Organisers of the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek are doggedly focused on providing a premium experience to live up to the mountain bike event’s tagline of “Great Outdoors. Great Indoors. Great Impact”.
The three-stage race, which takes place from the Zuurberg Mountain Village near Port Elizabeth from May 26 to 28, not only provides the riders with spectacular scenery, but they will be able to revel in a luxury lifestyle once the day’s challenge is over.
Race founder Trevor Hayter, who initiated the event with his brother Rob alongside Mountain Events, said their objectives were to provide a memorable three days for the entrants, both on and off the bike.
“I think if you look at the tagline, we really do have three very diverse days of riding, making it a great outdoors experience,” he said.
Some remote sections of the Addo Elephant National Park serve as the backdrop on the opening day when riders descend into a gorge previously only accessed by cattle and horses.
The second stage takes them along the northern ridge of the Zuurberg mountains, while the final day provides some classic single-track riding in the area around Hayterdale Trails before the field summit the mountain to the finish at the hotel.
Hayter said their objective was to complement the riding with a number of quality accommodation options.
While there are several possibilities, he said they had no doubt their newly-introduced silver package of R4 900 per rider offered the best value.
Hayter pointed out that the bronze option – aimed at participants who live nearby – came in at R3 900 without accommodation, while an upgrade to the silver package provided you with many more amenities.
“These include three nights’ accommodation and two dinners at the Addo Elephant National Park, as well as a shuttle service by our vehicle partners Tavcor Commercial to and from the race village.”
Hayter said they were always looking to improve what they had to offer.
“I think you can comfortably say the market tells you when you are on the right track because when you grow by 50 per cent in what are tough economic times, it seems that things are working out.”
He pointed out that the top-level options – which range from R7 500 to R8 500 – were all sold out, while there were only about 10 entries left in the silver category.
The organisers have also set up a state-of-the-art internet service in association with Igen, which Hayter felt was an essential part of their operation.
“I think that is absolutely key for the riders to stay in contact, but it also gives us a chance as race organisers to give feedback to the cycling community, who are always engaged with these kinds of events via social media.”
