Word has just spread that The Munga, the 1000km, single-stage mountain bike race has had postpone their inaugural race, set for 3 December 2014 across the Karoo in South Africa.
“The Munga offers more than just a race, it’s a test against the toughest of external elements – and today we face one of the race’s toughest challenges, having to postpone the event to 2015, as one of our key investors has withdrawn,” says Alex Harris, renowned explorer, athlete, founder of Xplore Authentic Experiences and Race Director of The Munga.
“The vision of The Munga remains clear; to create a global platform where we completely challenge the norm and format of endurance racing and the individuals’ perception of what is possible. Given the integrity of our brand and partners, we have taken the decision to postpone the race to 2015 with immediate effect.
Harris made the announcement after returning from a European tour to promote the event.
“The amount of local and global interest in The Munga has been phenomenal and we are so excited and honoured to be at the forefront of making endurance and mountain bike racing history,” concludes Harris. “The Munga Dream has not changed and is just getting stronger.”
So we are faced with the question – why did the investor pull out?
We can see three possibilities – at least three issues that have had us wondering.
Inequality
The Munga was a reward for the fastest team, with $750 000 US Dollars going to the winners. There was no prize split for men’s and women’s teams. Just 750k straight up for the fastest. After the work done by so many national bodies and private promoters to create equal prize money in races (and hopefully equal recognition) The Munga does seem to thumb it’s nose at such development. Perhaps not the backward mentality a corporate sponsor would like to be involved with?
Security
With a total of $1 000 000 US Dollars on the line, there is a lot to play for. Not on the confines of a court for a tennis Grand Slam. Nor would it be undertaken on the closed pitch of a football field. Instead, it would cross over 1000km of open district roads. That’s a lot of money on the line. And a lot to be left to chance for a race course that is open to the public.
Marshalling
It may be that the marshalling of 1000km was going to prove too expensive, or too hard to police. Having results called into question would not represent a supporting company in a good light – this could be enough to pull financial backing.
Of course, it could all be that the investor has their own interests, business or otherwise, to look after. Let’s hope that The Munga does run in 2015, and that it might address any questions that people are posing about the event, especially the one of equality. Perhaps the fairest way to run the event is as a mixed team only race?
Keep track of the event on twitter via @themunga or on their website www.themunga.com