USN Cup Series hots up for Round 3 on Midrand trails

[Matt]

The USN Cup Mountain Bike Series continues to grow and over 1000 mountain bikers are expected to participate in Round 3 in Midrand, Gauteng on Saturday. Established last year, the USN Cup Series provides mountain bikers in Johannesburg and Pretoria with a safe, close-to-home racing experience that caters for all levels of rider.

 

Saturday’s event, which offers three distances, 60km, 30km and 10km, will be held once again at Base 3 adventure sports centre, just off the N1 between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

 

The scenic setting so close to two major cities offers an ideal country outing on a Saturday morning.

Photo credit: Dino Lloyd

 

This is the fourth time the venue is being used for a USN Cup Series event. Route designer, Dylan Victor and his crew spent a lot of time cutting new sections of stimulating singletrack through the available surrounding land. The route for each event is altered using these trails to keep it interesting and fresh.

 

“Road cyclists are content with the same route each time they do an event, but mountain bikers are always looking for new challenges. It’s important not to repeat the same route too often, which is why we invested energy and expertise in creating a variety of options in the area,” said Victor.

 

The popularity of the USN Cup Series is growing steadily as it appeals to all ages and levels of fitness.

Photo credit: Dino Lloyd

 

“The 60km race is great challenge with some flowing jeep track and singletrack. For the rest, the 30km may sound short, but there's nothing easy about it. It’s a very well-balanced, scenic course that goes through forest and alongside rivers,” said event organiser, Andrew Grobler.

 

“We have a kids race too and there’s also a kiddies entertainment area with jumping castles, face-painting and more. The scenic venue next to the dam makes it an ideal outing for the whole family.”

 

Food and refreshments will be on sale and Powasol will provide a bike-wash facility.

 

Registration is from 06h30 and the first race starts at 07h30. For more information on the USN Cup 3, visit www.cyclelab.com. For more information on USN’s premium sports nutrition supplements, visit www.usn.co.za

 

Riders must carry their own race fuel, but there's USN Active available at water points and at the finish for refreshment and replenishment.

Photo credit: Dino Lloyd

 

The three distances have separate race starts to ensure optimal safety.

Photo credit: Dino Lloyd

 

Base 3 is situated in between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

 

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[Dubber88]

Online entries closed earlier than stated on Cycle Lab's website.

 

Will there be line entries?

 

And also what will the fees be?

 

There were no indication on Cycle Lab's website that there will be line entries available.

 

Regards,

Dub

[NotSoBigBen]

There were line entries at the last one I did, but who knows ...

[MtbBarbie]

Yes, there are always line entries for USN races!

 

Paid R180 for the 60km last time?

[Dubber88]

Thanks.

[dirtrider]

A lot of waiting !! But nice race still .

[Guest]

Nice race today.

Some concerns though...

 

1. on the 30km "Batch" start - so called previous riders with a seeding - nonsense.

2. The chap calling out the numbers at the end - how accurate and reliable is the timing?

3. The people who think it's ok to pass others waiting in the bottleneck - and when told to get back in line just continue.

If you are not a top 10 rider, get in line and wait your turn like everyone else.

4. The bike wash - R40, and i had to send the bike back because it was still dirty.

5. Race sold as 30km and 60km, then results show 25 and 50km, but everyone measured between 27.5 and 28km.

 

Apart from this, lovely single-track, loved the route.

[Beer4Recovery]

R120 for :

 

1. Hiking with your bike

2. Riding through rubbish dumps, which leads to punctures (the worst part of doing some events in Gauteng is riding through these)

3. Rude riders taking short-cuts & thinking it is ok to pass others waiting a the bottle neck. (that bloody oke with the off leg - also pushing a lady over while busting his way through the queue at the bottle-neck)

4. A 27km race, not 30km.

5. Bike wash rip-off of R40 bucks. Finished off the

cleaning at home.

6. ANOTHER CAR STOLEN! @ USN Event. (I believe there was also one stolen at the previous event at Voortrekker)

7. Parking in the veld - no cleared area for parking.

8.Bottle neck at the gate to enter the starting area.

9. Batches starting too close - leading to bottle necks.

 

We are a whole bunch of people that will give this race a miss in the future. And they seriously need to consider getting the police involved to patrol the area to make sure vehicles aren't stolen. The singletrack was ok - you will get better bang fir your buck at Groenkloof & Van Gaalens.

Edited April 14, 2012 by FuelEX

[Guest]

My polar shows I did a 1:27, as it pauses when I stop. Where would that time put me in the results?