THE sixth edition of the JBay Wind Farm MTB Classic is set to take place on Saturday, July 14.
Catering for a range of fitness levels, the event runs from Kabeljouws Lagoon parking area and features a 25km fun ride, 50km half-marathon and 85km ultra.
Entries are limited and selling out fast.
There will once again be R55 000 worth of prices up for grabs with a R11 000 first prize for both the male and female 85km ultra category winners.
Big names returning
The 2017 event was won by East London’s Jason Reed after a closely fought battle with Max Sullivan from Stellenbosch. Reed eventually managed to breakaway from Sullivan in the Wind Farm and claimed the victory (and the R10 000 first prize) in a time of 03:20:41. Sullivan came in second (03:21:19), with 2016 defending champion, Ndumiso ‘Maza’ Dontso, rounding out the podium.
“It was a great mix of singletrack and jeep track,” Reed said of the route afterward. “It was tough, rocky and technical with a lots of corners, braking and accelerating. Definitely suited to ‘real’ mountain bikers,” he said.
In the 2017 women’s race, Yolande de Villiers successfully defended her title, finishing sixth overall in the 85km, in a time of 03:34:44. She also collected the R10 000 first prize for her day in the office. Three-time champ and darling of the Eastern Cape, Anriëtte Schoeman finished second, with Siska van der Bijl in third.
Constant innovation
This year also sees an innovative new Strava Challenge – known as the ‘JBay Triple Crown’ – set to build even more hype around already popular mountain bike event.
The challenge – as the name suggests – is made up of three separate Strava segments. Two of these are on private land and registering for the challenge allows riders access to those routes.
There are three segments, the first being down near Aston Bay at the Seekoei River along the purpose-built singletrack that used to form part of the Ultra Marathon in the early days of the JBay Wind Farm MTB Classic. This segment is 3.35km, flat and fast. The second runs for 5.98km behind the Lifestyle Centre in Jeffreys Bay and the third segment is tight and technical and should also ride fast over 4.75km out at the Zuurbron Bike Park, near Hankey. There are special prizes up for grabs for all who complete the Strava Challenge and ride one of the JBay Wind Farm MTB routes on 14 July.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/jbaywindfarmmtbclassic.
