Dashing for Delta
BLAIRGOWRIE – Bikes, beer and buckets of fun for the whole family awaits participants of the Delta Dash Endurance Challenge.
One of Joburg’s growing sporting events, the six-hour Delta Dash MTB Endurance Challenge mountain-bike race takes place on 16 April. The route starts at Delta Park School, and then goes right around Delta Park.
The event is in its sixth year and caters for the whole family. Supporters can enjoy the entertainment, food stalls, music and other festivities while cyclists battle it out on the track. The Endurance Challenge starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm before a prize-giving and then cyclists can enjoy an ice cold beer from the beer tent. There are prizes up for grabs in all categories. Cyclists who want to test their stamina can enter the solo category and for the more sociable, there is a three-person team category.
A safe, green haven for mountain bikers, Delta Park offers 13 hectares of grassland and woodland to explore, while the school’s sports fields provide the perfect viewpoint from which to follow the race, watch team changeovers and enjoy the super-fast section through the school itself, which is always the highlight of the cyclists’ laps.
This year renovations to the school grounds provide new twists to the route, which is suitable for beginners as there are detours around more technical sections but is tough enough to test even the strongest rider’s endurance.
Last year the dash was largely contested by clubs and individuals alike and saw team Norton Rose Fulbright, the reigning team champions drop to third place and Team SOAR take the win with 22 laps, followed by Team Road Cover Masters. In the senior men’s solo category, Julius Cobbett, took top honours on a single speed, after he completed 20 laps, ahead of Delaney Impey. The senior ladies race was won by Marisa van der Linda with Team Action Gear, who won the mixed team category for the second year in a row.
Delta Park School is a public school from Grade 1 to 12 for pupils who experience learning barriers, which prevent them from coping adequately in a mainstream environment. All proceeds from this annual event go to the school and are used for additional therapies, equipment, interactive white boards, computers and assistance for pupils involved in sporting activities.
Online entries are open and can be filled in at www.deltadashmtb.co.za
Details: Delta Park School, 011 888 7228.
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