QUALITY EVENTS IN KZN
LAST weekend saw me flying from one corner of KZN to the other for cycling – and I literally mean flying, and literally from one end of the province to the other.
On Friday I hopped on the Umngazi River Bungalows plane at Virginia Airport and flew to the luxury resort near Port St Johns to get some information on the Grindrod Bank Pondo Pedal, and then early on Saturday morning I headed up to Champagne Valley and Bergville for the two Drakensberg Extravaganza cycle events.
I first have heard of the Pondo Pedal in its first year and I had reservations about the event from early reports. But in 2017 some close friends of mine did the event and have raved so much about the venue, trails (and festivities at night) that it has become a must-do event for me.
The entries of the 2019 event are open (www.roag.co.za) and from what I know, this is a race every mountain biker should add to their bucket list. Forget tents and dirty communal showers between stages. After riding sublime trails in the pristine Wild Coast forests and grasslands, you get to spend the night in an award winning resort that boasts “relaxed sophistication” – and from my one-day visit that pretty much sums it up.
Don’t tell the race organisers, but I think this event makes some of the other outrageously popular events (with much higher entry fees), look decidedly pastoral.
After flying back on Friday I was up early to spend the weekend in the Berg where I believe KZN Cycling has stumbled on a winning formula, and have organised the inaugural version of an event that has massive potential.
The Drakensberg Extravaganza is linked to a cultural festival in the Bergville area. The festival covers a wide range of activities, from business to arts and culture to sport. Last Saturday and Sunday cyclists had their chance with a MTB event on Saturday and a road race on Sunday.
The MTB was only 20km, and a 40km needs to be added next year, but I love the idea of making a weekend of cycling with the two back-to-back and events on road and off road. There was also a trail run and even a full road running marathon so there was quite literally something for everybody in the family.
As it turned out, the cycling events were a celebration of youth.
On Saturday Mauritian juniors Niels Hartmann and Hadrien Maingard took a break from their training camp in Ballito to grab the top two positions.
The two formed the front group with talented young Durban rider Keagan Matthews. Hartmann ended up powering away as the trio neared the finish and he was able to eke out a 13-second win in the final small climb. In the tight sprint for second, Maingard just edged ahead of Matthews to give the Mauritian pair a one-two finish.
Olivia Reitz was the first women with Tanith Van Druten just 31 seconds behind, and Amy Paulser third.
On Sunday in the road cycle, Travis Stedman, riding his final race as an U16 before moving up to the junior category next year, and junior Frances Janse Van Rensburg, riding her first road race ever, were the men’s and women’s winners.
Stedman, U23 runner up Bevan Reddy and third-placed U18 junior Cian Leveridge battled each other for 84km in the shadow of the Drakensberg before Stedman eked out race-winning advantage on the final 90-degree turn 100m from the finish line.
In the women’s race, Janse van Rensburg powered away from the prerace favourite Tiffany Keep after about 30km and managed to work with some of the men’s riders to build a gap.