Info on 94.7 MTB route

[Lukep]

I am looking to both the road and mtb race this year, but I have heard that the MTB route is a not great in terms of bottle necks and slower riders.

Is this true?

[Peewee1]

Does anyone know the route? Or even what the terrain will be like? I am trying to decide whether I should try out the 50km or just stick with the 25km.

 

Thanks

[BigGuy]

The route is usually in 2 parts: the Leeuwkop prison part and the Allandale part. They mix things up from year to year... you will either get the one or the other in the 25km, and with the 50km it will either be the one first and then the other, or the other way around. Highlights? The prison bit is not too bad, but I do not enjoy the Allandale and Gautrain area... too much **** lying around... broken glass will be enemy #1, the garbage dump by the river being another highlight. I remember last year, just before going underneath the bridge towards Allandale, I overshot the downhill bit and ended up in the veld, when I gathered myself I realised I had been extremely lucky and missed a spot in the trail where someone shattered a case of beer bottles (or so it looked like), when I passed back underneath the bridge there were maybe 100+ guys changing tubes. And the water points sucked with those 150ml water sachets. If one of the organisers read this, please make the mtb tables resemble the road race tables!!! Yes, I will be there again. It was my first mtb race ever so I have a soft spot for it.

[Peewee1]

The route is usually in 2 parts: the Leeuwkop prison part and the Allandale part. They mix things up from year to year... you will either get the one or the other in the 25km, and with the 50km it will either be the one first and then the other, or the other way around. Highlights? The prison bit is not too bad, but I do not enjoy the Allandale and Gautrain area... too much **** lying around... broken glass will be enemy #1, the garbage dump by the river being another highlight. I remember last year, just before going underneath the bridge towards Allandale, I overshot the downhill bit and ended up in the veld, when I gathered myself I realised I had been extremely lucky and missed a spot in the trail where someone shattered a case of beer bottles (or so it looked like), when I passed back underneath the bridge there were maybe 100+ guys changing tubes. And the water points sucked with those 150ml water sachets. If one of the organisers read this, please make the mtb tables resemble the road race tables!!! Yes, I will be there again. It was my first mtb race ever so I have a soft spot for it.

 

Thanks for that, guess I need to start training properly.

[Peewee1]

Apologies to Lukep for hijacking their thread, my bad.

[Lukep]

Apologies to Lukep for hijacking their thread, my bad.

 

No worries, I have been told that it is not a race that you race too many people walking etc etc, so I am still deciding if if will ride it. I am going to focus on the road race this year.

[BigGuy]

Sorry...to answer the original question. Both routes will have lots of novices riding (the 25km more so) so yes, even at the shallowest river crossing or incline you will find truckloads of pedestrians. This is not the race to enter if you are in a hurry, or feel like unleashing your inner racing snake for a short duration. I was there myself a few years ago, blocking the trails and irritating everyone else. The upside is that it is easy to find your car in the parking lot afterwards.