SA DH Cup #2, KZN & Gauteng Provincial Championships

Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd of April 2023 saw the South African Downhill Cup #2 held at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg. The event doubled as the KZN and Gauteng Provincial Championships, once again presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles.

The race saw the country’s top riders taking to a newly renovated track, and with the weather uncharacteristically playing ball so to speak, riders enjoyed a relatively dry track for a change, making for some high speed racing by the time the line was crossed for the final time.

In the end it was local female Beani Thies who took the top spot in the Overall Women’s category, and Theo Erlangsen in the Men’s.

Well done to all riders who took part, and thank you to our Team and Sponsors, without you all, these events couldn’t happen!

Saturday – Practice

Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd of April 2023 saw the South African Downhill Cup #2, held at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg. The event doubled as the Provincial Championships of the Regional Series for KZN and Gauteng Provinces and once again presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles. The race saw the country’s top riders taking to a newly renovated track in hopes of securing some lucrative points needed for World Championship Selection later on in the year.

With the weather uncharacteristically playing ball so to speak, riders enjoyed a relatively dry track for a change, making for some high speed racing by the time the line was crossed for the final time.

Sunday – Race

Sunday met the riders with some glorious and well received sun, and with quickly rising temperatures the previously tacky track from Saturday was a whole new animal. Riders moved swiftly to the shuttles in order to get in as much practice as they could before the midday show down.

Youth newcomer Arielle Behr showed them how it’s down with some clever line selection, earning her top spot in her class, as well as pipping the Junior Girls to the top spot in 18&U Girls

Starting in the infamous “Hut” into the tricky “Eye Boggler” rock garden, the track then descended into the rooty top forest section. Riders then were left to negotiate various lines through the treacherous “Cloud 9” before dropping into “Tombstone”. The wild ride continues into “Haibo” a drop into berms, and this is where up and coming rider Ross Kew found himself at odds with Lady Lucky, walking away with a broken wrist and collarbone.

As riders dropped off “Dr Evil” before plunging into “Gully” to be met by the crowds awaiting them at “Tables” the infamous 17m table tops. Another showpiece and crowd pleaser Jugs has the spectators cheering as the riders made their way down to A-Frame and Moneymaker, before crossing the finish line.

With a sub 5-minute becoming the benchmark, top seed Theo Erlangsen was the only rider to break the sub 4-minute mark on the day, earning him the top Elite, and top overall on the day, and Sabine Thies cruising off with the women overall.

Event Gallery

Some event photographs can be viewed on our facebook page, alternatively for higher res image please reach out to Chris via instagram.

Safe to say everyone enjoyed a few cold ones from @devilspeakbeer 🍻

Results

Overall Mens Podium

Theo Erlangsen 03:55:42
Rory Kirk 04:00:35
Keagan Brand 04:03:62
Philip van Schalkwyk 04:08:60
Nate Tanner Hall 04:10:49

Overall Womens Podium

Sabine Thies 04:46:67
Arielle Behr 05:01:81
Jenna Byrnes 05:17:35
Danika Botha 05:50:49
Tyla-May Smale 06:16:95

Complete event results can be viewed here and KZN &GP Downhill Series Leaderboard can be viewed here.

Next Event

Regretfully due to financial and time constraints the KZN DHI #3 will not be held at St Ives, BUT We have partnered with Gibaland to bring you the final KZN and GP Cup DHI round, which will be held on the same date – 7th May 2023. St Ives has always been seen as a “gateway to downhill” track, and as such Gibaland will be providing us with a track to suit both new and seasoned riders. We hope riders old and new will support this event as the last in the series, either for fun or to secure some last minute points! Entries are open and can be done via ROAG here.