WITH the elements of a mountain bike and road cycling race to contend with, riders of the 55km cyclocross at 2017 aQuellé Tour Durban are in for a treat on Sunday, 30 April.
The cyclocross race combines the best of mountain biking and road cycling and gives riders an interesting mix of tar and dirt as the route is similar to the aQuelle Tour Durban’s 45km road race but also includes three 5km offroad sections.
The mountain bike sections will take riders through the picturesque sugar cane fields and natural bush between the Umhlanga River and Umdloti.
“The cyclocross race is more of a hardtail mountain bike race than a true cyclocross event,” said previous race winner, Andrew Hill.
“The guys who try and race it on cyclocross bikes do tend to struggle too much on the mountain bike sections to be able to be competitive. But it does spice things up a bit and make for something a bit different. Most mountain bikers ride on the tar quite a bit for training and so they quite like an event that mixes it up a bit.”
Andrew won the event in 2014 but missed the last two editions of the event due to other riding commitments.
“The tactics are also interesting. There are a lot more tactics as we go on and off the tar. It is quite difficult to know when to go hard and when to sit on a group and ride as if it’s a road race.
“That makes things a bit different, but once we get on the dirt sections the mountain bike riders have enough of an advantage to get away. Mountain bikers are often a bit stronger on the climbs on the dirt and can get a decent advantage from that.
“The racing is still very tight with smaller gaps between riders, so there is quite a lot more pressure. If you have a small mechanical problem or puncture then the other riders behind will come through,” added Andrew.
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