?266 Gran Fondos are run on challenging courses that are usually between 120 km and 200 km and have between 2000m and 4000m of vertical climbing. Most events also offer a shorter and easier version. They are run like normal bike races. They have lead and follow cars or motorbikes, traffic marshalls, safety escort, police escort as well as technical and medical assistance. Aid stations along the course replace team cars. ​The Eroica Strade Bianche ("Heroic race of the white gravel roads") was created in 1997 as a Gran Fondo, a recreational bike race for vintage bikes only, on the white gravel roads around Siena in Tuscany, Italy, an event that is still held annually the day after the professional race that has been named the "Strade Bianche". Fabian Cancellara has won this event twice, the field always contains top professionals from the road racing scene. The Strade Bianche starts in San Gimignano and ends in Siena, it covers 176 km of which there are nine gravel sectors totalling 52.8 km. ​The Swartberg100 Gran Fondo starts and ends in Prince Albert, arguably one of the most attractive Karoo towns in South Africa, it covers 164 km of which there are 3 gravel sectorscovering 71 km. The final climb is over the gravel Swartberg Pass, a relentless climb of 28 km, the last 8 km being on gravel with gradients of 10% in places. The Swartberg100, in true South African tradition, will be one of the toughest Gran Fondo's in the world. We have created a course that goes back to the days of old when mountain passes were all gravel and brave cyclists climbed them on single speed bikes weighing in at 16 kg. A course that allows us to pit our modern training knowledge and technology against an old foe, a road surface that isn't always friendly. http://www.mtbafrica.com/uploads/5/8/4/6/58469259/3942752_orig.png Go to Event Page