TREAD Media, South Africa’s premier mountain biking media brand, has thrown its support behind the 2021 Mpumalanga Enduro Series as the series media partner. The partnership will help grow the profile of the series as well as Enduro racing in the Mpumalanga province.
Action from Round 1 of the Mpumalanga Enduro Series at MTO Trails White River. | Photo: Phonix Capture
TREAD’s sub-division brand, SHRED, which focuses on the more gravity orientated market, will be publishing media content on the TREAD website, weekly mailer and social media channels. The media value of this partnership is in excess of R175 000.
“The South African mountain bike events industry is in a highly compromised state after government enforced lockdown regulations through most of 2020 and the early part of 2021. As a media brand, we decided to use our reach and influence to help boost selected events where possible,” said Sean Badenhorst, Editor and co-founder of TREAD Media.
“Enduro is a growing discipline that appeals to both youngsters and older riders. With mass events compromised even by the current Level 1 lockdown regulations, the time-trial format of Enduro events isn’t really affected much. Mpumalanga’s topography is perfect for world-class Enduro racing and we saw the commitment being put in by the Trail Awareness Crew and wanted to help.
“There is also a large Enduro community in Gauteng, but very few events. With Mpumalanga being a relatively short drive away, we felt that raising the profile of the Mpumalanga Enduro Series would encourage Gauteng riders to attend one or more of the events, thereby delivering value for Enduro to two regions,” added Badenhorst
Round 1 of the 2021 Mpumalanga Enduro Series took place at MTO White River on 17 April. A relatively small field competed on high quality trails. Round 2 is scheduled to take place at Trailworx, Nelspruit on Saturday 5 June. The remaining rounds are as follows:
Round 3: 3 July at Mankele, Nelspruit
Round 4: 7 August at Tranquilitas, Waterval Boven
Round 5: 11 September, Sabie
Louise Kotze in action at Round 1 of the Mpumalanga Enduro Series at MTO Trails White River. | Photo: Phonix Capture
“We are thrilled to have the support of an established, respected media like TREAD and SHRED,” said Schalk Potas, Mpumalanga Enduro Series Race Director. “The trails builders in Mpumalanga have put in so much work to ensure our trails are world class, not just for events, but for recreational riding too. The guaranteed media exposure will be a huge help in both getting new riders to the province as well hopefully securing some sponsor support.”
“We launched SHRED, a sub-division of TREAD in 2020 to focus on the younger generation’s preferred mountain bike disciplines like XC racing, Dirt-jumping, Slopestyle, Enduro and Downhill. This new generation of mountain bikers don’t get their kicks from endurance riding or racing – the foundation of the mountain bike market for almost two decades – and we wanted a sub-division to focus specifically on this,” said Badenhorst
“We haven’t been able to do much with SHRED until now, but we knew it would become an essential media to support the future of South African mountain biking, so we will grow SHRED organically,” he added.
For more information or to enter Round 2 of the 2021 Mpumalanga Enduro Series at Trailworx, Nelspruit, click here.
