Course at Cup Series to favour climbers

South Africa’s top cross-country (XCO) and downhill (DHI) stars are expected to compete to accumulate crucial UCI points at the Cascades Mountain Bike Park.

“The XCO course has changed over the last couple of weeks,” course designer Nick Floros said in a statement on Friday.

“We’ve used the World Cup course, which makes it more twisty-turny, with short sharp climbs.

“There’s 220m climbing over 4.8km. The track has all the technical sections, and it is really challenging and will suit the climbers.”

Floros said competitors would also enjoy the DHI course changes.

“The course will be a little bit different to what the guys have raced in the past,” he said.

“There’s a small change coming out of the Bomb Hole, to spice it up a bit it’s about 200m in length, nothing hectic but the guys need to look at that.”

He said the bottom of the track was also different as it dropped onto last year’s master’s course towards the slip-and-slide.

Wet and cold conditions had prevailed throughout the week leading up to the event, and the host province hoped the rain stayed at bay for the weekend’s events.

– Sapa