The second Liberty Waterberg Encounter mountain bike race has been tweaked this year to ensure a memorable experience when the event takes place near Bela-Bela in Limpopo next month.
The three-stage race, starting on June 9, is the second leg of the Encounter Series organised by ASG Events. It follows the Liberty Winelands Encounter, which took place in the Boland last month.
Route director Mel Meyer said they wanted to give the entrants a genuine bushveld experience and would be catering for about 150 teams to take to the start at the Sondela Nature Reserve.
He added that the biggest change to the event this year was two race villages compared to last year’s three, with stopovers at Sondela and Elements Golf Estate.
Participants can expect to be well catered for on and off the bike when the Liberty Waterberg Encounter, in partnership with STANLIB, takes place near Bela-Bela in Limpopo next month. Photo: Ewald Sadie
The aim, he said, was to make the three-day package more compact to create an even purer mountain biking challenge for the riders.
“Elements is a beautiful venue and there are luxury tented packages at the venue, with the clubhouse facilities at hand.”
Entrants can still stay at Sondela for the weekend as there will be transport to take them to and from Elements, where the second and third stages start.
Meyer said they had received encouraging feedback from the participants on what they were trying to achieve with the Liberty Waterberg Encounter, in partnership with STANLIB.
“We look to add the personal touch to this event because people want to know that they are part of the race.
“Plus they get to see a wide variety of game on farms to which they would not normally have access.”
He said the position of the race on the calendar worked well because of the relatively mild winter conditions in the region.
