TransCape well positioned for
The Garden Route has always been a drawcard for outdoor sport, offering some of the most diverse and beautiful mountain biking and running trails anywhere and in 2011 the seed for a unique mountain bike event was planted.
Lenore Collet and her husband Wayne dreamed of creating a stage race that would take riders all the way from George through the Klein Karoo, the Overberg region and finishing in the winelands of the Cape. The aim was to make the primary goal of the event not the race to the finish, but rather, the adventure of the journey. And so, the TransCape was born.
TransCape was fortunate to get its 2020 event ticked off just ahead of the arrival of Covid-19, as many other major races fell victim to the pandemic, including the Absa Cape Epic, Two Oceans Marathon and Knysna Oyster Festival. With uncertainty about the immediate future of the bigger sports events, the future of the TransCape may well be strengthened.
According to Lenore the race was always designed to cater for a small field, for a more exclusive experience. Unlike major participation events with communal ablutions, TransCape riders have accommodation with en-suite bathroom and shower facilities. With ‘social distancing’ the new buzzword, that’s a huge advantage already.
2021 entries open
Race entries for the 2021 race in February have opened, and entrants are guaranteed a full refund in the event that the pandemic forces cancellation. Many international participanta of the 2020 race are expected to enter for 2021 but the uncertainty on travel is putting things on hold. The sevenday TransCape is open to solo riders and teams, and more recently, the increasingly popular E-bikes have been welcomed. This category opens up the adventure to an entirely new class of thrill-seeker.
From George to Franschoek
The journey begins at Redberry farm in George, and the first day takes the riders up the Montagu pass and into the Klein Karoo, finishing 78km later at the Chandelier Game Reserve. A 100km ride to the Rooiberg lodge awaits on day two, with Riversdale the finish after another 78km on day three.
Another 98km to Gaikou Lodge in Swellendam ends day four and stage five is a 96km ride to the quaint town of Greyton.
The penultimate stage is through some of the Western Cape's most beautiful MTB country as it takes the field to the Houw Hoek Hotel, and then it’s the final 70km push to Franschhoek.
For more information about the race, visit www.transcapemtb.co.za.