The third edition of the DUTOIT Tankwa Trek three-day mountain bike race will take place from February 13 to 15 and promises to draw a world-class line-up to challenge for the various category titles.
The DUTOIT Tankwa Trek route for 2015 will be getting some intriguing tweaks to make it even more rewarding for the riders.
Photo: Zoon Cronje / Nikon / Xtremedia
With similar terrain and distance-to-elevation ratio to the ABSA Cape Epic, this event is becoming a preferred form-tester for those committed to Epic participation.
The Tankwa Trek takes place close to Ceres in the Western Cape province and its geography makes it a mountain bike route designer’s dream.
The routes for each of the stages are developed by three different mountain bikers that live in the area, each giving ‘his stage’ a different character.
“Between Hannes Hannekom (stage one), Mauritz Walters (stage two) and Charl van der Merwe (stage three), we have the ultimate route design team for the Tankwa Trek route,” said Carel Herholdt of Dryland Event Management, the company that organizes the race.
“Stage one will be a little bit different from 2014, but will still retain the amazing views and challenging climbs. I’ve eliminated the sand section near the end, which nobody appreciated, and have added in a couple of sections of natural singletrack that will be a welcome surprise,” said Hannes Hannekom.
“We have a few changes to stage two. I’ve left in the DUTOIT’s Drop singletrack downhill as well as the Merino Monster climb and descent. I’ll move the first water point further into the stage and it will be inside a fruit pack house,” said Mauritz Walters.
The last stage will see an innovation, introduced by Van der Merwe, designed specifically to improve rider flow.
