Cycling South Africa confirms the calendar dates and provinces that will be hosting the South African National Championship events for 2016. In addition, the National Federation will also be hosting some first-class events that will take place in Pietermaritzburg.
Cycling SA’s National Championship events dates and venues are finalised, these being the SA National Road and Para-cycling Championships in Durban (February), SA Track and Para-cycling Championships in Port Elizabeth (March), SA MTB Marathon Championships (Elite, Junior, Youth) in Clarens (April), SA MTB Masters Marathon Championships in Pietermaritzburg (May), SA MTB XCO and DHI Championships in Pietermaritzburg (July) and the SA BMX National Championships at Giba Gorge (October).
Major events that will be staged in and around Pietermaritzburg as part of the broader “Africa Bike City” project include the PMB MTB Festival, which will include UCI HC rating XCO races for Elite and Junior Men and Women as well as the KZN Development Series, Spur Schools Series, an Enduro race and the SA MTB Masters Marathon Championships (May); 2016 Para-cycling Road World Cup Pietermaritzburg (May); KZN Autumn Masters Tour, a four-day cycle tour for Masters aged 30-and-above (August); and the KZN Autumn Men’s Pro Challenge, a UCI 1.2 road race for Men only (August).
There will be five mountain bike XCO races this year as part of the SA MTB Cup Series of which four will feature a UCI category 1 rating for the Elite Men and Elite Women categories. Juniors will also be able to earn UCI points in the XCO rounds as part of UCI Junior World Series. With the Junior categories taken out of the UCI MTB World Cups, Juniors will again participate in their own world series to garner valuable UCI points. The fifth XCO race will carry a UCI Cat 2 rating.
Downhill events will not be run with the SA MTB Cup Series in 2016. Western Province and KwaZulu-Natal will use two of their provincials to double as a SA Cup event; these events are dated as 28 February and 29 May (Western Cape) and 27 March and 22 May (KZN). The results from these will be used for Selection and towards a SA Cup Series. The downhill discipline will be included in the SA MTB Champs.
The Ashburton Investments National MTB Series (Clarens) will be held on 16-17 April and will host the SA National MTB Marathon Championships for the Elite Men (Ultra Marathon Distance) Elite Women (Marathon Distance) Junior and Youth Men and Women (Half Marathon Distance).
