2022/23 Quattro ROAG
Series powered by Momentum

Date: 2022/2023
Location: Various
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Format: Trail Running & MTB

SMITH, MARAIS AND THE GRAYS TRIUMPH

After a drawn-out 2022/23 Quattro ROAG Series powered by Momentum, the final two sets of event results were finally officially confirmed recently, with Hayley Smith, Stuart Marais and Brett and Sarah Gray named as the champions.

As the 2022 results were finalised, the remaining provisional dates for the 2023 series were also released with some intriguing changes and the welcome news that the series will finally be able to revert back to a calendar-year format.

For multiple series winner Marais (Team Imbuko {Type} DEV) the series was a swansong as he announced his retirement from professional MTB racing at the beginning of this year, signalling the end of an era of domination of the series by the Howick resident.

Marais has been one of the most loyal and successful supporters of the ROAG Series over the past few years, so his decision to move away from racing will give the plethora of young, up-and-coming riders a chance to fight for a share of the glory.

Marais completed all seven events in 2022, but was not on the starting line for the two events which were rolled into 2023 – Illovo Wartburg and Hyundai Hillcrest. However, he had already done enough with 548 points in the bag to secure the top spot when he announced his retirement.

Mechanical problems as well as scheduling conflicts led to some of the big names missing out on the final events and saw Keegan Tullis move up to second overall, ahead of Jason Davies.

In the women’s MTB series, Smith was never seriously challenged after 2021 champion Rouxda Grobler opted to ease back on her riding commitments. Smith (Bell Equipment) built a huge advantage over the 2022 races, so the emergence of Tyler Jacobs as the race winner at both the 2023 races was never a problem in terms of the series title. Master Alison Misselhorn produced a consistent showing that belied her age category to finish second, ahead of Sanchia Malan.

The trail running was a celebration for Brett and Sarah Gray. The series stalwarts were rewarded with a family double as they claimed the men’s and women’s wins respectively. In recent years Sarah has proven to be almost unbeatable in the series and even as she moves up an age group in 2023, it is hard to imagine her anywhere but on the top step of the overall podium once again in 2023.

In the women’s series, Alison Wasserfall and Patricia Bammann claimed second and third.

In the age category results there were some standout performances, with the overall series winners, Hayley Smith (senior women) and Stuart Marais (sub-vet men), heading the list of riders with perfect scores as they notched up a perfect 600 points each to claim their age category titles. Others riders to secure the elusive 600-point mark were Alison Misselhorn (master women), Sanchia Malan (sub-vet women), Omar Wilson (youth boys), Madison Bateson (sub-junior girls), and Sophie Bircher (nipper girls), while among the trail runners, Kayleigh Lindeque (U18 girls) was the only person to reach the 600-point mark.

The details regarding paying out the prize-winners is being finalised and all winners will be mailed before the end of April. In the meantime, head over to 2022 Results and check out the final results.

Quattro ROAG KZN MTB Marathon Series

Date: 2023
Location: Various
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Format: MTB & Trail Running

TWO NEW RACES JOIN 2023 ROAG SERIES

DURBAN – Two new events, an upgrade in status, the retention of most of KZN’s old favourites and a welcome return to the traditional calendar-year format are the highlights of the renamed Quattro ROAG KZN MTB Marathon Series.

The ROAG Series welcomes the partnership with KZN Mountain Bike Commission and the introduction of two new events – including the first ever stage race in the series – for the 2023 season.

“We are so excited to be able to partner with the KZN MTB Commission in the 2023 Series as well as introduce two new events to the series,” said ROAG Managing Director, Nicole Talbot.

“Our aim with this series has always been primarily to grow mountain biking and trail running, and so it makes so much sense to be able to work together with KZN MTB, the organisation that controls the sport in the province, to promote and develop KZN races.

“And, of course, the introduction of the first ever stage race, the Emilgroup/Ergon North Coast Challenger, and one of Durban’s iconic sporting events, the aQuellé Tour Durban, as two key events is a significant step forward despite the setbacks we have experienced over the past few years.”

It was not all good news, however, as the series says goodbye to long-time financial sponsors Momentum. Although Quattro continues to provide logistical support for ROAG and has naming rights for the series, Momentum’s decision means the series has no financial sponsor for 2023 and there will be no prizemoney offered for the 2023 series.

“We must thank Momentum for their valuable support over the past few years,” said Talbot. “Thanks to them we were able to offer the biggest prizemoney for any MTB and trail-running series in the country and we know how valuable those prizes were to some of the pro riders trying to earn a living. So, unless we find another sponsor during the year, it is sad to have that source of income removed as an option for the hard-working athletes.”

The 2023 series kicked off with two double-header events in February and March – the Illovo Wartburg and Hyundai Hillcrest events, which also wrapped up the 2022/23 Quattro ROAG Series powered by Momentum. Those results also confirmed Hayley Smith and Stuart Marais as the 2022 MTB women’s and men’s champions respectively, while Brett and Sarah Gray were crowned as the trail running champions.

On April 14 to 16 the Emilgroup/Ergon North Coast Challenger at Holla Trails will become the third leg and the first ever multi-day stage race to be part of the series. As indicated when entries opened in December, the three-day MTB race and two-day trail running event has long and short race options, so caters for all the age groups and thus is able to be used for points for all categories of the series.

Although this event clashes with SA XCO Championships, the fact there are ten events in 2023, and not nine, will allow the top XCO riders to miss the marathon stage race without penalty. Six events will still count toward the final points total for the series.

Then, in a crowded May, Durban’s most popular cycling event will also join the series when the aQuellé Tour Durban MTB presented by Cycle Lab on May 13th becomes the fifth event, albeit for mountain bikers only.

An old favourite, the New Hanover MTB & Trail on May 6, will be the fourth event.

The aQuellé Tour Durban MTB event will see riders competing for series points on the popular EMBA Trails around Cornubia for the first time and the loyal ROAG Series riding community is excited to be able to join Durban’s favourite weekend of cycling and earn points toward series honours.

The 40km event at Tour Durban will see riders from the youth age group (ages 15 and 16 years) up to grand masters competing while the 20km event will cater for sub-juniors (under 15), nippers and sprogs. The 10km ride will not be used for any series points.

Thereafter KZN riders and runners can enjoy some of KZN’s favourite events. The sixth event will be KZN’s biggest one-day trail running and MTB festival event, the Sappi Karkloof Classic, and then there is a bit of a break before the Gooderson Drakensberg Gardens on July 8

The second of the “majors” takes place on August 8 when the Illovo Eston Trail Challenge takes over the Beaumont Eston Farmers Club on August 6.

The series will continue with the Sappi Scottburgh on September 23-24 and the season finale is still to be confirmed but is expected to be the relatively new Central Berg MTB & Trail, on a date still to be finalised in November.

An extra trail running event is expected to be added to give the trail runners a full series of 10 events as well.

For more information head to the 2023 Series Info page.

The full Quattro ROAG KZN MTB Marathon Series is as follows:
1 Illovo Wartburg - Wartburg Kirchdorf School - FINISHED
2 Hyundai Hillcrest - Shongweni - FINISHED
3 North Coast Challenger 3 Day Stage Race - Holla Trail - April 14-16
4 New Hanover - New Hanover School - May 6
5 aQuellé Tour Durban MTB - Cornubia - May 13
6 Sappi Karkloof Classic - Karkloof - May 27-28
7 Gooderson Drakensberg Gardens - Drak Gardens - July 8
8 Illovo Eston Trail Challenge - Eston - August 6
9 Sappi Scottburgh - Scottburgh - September 23-24
10 Central Berg (TBC) - TBC - November TBC
 

Emilgroup/Ergon North
Coast Challenger

Date:  14-16 April 2023
Location: Holla Trails
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Format:  MTB & Trail Run
Pre-Entries Close: 11 April 2023

Apparel Deadline: 9 April 2023
Late Entries: At registration

THREE DAYS OF FUN-FILLED STAGE RACING

The Emilgroup/Ergon North Coast Challenger stage race at Holla Trails near Ballito on April 14-16 looks set for a spectacular inaugural event that is aiming to wow the country’s mountain biking and trail running communities.

Former professional cyclist, Shaun Peschl has created something special with the three-day North Coast Challenger MTB Stage Race presented by CeraGran and a two-day North Coast Challenger Trail Run Stage Race presented by Salomon.

The full-distance mountain bike event is aimed at teams of two with a short 20km prologue on Friday followed by stages of 59km and 50km on Saturday and Sunday. While the focus is likely to be on the team race, individual entrants will add to the tactics and intrigue as solo riders will also be mixing with the two-man teams and racing for glory over the same distances.

Solo trail runners will tackle an 18km run on Saturday and finish with a 15km run on Sunday.

For both MTB riders and trail runners there will also be a “Lite” option with the shorter MTB race distances of 18km, 29km and 25km over the three days, while the “Lite” trail runners will compete over 10km and 7km on the weekend.

“The focus on this event is giving riders and runners a value-for-money event at a venue that has good facilities and caters for trail running and mountain biking,” said Peschl.

“We have many little extras that we will give to the riders and runners from our very generous sponsors, so the goody bag is now worth more than the entry fee in some cases.”

All riders and runners who enter before midnight on Sunday April 9 will get a free top-quality VR Sports Tech shirt and a pair of Salomon sports socks, as well as a Cycle Lab gift voucher and other smaller gifts. The entry fee for all the adult races includes two meals, post-race and sports drinks and free bike washes for the MTB riders.

Both the solo and the team events will form part of the Quattro ROAG KZN MTB Marathon Series with riders able to earn full points based on final race positions for the series logs. Two-man teams will both earn equal points according to their overall finishing positions.

Registration will take place at Cycle Lab on the afternoon of Thursday April 12 and before the MTB start on Friday afternoon and Trail Running start on Saturday morning.