A new generation of South African mountain bikers are finding their thrills on slopes, drops and jumps rather than in the traditionally strong endurance events segment. Omnico (Pty) Ltd is aware of the growth in the Enduro discipline and has committed several of its global brands, including Cannondale and Fox Suspension, to a new sponsorship of the Western Cape Enduro Series for 2024. Here’s what that involves.
Paid partnership with Omnico (Pty) Ltd
With the widest range of gravity-style trails parks in the country, the Western Cape leads the way in terms of not only Enduro event venues but also rider numbers. It’s not unusual to have more than 300 entries at a round of the Western Cape Enduro Series, which is a lot for this high-risk, high-speed, technical discipline.
“As one of the country’s most established distributors of top brands, we have always believed in the importance of supporting local events and riders. We already have a strong presence with Cannondale at KAP sani2c and sponsorship of top marathon racer, Candice Lill, which covers a large market segment. But we wanted to begin connecting with the younger mountain bike market and that’s what has led to us becoming a sponsor of the 2024 Western Cape Enduro Series,” said Mark Nel Head of Marketing at Omnico.
“We have committed the following brands to our sponsorship: Cannondale, Fox Suspension, ZeroTwo Components, Crank Brothers and Evoc. The naming convention will be ‘The Cannondale Western Cape Enduro Series, powered by Fox Suspension’. We will be committing both product as well as cash as prizes for certain categories at the four rounds of the 2024 Western Cape Enduro Series,” explained Nel.
“All the brands we have associated with the Western Cape Enduro Series have a gravity racing link. Not necessarily Downhill, but certainly Enduro. We’re excited to see so many young riders (and some of the old-school guys and girls) enjoying what Enduro offers. Our Cannondale Jeckyll is the ideal Enduro racing bike and we’re looking forward to seeing more and more of them at local and national Enduro races in the future,” added Nel.
One of the unique prize offerings is the Omnico bike and gear ambassadorship for the Junior Men and Women.
“The top Junior Man and Junior Woman overall at the end of the 2024 series will secure an Omnico ambassadorship for 2025. This includes riding a Cannondale bike, wearing Giro helmet, shoes and gloves, being kitted with D’Arcs eyewear as well as other products from brands within the Omnico stable. We feel that the Junior Men and Women are the ideal category to offer this to as they are at a stage in their racing where additional support is essential, especially if they are fast enough to win the series,” explained Nel.
The 2024 Cannondale Western Cape Enduro Series, presented by Fox Suspension has most of its dates, with venues being finalised still. Here’s the current information:
- Round 1: 17 March | Venue: TBC
- Round 2: 28 April | Venue: TBC
- Round 3: 15 September | Venue: Witfontein, George (also Enduro SA Cup #4)
- Round 4: Date: TBC | Venue: TBC
Enduro is an official Cycling South Africa racing discipline, which is contested annually in the following provinces: Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng. For those unfamiliar with the discipline, riders are given a set course to complete in a pre-determined time frame. They are only timed on selected segments, which are predominantly descending. The sum of their times for each segment create a total race time, which determines their overall and category position.
For more information and series updates, follow the Western Cape Enduro Instagram account: @wc_enduro.
For more information on Omnico and its stable of premium brands, click here.
Images: Chris Taylor Media
