The buzz ahead of the 2014 UCI MTB Marathon World Championships continues to build in KwaZulu-Natal’s capital as course designer Nick Floros and his team make the final tweaks to the widely anticipated route for of the global showcase. Floros and his team are hard at work as they look to wrap things up ahead of the South African MTB Marathon Championships on 7 and 8 June, which will serve as an ideal dry-run for the internationally renowned designer’s creation.
“We’ve been working on the course a lot over the past couple of weeks as we look to get things into shape ahead of SA Champs. We are trying our hardest to ensure the full Worlds course is what is used at SA Champs,” explained Floros.
“This has been one of the toughest courses I’ve had to put together because it goes through so many different properties however it really will be a fantastic course with such great diversity, features and views!” he added.
Starting and finishing at Cascades MTB Park, the course is split into two sections. A 74km first loop and a 21km second loop.
The men’s race will see participants tackle both loops while the women’s title will be decided over the first 74km only. This is typical of many UCI marathon events, where women race a shorter distance. This way, race times are similar.
“This is a World Championships and so the standard of the course is obviously at this sort of technical level,” said Floros. “The 95km route includes 3300m of climbing in total and the nature of the climbing, being short and sharp, tends to eat into your legs. Those who aren’t right on top of their game may be okay in the first loop but they’ll really struggle in the 21km loop!” he warned.
Darren Lill would be on of many strong South Africans with a home ground advantage
Photo by Gary Perkin/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
The 74km loop takes riders through numerous different ecosystems with the game reserve stretches already being of particular interest.
“The first sector of the 74km loop is a 7km stretch through Cascades’ forests and will see riders tackle some forest track, a couple of shortish stretches of single track and one or two sharp climbs before they head up to feed/tech zone one. The forest track allows riders to overtake before they head into the single track stretches while the climbs will see riders jostling for position.
Our Australian XCM Champs will be in RSA – good luck to Mel Anset and Andy Blair.
A visit to Queen Elizabeth Park is riders’ first game experience of the route before the tough climb up to the Mount Verde estate.
“The first climb isn’t steep but the steady gradient will be a good challenge,” said Floros. “The second feed/tech zone is inside Mount Verde before a playful descent should entertain the guys and girls a bit. After feed/tech zone three riders head towards Hilton College where the Hilton College Nature Reserve trails offer some typical South African game trail riding. We’ve had to do very little to these trails as they are used daily by the animals of the reserve!”
Jenny Fay will be racing the Irish XCM Champs ahead of the World Champs. Photo: Richie Tyler
Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve represents yet another standout feature of the course with spectacular views and a potentially race-defining climb on the cards.
“Riders will climb for 20 to 25 minutes on a wide open road so there’s nothing technical about it but it will definitely allow the bigger guys to get into a bit of a rhythm!
The return journey towards Cascades contours along Otto’s Bluff before some single track, farm roads and forest track return riders to Mt. Verde.
“The views from Mount Verde of the city of Pietermaritzburg, Albert Falls Dam and the Greytown/New Hanover area are incredible! Riders then head through the start gate of the World Cup downhill course, do a loop of the Hilltop trail before heading past the Umgeni Water waterworks, onto Warwick Road and through the final feed/tech zone of the first loop.”
Max Knox is no stranger to the SA or International scene. Photo: Zoon Cronje
A dash down through Cascades’ forests will be fast and furious, particularly for the women who then head for the finish line at the bottom of the hill. For the men, once through the start/finish arch, the second loop has a strong cross country feel to it with numerous descents, none longer than 1000 metres, and frequent short, sharp climbs.
“English Road single track – from last year’s Masters World Champs – Forgotten Trail, Muzzlehouts, Fast and Fluffy single track, Bandits Bend, Vandals Valley and Growing Parks are just some of the many features of this short, testing second loop.
“A final 1.5km stretch of road then heads into a short single track section and the finish straight where it will be flat out the whole way until the finish line!” added Floros.
The UCI MTB Marathon World Championships takes place at the Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on 29 June 2014. More information can be found at www.mtbworldchamps.co.za