2012 has kicked off with a bang. With the first weekend of racing under the belt it’s good to have settled the nerves and pushed the body into the racing mode forcefully at a national event, amongst all the top professional racers in South Africa, in one of the most mountainous regions of Mpumalanga.The small old mining town of Barberton is situated at 800m of altitude and is surrounded by a caldron of mountains rising up to 1800meters in every direction. This only means one thing when it comes… Read More

TEAM TIB on top of the podium 3rd time in 3weeks With the end of the mountain biking season upon us, Team TIB was still in top gear to finish strongly. Yet again stepping onto the top step of the podium for the third time in as many weeks, Andrew Hill was keen to finish the season on a high at the outsurance expedition. The race has become a favourite of the TIB rider after he finished off a hat trick of 3wins at the KZN expedition. The ride in 2011 was radically different from any of the… Read More

TEAM TIB maintains a firm hold on the podium consistently in 2011. With the 2011 mountain biking season coming to an end, Team TIB has cemented a notable position within the local and national racing circuit yet again by taking full honours at the prestigious triple challenge. This multi sport event which hit its 10th year has grown into a national event with athletes from around the country taking to the ultra endurance event in great numbers. For the first time in 2011 a MTB race was added to… Read More

The Fedgroup Berg And Bush Decent has been rated as the best stage race in South Africa and I could see why when I arrived at registration on Thursday last week. A definite atmosphere surrounded the event; this was unlike any I’d ever experienced at a stage race in South Africa. The participants were relaxed, with beers in hands and war stories abounding, everyone was rearing to go in a more laid back way than I’d seen before. This was the first staged event I’d raced as a mixed team and I was… Read More

The Wildlands trust in partnership with Bonitas Medical scheme yet again were at the helm of another highly successful event in 2011. Hosted by the Michael House School in the midlands, the Michael house MTB challenge was a great success pulling riders from all over KwaZulu-Natal to the picturesque Natal midlands for a great day on the bike. In its 5th year running as an event, the organisers pull out all the stops to provide some of the most beautifully scenic views which would definitely… Read More

The hill2hill is similar to the Comrades in the cycling world in that there is a huge publicity drive in the media, bets to enter are made over a couple of beers at the beginning of the year and many people use it as a goal event for the year.This year was no different with the entries being full weeks in advance of the closing date and a record field at the starting line. The big difference this year was the quality of the mens top contenders. The starting line up was like that only seen at SA… Read More

TEAM TIB on top of the podium again For the 11th year in a row the Weenen Classic has attracted riders from all over KwaZulu-Natal to the Thornveld of the Weenen game reserve. What must be considered the one of the “Wildest” races in KwaZulu-Natal, weenen’s race is what African mountain biking is all about. Year after year you hear the words “Danger” and “Rhino” mentioned in close succession to one another in the pre-race briefing. This is definitely not the normal safety chat but all seasoned… Read More

The small farming community of Harburg played host to the annual Tour de kranz classic over the weekend and put on a show that reminds us what community spirit is all about. The event has grown and the 2011 event was by far the biggest yet. The 750 pre entries made for an amazing field and add another 350 entries on the day and you have a sizable event at a local event. The race route, year after year, follows a very similar direction but with a couple of tweaks here and there and the already… Read More

TIB on the Podium Again Undoubtedly Cowen House is one of the favorites on the racing calendar for many true knobbly tire lovers. The Cowen House MTB classic never seems to disappoint the racing fraternity and gets bigger and bigger every year. This year Wildlands, the new event organizers, limited the entries to 1000 riders thereby offering the attendees the opportunity to become a select few to enjoy the amazing single track unabated. But as with every year, the single track was the talking… Read More

Titled the “The most prestigious one day race in South Africa” the Illovo eston mountain bike marathon is one of the stars on the calendar and always attracts the top riders from around the country to the farming community of Eston. Hosted by the Eston farmers club the race is indeed a race not to miss. An early start saw us into the start shoots at 7:40am for the elite men’s batch start at 8:00. The threatening rain of two years ago was nowhere to be seen and thankfully for the 4000… Read More

Another great win for Team TIB As one of the oldest classics on the racing circuit, Ingeli has grown into one of the great mountain bike races in KwaZulu-Natal. Situated in the Ingeli valley, the race flows and explores the natural forest and timber plantations, linking section upon section of outstandingly groomed single track. The past few years have seen a number of changes to the Ingeli challenge. This was the second year the event had super classic status and it really showed in the superb… Read More

TEAM TIB on top of the podium again Race report: A weekend in the berg on your mountain bike can only be trumped by a weekend in the berg at Mountain Splendour Eco Resort on your mountain bike. Over the past weekend the well known family in multisport and mountain biking circles put on a fun packed event in the Champagne Valley. Ian Donwashape and his family guided by Dave and his team from Ward events, helped produce an outstanding feature on the 2011 racing calendar, the 2011 Mountain… Read More

Holla trails in their 3rd year of operation played host to yet another great mountain bike event and are quickly becoming a notable role player in the mountain biking fraternity. The Golovane in its 4th year running is the flagship event of Holla and attracts many if not all of the cycling stalwarts from the Durban region. The setting in which Holla trails is situated is ideal for mountain biking and the 2011 race ideally showcased the notable aspects of the trail network with a few surprises… Read More

Stage racing is undoubtedly SA’s most popular mountain biking discipline; this was certainly the case at this year’s edition of the extremely popular Subaru Sani2C. The lengthy waiting list makes the extent of the popularity even more evident and those who have entries continue to come back year after year for fear of losing them. Sani 2011 didn’t at one stage fall from the position of being one of the most popular stage races in SA. This year, the event was shifted to May to avoid what will be… Read More

When Cycling SA announced they were holding SA marathon champs in my back yard I had to go and explore the valley of a 1000hills, and what better way than in South Africa’s most prestigious marathon race. With my goals being set on the local racing scene the prospect of the SA Champs race was more of an experience to see where I fitted into the national marathon seeding rather than vying for UCI points. And ultimately this last Sunday proved to be a great experience on the bike. The marathon… Read More

When Cycling SA announced they were holding SA marathon champs in my back yard I had to go and explore the valley of a 1000hills, and what better way than in South Africa’s most prestigious marathon race. With my goals being set on the local racing scene the prospect of the SA Champs race was more of an experience to see where I fitted into the national marathon seeding rather than vying for UCI points. And ultimately this last Sunday proved to be a great experience on the bike. The marathon… Read More

TIB opened the 2011 account this weekend with a podium place at the ever popular Wartberg Classic. With over 1000 pre entries, the race organisers were put to the test as that figured was almost doubled by the time the race started. Playing host to yet another outstanding rendition of the years 1st super classic, the small town of Wartberg came out in full force to support the “clockwork” driven race and were pleasantly surprised at the response from the MTB community in-terms of participatory… Read More