Glendale Valley welcomes first MTB cyclists
On day three tired legs littered the start line but the riders were excited for plenty of single track on the final day.
Mountain bikers from around the country assembled at the picturesque Verbara Lodge for the Wagon & Spear MTB race on Friday, September 23.
The event was hosted over three days, which catered for local riders who stayed at home and drove through daily – as well as a tented village for visitors at the Verbara Lodge Race Village.
The first day saw cool weather with a slight drizzle in the evening but with only a 10km prologue most riders completed this with ease and later enjoyed sundowners in the casual “Chill Zone” area around the fire.
Local riders Martin and Laeticia Schoeman were responsible for the potjies on the first night that left everyone in high spirits and with full stomachs.
Day two saw an early start with breakfast at 5.30am.
After the riders gobbled it down – they took to the start line with nervous anticipation since day two was going to be the tough one, covering 65km with more than 1500m of climbing into the stunning Glendale Valley.
Tyrone White and Andrew Johnson finished in an incredible time of 2 hours 39 minutes – dominating the day’s riding.
On day two the riders experienced the mighty Mvoti River, massive passes onto the escarpment, gumtree plantations and even a taste of some single track. The exhausted, but overwhelmed riders came through and after fueling themselves by jumping into the pool for some relaxation time were able to enjoy the festivity and spit braai.
On day three tired legs littered the start line but the riders were excited for plenty of single track on the final day.
The last day offered variety on the trail, from cattle track and newly cut single track in the gum tree forests to tight fast single track through the macadamia plantations and beautiful waterfall viewpoints – the riders had it all.
With a super fast time of 2 hours 17 minutes team Thule/Seeff with Tyrone White and Andrew Johnson took the win in the males category, in the mixed category Dolphin Coast Seeff’s Desiree Verwey and Russell White took top spot and Team 2YC, made up of Lize Marie Ras and Miroda Otto finished first for the ladies.
For more information about the next Wagon and Spear MTB race visit www.camelotevents.co.za or contact Cam on 078 238 7313.
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