JoBerg2c

Old Mutual joBerg2c

Race details
Date	April/May
Region	South Africa
Discipline	Mountain biking
Competition	Professional and Amateur
Type	Stage race
History
First edition	2010

The joBerg2c (also known under current sponsorship as the Old Mutual joBerg2c) is the longest paired mountain biking stage race in South Africa. It takes place over nine days and covers approximately 900 kilometres (exact distances vary from year to year) from Heidelberg in Gauteng to Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal coast.^[1]

Race Overview

joBerg's organising team is led by Craig Wapnick, Gary Green and Glen Haw. Green and Haw are responsible for the successful Berg and Bush and sani2c mountain bike stage races respectively. The middle and last three days of the Old Mutual joBerg2c trace the same course as these two events.

The event is fully serviced – each of the two-person teams is allocated a tent and three meals per day at the eight overnight stops or race villages. Additional services such as massage therapists and bike mechanics are also available. An innovation introduced in the 2012 race is the solo entry, aimed at riders who prefer to complete the event without a teammate, or who have difficulty finding one.

Furthermore, top tier amateur and semi-pro riders can now apply for sponsorship on the condition that they are serious contenders for the main prize purse. This is aimed at developing talent in the cycling community, especially riders from a previously disadvantaged background.There are also a number of entries available for media representatives. The voice of cycling, Tour de France commentator Phil Liggett, has ridden both the inaugural and second events as a celebrity guest.^[2]

Tour de Farms

One of the differentiating factors of this race is that the bulk of the route crosses more than 90 private farms. Riders traverse a variety of agricultural holdings including game, dairy and cattle country, maize lands, rose and stud farms, sugarcane fields and pine plantations.

Route breakdown

The 910-kilometre route takes riders across the country’s agricultural hinterland – from Heidelberg in Gauteng, through the north-eastern Free State and along the foothills of the Drakensberg to Scottburgh in KwaZulu-Natal.^[3]

The route comprises a combination of single track, 4x4 track and private dirt roads, as well as short stretches on district by-ways. Although the basic skeleton of the route remains unchanged from year to year, the exact distances vary as organisers aim to add more and more single track.

• Day one: Heidelberg to Frankfort Distance 113 km, Ascent 917m, Descent 935m
• Day two: Frankfort to Reitz Distance 93 km, Ascent 1030m, Descent 959m
• Day three: Reitz to Sterkfontein Dam Distance 125 km, Ascent 1064m
• Day four: Sterkfontein Dam to Winterton Distance 124 km, Ascent 1937m, Descent 2624m
• Day five: Winterton to Kamberg Distance 102 km, Ascent 1625m
• Day six: Kamberg to Hazeldean Farm Distance 93.7 km, Ascent 1982m, Descent 1946m
• Day seven: Hazeldean Farm to Mackenzie Club Distance 86 km, Ascent 1110m
• Day eight: Mackenzie Club to Jolivet Distance 96.7 km, Ascent 2230m
• Day nine: Jolivet to Scottburgh Distance 75 km, Ascent 1235m ^[4]

Racing categories and prizes

The Old Mutual joBerg2c is one of the richest mountain bike races in the country. There are three racing snake sections (men’s, ladies and mixed) that receive prize money for overall classification, although serious riders in the sub-veteran, veteran and masters categories may compete for the same prizes.

Previous winners

^[5]

References

External links