It’s not the best-known gravel race in the country, but it is widely considered to be the toughest one-day gravel race. And it’s in Gauteng, which makes it convenient and good value for those riders that appreciate a proper endurance test, but don’t want to take leave and travel too far to get their fix. It’s the Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra, presented by King Price and the ninth edition takes place on 22 April. Who says it’s the toughest? Here’s who…
Paid partnership with Faces Africa
The 2022 Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra participants were sent a survey after the event. One question asked those that have completed the other major one-day off-road events in South Africa to compare which was the hardest. A total of 71% percent said that Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra is the hardest they have done. But what makes it so hard?
“It’s a combination of factors. The distance of 260km is far to race! Then there is the altitude – the average for Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra is 1750m above sea level. And finally, there is between 2800m and 3300m of climbing, depending which direction is being raced,” said Fritz Pienaar, Managing Director of Face Events, which took over ownership of Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra from 2019.
As the name implies, the race starts in Cullinan, near Pretoria and ends in Tonteldoos, near Dullstroom. Riders start in Gauteng on the Highveld, cross through Mpumalanga, into Limpopo and then back into Mpumalanga. Based on an entrant survey, 65% were in favour of reversing the route on alternating years, so there is now an ASCENT (original direction) and a DESCENT (reverse direction).
The ASCENT sees riders drop from the Mpumalanga escarpment at over 2000m above sea level to the Lowveld at around 950m above sea level, before climbing 20km and more than 800m back up to the finish. It’s a killer climb when you’re weakening towards the finish! The DESCENT sees the opposite – a 20km descent shortly after the start, rising up the escarpment and then finishing in Cullinan on the Highveld. Both are equally difficult.
The 2023 edition will be on the original ASCENT route. After acquiring the event, Faces Events decided to move the finish from Tonteldoos to Dunkeld Estate in Dullstroom. This added some distance to the event, but offers a finish/start venue with better infrastructure and accommodation. They kept the original finish in the name though, because it is distinctive and very South African. Tonteldoos is the Afrikaans word for tinder box.
The route uses only district and farm roads, which are gravel and non-technical and appropriate for mountain bikes or gravel bikes. The route isn’t marked, making it essential for entrants to have a GPS device and decent lights (front and rear), as most will finish after sunset. It’s an incredibly scenic route that winds its way through scrubby veld in Gauteng, the grasslands of the Mpumalanga Highlands, classic bushveld in Limpopo and both indigenous and plantation forests in the Lowveld.
Top South African professional racer, Mark Pritzen won the 2022 DESCENT edition in a time of 8 hours 45 minutes. An impressive performance considering just finishing the event is the challenge for most entrants. There is a cut-off time of 24 hours with most riders finishing between 13-16 hours. For those unsure of completing the full distance, there’s a two-rider team relay category option.
Unlike most point-to-point ultra-marathons, the Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra is very spectator-friendly. The organisers set up specific spectator points along the route and the finish venues for both directions are geared to focus on families.
“Ultra-marathon racers spend so much time away from their families and friends during training. We feel that it’s really important to ensure the families and supporters are properly accommodated at the event, both along the route and at the start and finish venues,” explained Pienaar.
“Long-distance events like Cullinan2Tonteldoos Ultra are not only physically demanding, but also emotionally challenging. Having your supporters there to give you encouragement along the route can make a big difference. It’s also ideal to spend a night or two with family and friends at Dunkeld Estate, which is very family-friendly and relaxing,” added Pienaar.
Entrants to the 2023 Cullinan2Tonteldoos, presented by King Price each get a good quality goodie bag, race merchandise items and a photo pack valued at R370. To enter or find out more, click here:https://c2tmtb.co.za
Check out the video highlights of last year’s edition of Cullinan2Tonteldoos, presented by King Price.
