Inaugural Wines2Whales Mountain Bike Race in November

Every Cyclists Dream — This is a spec­tac­u­lar three day route to show­case the best of the Cape Winelands — The inaug­ural Wines2Whales moun­tain bike race will take place from 13 to 15 November this year (2009). Over the course of 3 days, teams con­sist­ing of two cyc­lists each will cross approx­im­ately 230 km of the most beau­ti­ful and unspoilt ter­rain in the Western Cape ...

Wines2Whales

Participants from around the coun­try will kick off in Somerset West, and tra­verse across 13 winer­ies, 26 private farms, six moun­tains, some beau­ti­ful his­toric roads and passes, as well as exquis­ite nature con­ser­va­tion areas before fin­ish­ing near Walker Bay in the pic­tur­esque town of Hermanus. Here cyc­lists will be wel­comed with enter­tain­ment for the entire fam­ily, whale watch­ing for which the area is renowned inter­na­tion­ally and the finest food and wine. Adding to the excite­ment, race organ­isers have made pro­vi­sion for vant­age points along the route of the race, which will be access­ible to the gen­eral public.

Stage 1 will see riders doing 80km to the race vil­lage in Elgin, Grabouw. From Somerset West, riders will head towards Sir Lowry’s Pass via the Schapenberg Farms. The early steep ascents will stretch out the field, just in time for some rocky single-track. From here they will meander through the MTO Plantations as well as the many fruit and wine farms in the area to the race vil­lage, where they will settle for the next two nights, in order to enjoy a well-earned rest.

Stage 2 will be a 70km ride. Route designer Johan Kriegler has tapped the know­ledge of the loc­als to include some of the best moun­tain bik­ing trails in the area, includ­ing some single and Jeep tracks linked with loc­ally hand-built trails for the per­fect exper­i­ence. Riders will again return to the race vil­lage in Elgin to pre­pare for the final stage the next day.

Wines2Whales

Stage 3 — The third and final stage will take riders from Elgin to Hermanus, an 80km route. Riders’ legs will remem­ber stages 1 and 2 all too clearly as they tackle the des­cent into Hermanus. Before spot­ting a whale, riders will need to endure the toughest, but also most reward­ing stage of the race. This stage will include a good deal of ‘never rid­den before’ trails, includ­ing parts of Groenlandberg, the his­toric Katberg Pass, the Botriver Valley, Karwyderskraal and the Hemel en Aarde valley.

According to Johan Kriegler, route designer, “This race will offer riders mag­ni­fi­cent scenery and some of the best moun­tain bik­ing tracks in the coun­try. Variety is a key factor, offer­ing par­ti­cipants a dif­fer­ent rid­ing exper­i­ence each day. We expect exper­i­enced riders to take between 3 and 4 hours for each stage, whilst the more leis­urely riders should fin­ish within 7 hours. Our aim is to deliver an unfor­get­table moun­tain bike exper­i­ence. Spending three days cyc­ling the Wines2Whales race will be one of the most reward­ing exper­i­ences you can give your mind, body and soul!”

Wines2Whales

Michael Meyer, from Stillwater Sport & Entertainment, organ­isers of the Wines2Whales Mountain Bike Race, adds: “Mountain bikers are def­in­itely ask­ing for a three day moun­tain bike stage race in the Western Cape and Wines2Whales will offer exactly that with an excit­ing route that can be sup­por­ted by fam­ily and friends at beau­ti­ful wine estates. Our com­pany has a long his­tory of present­ing events such as XTERRA and the ProNutro AfricanX Trailrun, and we are look­ing at bring­ing a lot of cre­ativ­ity and fresh­ness to this moun­tain bike experience.”

The first Wines2Whales race prom­ises par­ti­cipants breath­tak­ing scenery and spec­tac­u­lar moun­tain bik­ing ter­rain, as well as the oppor­tun­ity to test their endur­ance and skill. Family and friends will also be able to sup­port their favour­ite teams along the spec­tator friendly route.

Contact:
For more inform­a­tion con­tact Leandra Knoetze on Telephone +27 (0)21 883‑2413.
Entries close on Saturday, 31 October 2009.

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