The world’s best mountain bikers are certainly beginning to take note of the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek (17-22 October) which will start and finish in the town of Oudtshoorn.
Christopher Sauser (Specialized), currently the world marathon champion, has already established himself as one of the tour’s stalwarts.
The Swiss rider makes it clear that something drastic will have to happen for him to miss out on the fun of the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek.
Sauser is not the only world-class rider who has entered. Sweden’s Alexandra Engen, a former U23 cross-country world champion, is another big name who could not resist the temptation of coming to South Africa to test her mountain-biking skills in the Klein Karoo’s DCM Cape Pioneer Trek.
The 23-year-old Swede will team up with South Africa’s Mariske Strauss (Contego/Giant/Sludge) to compete in the women’s category.
Engen’s racing CV makes for impressive reading. She was the Swedish pro-elite women’s cross-country champion in 2007-2009; a silver medal in 2009 at an U23 World Cup-race; she won a silver medal at the 2009 European U23 cross-country championship and a gold medal in the international cross-country relay event.
These are only a few of her personal highlights.
The participation of team Engen/Strauss in the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek, brings to mind the English saying of ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’. Neither has ever ridden a six-day stage race. But Strauss, South Africa’s current cross-country champion is looking forward to the challenge the race presents.
“Our approach to the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek will be to take the race one day at a time,” she said. “I am definitely not a tour expert, but there is no need to be a rocket scientist to realize that it would be a mistake to try to race flat out from day one.
“Luckily I have an idea of what to expect. My grandfather stays in the area and I had done some hard training there in the past.”