Other News
2013 Aspen Trans Karoo Mountain Bike Race Results─── 10:08 Mon, 08 Apr 2013
On Saturday 06 April 2013, Orange Anvil Events hosted the 2nd Aspen Trans Karoo Mountain Bike Race in association with the Northern Cape Tourism Authority. The 2013 event, dubbed the “Down Ride”, was ridden from Sutherland to Ceres and is one of the longest single stage endurance mountain bike races in South Africa.
Pitting man against the Karoo the distance, including 5 compulsory check point stops, had to be completed within 17 hours in order for participants to avoid elimination.
Starting at the Jupiter Lounge in Sutherland, and covering a staggering 240km of off road terrain across the Ceres and Tankwa Karoo, the race finished at the Kaleo Guest Farm, 25km north of Ceres and included the long steep ascent up Skittery Pass at just 70km’s from the finishing line .
We are very happy with the outcome of the 2013 Aspen Trans Karoo, “The Down Ride”. It was as tough, if not tougher that the 2012 “Up Ride” and largely underestimated by a large percentage of the field. Seeing a very fast start to the race the leading participants were approximately 1.5 hours ahead of schedule at CP2, but this soon caught up with them as they headed off to CP3, with the terrain being a long uphill drag and a mountain pass before the short flat 20km section before CP4.
As a whole the event stamped its authority as “Man vs. Karoo” with everyone having to dig very deep to finish with the 17 hour cut off time at the Kaleo Guest farm on the Ceres end.
“I am happy that the route was a challenge as this event is not for the faint at heart and the Karoo is definitely not for sissies”, says Pieter Van Wyk the Race Director, “What we may lack in single track technical riding we certainly make up for in endurance, physical and mental challenge.”
“2013 was a great year for the second edition of the Aspen Trans Karoo and allowed us to test the challenge of having a down ride in the alternating years. This certainly proved to be a hit in terms of the ethos of the challenge behind an ultra-endurance event in the karoo. The Down Ride is as challenging for the participants as the up ride and we look forward to seeing all the riders back in 2015 to see if they can Tame the Karoo again in the next “Down Ride”. Says Glyn Broomberg, Event Director.
Results:
Men
1st - Timothy Hammond - 9hrs27min48sec
2nd - Billy Stelling - 9hrs40min33sec
3rd - Jean de Villiers - 9hrs43min11sec
Ladies
1st - Hanele Steyn - 10hrs41min11sec
2nd - Lolita van Aardt - 11hrs18min52sec
3rd - Janine Wenke - 12hrs36min39sec
Pitting man against the Karoo the distance, including 5 compulsory check point stops, had to be completed within 17 hours in order for participants to avoid elimination.
Starting at the Jupiter Lounge in Sutherland, and covering a staggering 240km of off road terrain across the Ceres and Tankwa Karoo, the race finished at the Kaleo Guest Farm, 25km north of Ceres and included the long steep ascent up Skittery Pass at just 70km’s from the finishing line .
We are very happy with the outcome of the 2013 Aspen Trans Karoo, “The Down Ride”. It was as tough, if not tougher that the 2012 “Up Ride” and largely underestimated by a large percentage of the field. Seeing a very fast start to the race the leading participants were approximately 1.5 hours ahead of schedule at CP2, but this soon caught up with them as they headed off to CP3, with the terrain being a long uphill drag and a mountain pass before the short flat 20km section before CP4.
As a whole the event stamped its authority as “Man vs. Karoo” with everyone having to dig very deep to finish with the 17 hour cut off time at the Kaleo Guest farm on the Ceres end.
“I am happy that the route was a challenge as this event is not for the faint at heart and the Karoo is definitely not for sissies”, says Pieter Van Wyk the Race Director, “What we may lack in single track technical riding we certainly make up for in endurance, physical and mental challenge.”
“2013 was a great year for the second edition of the Aspen Trans Karoo and allowed us to test the challenge of having a down ride in the alternating years. This certainly proved to be a hit in terms of the ethos of the challenge behind an ultra-endurance event in the karoo. The Down Ride is as challenging for the participants as the up ride and we look forward to seeing all the riders back in 2015 to see if they can Tame the Karoo again in the next “Down Ride”. Says Glyn Broomberg, Event Director.
Results:
Men
1st - Timothy Hammond - 9hrs27min48sec
2nd - Billy Stelling - 9hrs40min33sec
3rd - Jean de Villiers - 9hrs43min11sec
Ladies
1st - Hanele Steyn - 10hrs41min11sec
2nd - Lolita van Aardt - 11hrs18min52sec
3rd - Janine Wenke - 12hrs36min39sec
