The KAP sani2c Race kicks off on Wednesday 24 April, where, for the first time in the 20-year history of the event, there will be a Prologue for the UCI registered riders. KAP sani2c is now a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Category 2 marathon stage race and points are allocated per rider – which means that each rider from the first team across the line will be awarded 80 points to their UCI ranking. Andrew ‘Housty’ Houston says they have developed a challenging 16 km Prologue route with 416 metres of climbing: “I think we have delivered some ‘sani spice’ for the Prologue. It has less sign ..read more

As we discovered in our 2023 SA Mountain Biking Survey,  there are several power meter brands being used by South African mountain bikers. We have spent a few months training and racing with the AXO Sigeyi, which is a relatively new Chinese brand that’s gaining a good international reputation as well as South African traction. Here’s what we think… AXO’s Sigeyi power meter is a crank-based meter. It comes in a range of variants to suit most mountain bike cranksets, including SRAM, RaceFace, Rotor, Cane Creek, Cannondale and Shimano. You bolt the power meter to your chainring and sync it t ..read more

Tyronne White showed his protégés how it is done as the veteran cycling coach led home a phalanx of team members in the aQuellé Tour Durban MTB powered by Cycle Lab on Saturday. The 40km race, which started and finished near Cornubia Mall, was dominated by White (pictured above) and riders he coaches, and he led home a DriveTrain Academy clean-sweep of the top four positions. Josh Paul ended second, just over two minutes behind, with pre-race favourite and defending champion Daniel van der Watt third, and Luke Pretorius fourth. Deon Verwey completed the five-rider podium and was the only rider ..read more

The 2024 UCI XCO World Cup kicked off in Brazil last weekend with some thrilling racing! The Men’s XCO race in particular was an absolute cracker, with 13 riders starting the last lap at the front of the race. Final-lap attacks by those who still could, created some splits, with Specialized Factory Racing’s Christopher Blevins claiming the victory. South Africa’s Alan Hathlerly finished an impressive eighth after a fourth-row start. Even if you watched it live, it’s worth another gander. Watch it now ..read more

Twenty-five year-old Mechanical Engineering student, Hayley Preen, has collected a few national and continental cycling titles in the past few years. This week she begins what is sure to be her greatest challenge yet, the seven-race Life Time Grand Prix Series in the United States. We had a chat to her to find out more. Words: Sean Badenhorst | Intro image: Warwick Purdy She took us by surprise when she won the Elite Women’s Road Race national championship in 2021. Now, when Hayley Preen is on a start line of any bicycle race, we expect success – or at least a hard race. She’s a fierce competi ..read more

I’m introducing my son to South African mountain bike stage racing by combining as a Dad-and-Son team at the 20th edition of the KAP Sani2c, the world’s biggest mountain bike stage race. Here’s how we trained, where we trained and what we used for energy and recovery; what injury challenges we faced and a nice family bonus. By Sean Badenhorst It’s a week before we start the Adventure edition of the 2024 KAP Sani2c, a 285km, three-day mountain bike haul across southern KwaZulu-Natal. Cade is young and strong and enthusiastic. I turn 54 next month and had haven’t done a stage race since 2020. I ..read more

Greg Minnaar started winning World Cup races before Jackson Goldstone was born! This 30-minute documentary of their assault on the 2023 UCI DH World Cup season gives great insight into the bond they have as well as the mutual respect. What was Jackson’s dream debut season turned out to be Greg’s worst, which is well documented here. Also some great footage of Minnaar’s early racing days and some cool behind-the-scenes clips from the World Cup races. Watch it now via the link below! https://www.redbull.com/za-en/episodes/race-tapes-s2-e3 ..read more

In the final of our four-part reveal of the results of the 2023 South African Mountain Biking Survey, presented by Garmin, we examine gear choices. There was a total of 2467 respondents. Here’s a look at the preferences South African mountain bikers have for helmets, shoes, eyewear, clothing and other gear selections, with comparisons to previous years where relevant. What brand of helmet do you currently ride with? 2023 2022 2021 2020 Specialized 19.11% 18.84% 19.44% 17.98% SCOTT 13.89% 12.00% 11.89% 10.81% Giro 10.08% 11.53% 11.36% 12.18% Bell 6.77% 9.03% 10.80% 13.30% Bontra ..read more

Matt Beers became the first South African to win the Absa Cape Epic three times when he and his Toyota Specialized Ninety-One teammate, Howard Grotts of the USA secured a somewhat clinical victory in the 20thedition of the race. In this interview, Beers explains how changed his training for this year’s Cape Epic – and how it paid off. By Sean Badenhorst Three Absa Cape Epic wins, Matt! Only Sauser, Platt, Kulhavy, Sahm, Luthi and Langvad have achieved this. How does it feel to be among Cape Epic royalty? It does feel crazy. Those are all riders I look up to, especially Kulhavy. He was my inspi ..read more

Keira Duncan and Frankie du Toit tamed a strong field and challenging conditions to secure the men and women’s titles respectively at Round 1 of the 2024 Enduro SA Cup, presented by Balwin and Suzuki at Thaba Trails, Johannesburg on Sunday 31 March. Words: Sean Badenhorst | Photography: Dominic Barnardt and Justin Barlow It was the second win for Duncan at this venue, but it was an extremely narrow victory margin. The KwaZulu-Natal racer beat Western Cape’s Matt Lombardi by just a single second over the seven stages, including a blind stage. Third place went to another Western Cape rider ..read more