Tour of Homewood to put George on the MTB map

[News bot]

The Garden Route town of George will be transformed into a significant mountain biking destination with the introduction of the Tour of Homewood, a new three-day mountain bike stage race, to be based at Fancourt, South Africa’s premier golf resort from 4-6 September 2015.

 

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[cat-i]

Was very excited when I read this - learnt to mountainbike in George many many years ago, and would have loved to see some of the old trails again. In my mind it always was a significant mountain biking destination.

 

The entry fee of R8900 per team for 3 days of riding without accommodation is probably very much on par with what other events (wines2whales, sani2c?) are charging.  The days of doing 2 or 3 stage races per year are over - as are the days of using one stage race to train for the next one. Very sadly I'm not the target market anymore  

 

When did mountainbiking became such an exclusive sport?

[NelAndre]

Was very excited when I read this - learnt to mountainbike in George many many years ago, and would have loved to see some of the old trails again. In my mind it always was a significant mountain biking destination.

 

The entry fee of R8900 per team for 3 days of riding without accommodation is probably very much on par with what other events (wines2whales, sani2c?) are charging.  The days of doing 2 or 3 stage races per year are over - as are the days of using one stage race to train for the next one. Very sadly I'm not the target market anymore

 

When did mountainbiking became such an exclusive sport?

Yip, I am not the target market anymore either...........

[KarlvN]

Used to live in George, before moving to Cape Town. No ways I will pay R8900.00 for three days of mainly gravel and little single track, but that's just me... Still, the scenery is absolutely stunning, and it would be a great once off. But before I pay that I would just go visit the family and ride the area with some locals...

 

[edit] - Besides, I suspect a large portion of the fees are for the golf... Having played Fancourt, and KNOWING that it is not cheap...

[SpaceInvader]

I love the idea of a new stage race in that area, but feel that the price for a standard entry is excessive, considering it does not include breakfast or accommodation. To me, part of the appeal of stage racing is the atmosphere of the race village which is lost when participants disperse to different accommodation locations after each stage.

I too am clearly not the target market for this race

[Mtbfun]

Starting to get a bit hacked off with the number of stage races on the calendar who charge these entry fees. R4 900 for a solo rider without accommodation is hard to swallow when there are fantastic trails in the area you can ride for free.

[Eugene]

I did a 2day stage race in George in 2000. The entry fee was probably less than R200 back then. I know that currency in SA has lost a lot of ground since then, but have to admit paying R4 900 is hard to swallow.

[Swart Kat]

Tooooo expensive!!! There was a 3 day stage race now in April in Worcster and entry for the team at R4 400.00, half of this one, with lots and lots of single track. Thanks, but no thanks......

[J∆kk∆ls]

For that kind of money you could arrange your very own 2-3 day cycle tour somewhere in South Africa and feel like a sheep herded in one direction! 

[Shebeen]

   i thought a failed EPO test put George permanently on the radar