Formerly from Potchefstroom, but now residing in Wellington in the Western Cape, Pieter du Toit and Danielle Strydom will return to the ATKV Buffelspoort with a vengeance this coming Saturday 03 June 2023 to defend their titles at the revered Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic.
Du Toit and Strydom #ConqueredTheMonster and secured victory in the Full Marathon (+-65km) in impressive times of 02 hours 49 minutes 15 seconds and 03 hours 33 minutes 32 seconds respectively in 2022.
Du Toit admits that this is one of his favourite events. “The Fedhealth Magalies Monster route is one of my favorites, with the Monster Climb on the Maanhaarrand Pass Road and the super rocky terrain. It’s a real challenge and I love it. The vibe after the race is super, while riding through the private farms is nice and basically a ‘once a year’ experience. With the route being super rocky, I am happy to be riding a Giant Anthem mountain-bike. The bike has a 120mm travel in the front and a dropper post. This helps a lot with the loose rocky gravel descents. I would definitely recommend this event to other mountain bikers. My advice is to pump your wheels a bit harder for the rocks, and pack in one extra energy bar, it might be a long day. My goal on race day is to take the win.”
Du Toit will face tough competition from 2022 runner up in the Full Marathon, Shaun-Nick Bester from Montana Park, Pretoria. “If my memory serves me right, I’ve competed in the Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic five times,” says Bester. “It’s the route and event atmosphere that keeps me coming back for more. The route is one of the toughest in SA and this makes it a very exciting race as anything can go wrong. I would say that the toughest part of the Marathon route must be the technical descent straight after the Monster Climb. My goal is to try and take home the overall victory.”
Danielle Strydom, who has claimed victory thrice at the Fedhealth Magalies Monster Full Marathon (in 2018, 2019 and 2022), says she got to maintain her “local legend” status amongst the North Westers in 2022. “Being from the North West, the Magalies Monster is a sought after race for all our ‘local legends’. It’s a big thing to be able to say that you’ve #ConqueredTheMonster. It’s also one of the few major events in our area that has such a high level of professionalism and technical aspects. I was extremely proud to win in 2022. It’s not just a local win, being the Magalies Monster, it’s one to add to the CV.”
“A lot of people might think that it is the famous ‘Monster Climb’ that makes this event tough, but for me it’s the actual terrain,” confirms Strydom. “It’s very rocky and raw; your body takes on a lot. It’s also the reason why I love the event so much. I am riding my lovely Liv Pique mountain-bike which is perfect for this race. The brand Liv is dedicated to women, while the bike is designed to be able to handle the roughest of mountain bike courses with its dual suspension and aggressive angles. Anything rocky and technical is a pleasure when riding this bike. My goal is to successfully defend my title.”
EVENT INFORMATION: Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic
| Date: | Saturday 03 June 2023 |
| Venue: | ATKV Buffelspoort |
| Distances & Entry Fee: | Full Marathon / +-65km / R525.00 |
| Half Marathon / +-33km / R425.00 | |
| Fun Ride / +-15km / R295.00 | |
| Kids / 2.5km / R100.00 | |
| CSA Temp License / R50.00 |
The entry fee includes:
- an official event technical t-shirt to the first 1000 (paid) entrants
- medals will be awarded to all finishers
- drawstring bag
- Sponsor gifts
- A live performance by well-known SA Band, Rubber Duc on Saturday 03 June 2023 in the Race Village at ATKV between 11h00-12h15.
WIN with Giant Bicycles SA and Avalanche Bikes SA: The Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic’s bicycle partners, Giant Bicycles SA and Avalanche Bikes SA are giving away TWO bikes at the 2023 event.
Two lucky entrants will ride away on one of these awesome bikes:
- Giant Stance 29 2 : full suspension MTB valued at R33 990.00
- Avalanche Cosmic 24″: a great all-purpose kids bike valued at R5 590.00
To stand a chance to win one of these incredible bikes all you need to do is enter and ride one of the four distances at the Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic on Sunday.
PRIZE PURSE: The 2023 Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic Full Marathon boasts a R30 000 Prize Purse. The Overall Men’s and Women’s winners will each take home R5000, with R3000 going to the second-place finisher and R2000 to the third-place finisher. The Top Three finishers in the following categories will also be rewarded for their efforts: Senior Men and Women, Sub Vet Men and Women, Vet Men and Women, Master Men and Women and Grandmaster Men and Women.
To view the 2023 Prize Purse Breakdown visit: https://www.stillwatersports.com/fedhealth-magalies-monster-platinum-trail-run-prize-purse/
CHARITY SUPPORT: The Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic proudly supports The Kindness Collaboration. Founded by Fedhealth and Operation Healing Hands (OHH), The Kindness Collaboration offers much needed support to South Africans who cannot afford quality medical care. All medical professionals associated with OHH provide their time and skills for free; the funds raised go towards expenses such as consumables and random medical expenses. When entering the event online, mountain bikers can donate towards the cause.
FREE RIDER JERSEY: Entrants that donate R400 or more towards The Kindness Collaboration will receive a rider jersey compliments of OHH and Fedhealth.
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For more information and/or to enter the Fedhealth Magalies Monster MTB Classic please visit www.stillwatersports.com or email [email protected].