As a new venue, Spice Route in Paarl delivered incredible racing action as the technical and steep track tested the country’s best as they hunted for the rainbow sleeve and title of national champion. With input from former World Cup racer Andrew Neethling — and lots of digging from the region’s best trail builders — construction on the Spice Route DH (now known as Needles DH) was completed in January.
Chapeau and champers to the Champs! | *Click to enlargeIf you only examine one race image, make it this one. It says a thousand words about the gradient, camber, dust, rocks and general level of difficulty of the Needles DH track which is pretty close to that which is raced at a World Cup.
In the Elite Women’s Race, Frankie du Toit mastered the dusty and technical conditions adding another national title to her collection by finishing ahead of Beani Thies and and Roxy Baynes. In the Elite Men’s race, the old guard refused to relinquish the title and Stefan Garlicki took the win by 3.5 seconds over Rory Kirk and defending champion Johann Potgieter.
After years of racing, then stepping away, then returning with his son, Dale Barnard is now a regular on the local gravity scene. He used those decades of experience to win a National Title this weekend. What a ride!In the Junior Women category, Arielle Behr missed a win by a mere 0,3 of a second. That’s tight racing!Tricia Rossouw, a chip off the old block, was on form all weekend and quietly went about her business taking the win in the Youth Women category.
It’s not only the Elite Categories that produce exciting racing. There are 8 other age group categories in which the field is stacked with talent and parity, providing the recipe for close racing.
Jack Schliemann, the hot favorite to take the win in Junior Boys would be relegated to the silver medal position by a rookie to National Championship racing.Liam Hall from Durban blows up the mineshaft section on the way to 11th in Elite Men.Liam’s brother Nate Hall went 5 seconds quicker for a credible 7th-place overall.
If you’ve followed Downhill Racing in South Africa for a few years you’ll be aware of the recent trend away from single-crown forks, to triple-clamp downhill forks and downhill bikes. Gone are the days when it was cool to race downhill on a short-travel single-crown machine. The tracks are of a higher standard and the speeds are high enough that the majority of podium riders are on full-blown downhill bikes. Seven out of the 10 national titles won this weekend, were won on downhill bikes.
Michard Meets — making berms — one turn at a time.Justin Victor loved the track and said it was well worth the drive from Mpumalanga. 5th in Sub-Vet Men ain’t bad for a guy who has been around the scene for almost three decades now.Zak Jones. Youth Men National Champion for 2024. Incredibly, he’s also beating the vast majority of the field. If he carries on working – he’ll be inside the next-gen of stars from SA.Bryce Munro took the win and national title in the Sub-Vet category – by less than 0.3 of a second.
In conditions this dry and dustry, the hot ticket for the weekend was a mud tyre setup. Mud tyres cut into the powder and deliver more bite than traditional dry tyres that need some level of hardpack to provide traction.
Fourie van Wyk – getting his hips in the game.Danika Botha had the cleanest kit on race day!‘Don’t call it a comeback’ he says but it almost was a win in the Vets Class for Thomas Rood.The step down had a short and a long huck to it. Going long was a huge commitment that not many made.
I’ve been around this sport long enough to know how difficult and complicated it is to organize. Coordinating eight shuttle vehicles, marshals, medics, ambulances, course marking, live commentating, food trucks, a pop-up race village, the digital timing system, live timing broadcast, media and the riders – is no joke. We should all offer continuous appreciation and thanks to the volunteers and committee who put these races on. Making purchasing decisions that reward brands who support these events, is also crucial.
Fifth in Elite Men ain’t bad for young PvS.Another chip off the old block is young Cam Morewood. P10 in Junior Men is a solid result for the son of Mr PYGA bikes.This section had more powder than the back of the moon.Heels down and charging to the win in Sub Junior Boys is ex-Moto racer, Jake van Schoor.Gassing it to a National Championship win in Junior Women is Jenna Byrnes.Hiddenunder the powder of Paarl were roots, rocks and 29er-sized holes.
Big shout out to all the brands who help make these races possible: SRAM, RockShox, Leatt, All Mountain, TCS Wifi, Novel Ford Cape Town, Kamikaze, Bikepark Uitsig, Schwalbe, Oakley and Paarl Trails.
William Nelson eyes out the next turn.Morzine local Sharjah Jonnson charged to 24th in the overall.Ross Kew, 4th in rankings, he also ended the race in 4th overall. Just out of the medals today but such is the talent there are bigger things to come from Ross.Jaco Veldsman – the 2024 SA DH Vets Champ! That sounds good.Rory Kirk of Jozi, the 2023 series winner, laid down a heater that was good enough for silver.
The consensus amongst the more experienced riders is the new Needles DH track was incredibly fun to ride and very technical to race. Everyone tends to agree that after a little rain and repair work the new track will settle in and be even better.
The unstoppable Frankie du Toit kept it upright and took yet another national title.Ethan Hunter from Cape Town, was half a second clear of the Junior Men’s field and earned himself a rainbow sleeve in the process.In his post-race analysis, defending champion Johann Potgieter calculated he lost three seconds in the powdered mine shaft – a section of the track that is perhaps only 100m in length – but so treacherous to race on. P3 and only 1/1000 of a second off the silver medal for Pottie is still an incredible result!Nobody could match the speed of Stefan Garlicki today. 3.5 seconds is a significant winning margin and Stefan was clearly elated with it. He’s had more than his fair share of injuries and hard luck at the races and his won just goes to show one should never give up. What a ride Stefan!
Cycling South Africa confirms that cyclist Monqoba Priest Madida has been issued a three-year suspension following a violation of anti-doping regulations. The infraction was identified
Cycling South Africa is pleased to announce the election of its new Executive Board, which took place on 05 October during the Annual Quadrennial Meeting.
Cycling South Africa is proud to announce a groundbreaking three-year partnership with the Absa Karkloof Country Club, which promises to transform the mountain biking (MTB)
