Meaton looks for hat-trick

LOCAL entry Jason Meaton will be looking to make it a hat-trick of titles in as many years when the Grahamstown to Sea (G2C) mountain bike race takes place from the Grahamstown industrial area to Port Alfred’s Rosehill Mall on Sunday.

Meaton won the race in 2013 and 2014 and has confirmed his entry for this weekend, making him the hot favourite to make it three in a row.

He also holds the course record in the men’s division, with one hour, 38 minutes, 41 seconds, while Jenny Opperman owns the women’s mark of 2:05.27.

The 58km course drops from 643m above sea level at its highest point to 69m at the finish, but riders will encounter the tough Mountain Drive section and downhill single tracks in the opening eight kilometres, plus a couple of tough passes and some mean hills on their way to the coast.

Entries have been rolling in at a steady rate for the 58km event which is contested mostly on gravel roads.

The date of the annual race is arranged to coincide with the final day of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

The G2C starts at 8.30am on Sunday at Pennypinchers in the industrial area to the west of Grahamstown and ends at the Rosehill Mall shopping centre outside Port Alfred.

While online entries (R160 per rider) close at 5pm tomorrow , late entries (R200 per rider) will be accepted at the start from 2pm to 5pm on the Saturday and from 7am to 8am on the morning of the race.

The event is once again sponsored by the Grahamstown and Port Alfred branches of Pennypinchers, while the organisers are the Saints & Sinners Cycling Club based in Grahamstown.

For more information, visit www.grahamstown2sea.co.za