Round 3 of the Gauteng XCO Series, presented by Suzuki, will take place at a completely new venue, southeast of Pretoria which has invested significantly in building a world-class XCO racing course. The novelty of a new venue has attracted a strong pre-entry field as individuals and schools prepare to fight for crucial points.
Monte de Dios is an upmarket weddings and conference venue just outside Pretoria. It’s also home to Future XCO course, which has been built and refined with the aim of being one of the premier XCO race venues in the country. The provincial XCO course is 3.9km long with 148m of ascent and 141m of descent per lap.
The course includes a range of stimulating obstacles to ensure skill is tested as much as strength and stamina. The main ascent includes a 24% pitch, which should offer a solid climbing test, while a blend of rock gardens, drop-offs, gap-jumps, jumps and berms make up a course that’s challenging and rewarding in equal measure.
There’s an additional course that’s tamer (2.5km with 60m ascent per lap) and will be used for the Lite events on Saturday. The Lite races are designed to encourage new participation and cater for the younger divisions and are presented by Like2Bike.
“We had a vision to build a XCO course to world standards in Gauteng at an altitude over 1400m above sea level. We have so many talented young riders in South Africa, but they lack experience to compete at international venues like Lenzerheide, Snowshoe or Andorra. So we have built Future XCO,” said Izak Coetzee, the founder of Future Coaches Cycling.
“We also need safe places for youngsters to ride. The Future XCO track is at a safe venue, within the grounds of the Monte de Dios functions venue near Pretoria. We also have a bike shop and service centre on the property and we look forward to showcasing this venue to a broader market at Saturday’s XCO Cup event,” added Coetzee.
Suzuki is the presenting sponsor the 2022 Gauteng XCO Series. Other brands that have invested in the sponsoring the Gauteng XCO Series are EcoLogic (bike wash products), 100% (eyewear products), 32 GI (performance supplements), Med Guys (medical support) and SHRED (media partner).
Online entry closes at 22h00 on Thursday 7 April 2022 and can be done here.
For more information, contact Paola on 083 2523752 or paola.damilano@me.com
