{"id":30923,"date":"2019-07-22T17:44:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T15:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/?p=30923"},"modified":"2019-07-22T17:44:38","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T15:44:38","slug":"gauteng-based-mountain-biker-reminisces-about-his-first-fedhealth-mtb-challenge-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/cycling\/gauteng-based-mountain-biker-reminisces-about-his-first-fedhealth-mtb-challenge-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Gauteng based mountain biker reminisces about his first Fedhealth MTB Challenge experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building up to the 5th<\/sup> annual Fedhealth MTB Challenge that will take place at Boschendal Farm Estate (The Retreat) on Saturday 07 September 2019 and Sunday 08 September 2019, Raymond Travers, a keen mountain biker from Gauteng, reminisces about his first Fedhealth MTB Challenge experience in 2018.\u00a0 The experience left him wanting more.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic legend Sting once sang \u2018I\u2019m an Englishman in New York\u2019 and I kind of felt that way while riding the Fedhealth MTB Challenge in 2018,\u201d laughs Travers.\u00a0 \u201cTo me mountain biking seems different in the Cape compared to Gauteng. The vibe at the events is different, the racing is different and the routes are very different.\u00a0 For the last two years I\u2019ve enjoyed the 25 \u2013 45km races.\u00a0 I feel comfortable at this distance as it seems to suit my riding style, fitness and endurance.\u00a0 Because I strive to be the best technical rider that I can be, I lean towards the slightly more technical races.\u00a0 I definitely felt as if I was treading on foreign soil when I entered the Fedhealth MTB Challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI actively used social media to find friends that had entered, or would be at the event,\u201d admits Travers.\u00a0 \u201cMy race started calmly, but I found it to be relatively easy going so by the four kilometre mark I started easing on the throttle.\u00a0 I passed a few riders, and then a few more.\u00a0 The real fun started when I found myself among a group of junior XC riders. These young racing snakes were gunning it as only they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe route featured a good mix of uphills, downhills, district roads, soft sand, loose rocks, mud, dips, sharp turns, rapid ascents and sublime single track, making me a happy mountain biker,\u201d continues Travers.\u00a0 \u201cI crossed the finish line in just over an hour and a half, very happy with my first Fedhealth MTB Challenge experience.\u00a0 The organisation was great, but we\u2019ve come to expect that from Stillwater Sports.\u00a0 The post-race vibe in the race village was incredible.\u00a0 I thoroughly enjoyed the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

EVENT INFORMATION<\/u><\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of South Africa\u2019s oldest wine estates, Boschendal Farm Estate (The Retreat) will host the 5th<\/sup> annual Fedhealth MTB Challenge on <\/strong>Saturday, 07 September 2019 and Sunday, 08 September 2019.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, 07 September 2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A highlight on the SA mountain bike calendar, the kids event <\/strong>caters for ages 0 \u2013 13 with junior MTB enthusiasts choosing between a:\u00a0 500m (0-5 years), 1.5km (6-9 years) and a 5km (10 \u2013 13 years) event.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Event & Time:<\/strong><\/td>\nFedhealth MTB Challenge Kids Event<\/strong>:\u00a0 not timed<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 500m \/ 0 \u2013 5 years of age \/ 10:30<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1.5km \/ 6 \u2013 9 years of age \/ 11:00<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5km \/ 10 \u2013 13 years of age \/ 11:30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Entry Fee:<\/strong><\/td>\nR100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Sunday, 08 September 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Time:<\/strong><\/td>\n08:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Event:<\/strong><\/td>\n+- 60km Fedhealth MTB Challenge (Marathon)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Entry Fee:<\/strong><\/td>\nR375 per rider (excludes CSA License)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Time:<\/strong><\/td>\n09:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Event:<\/strong><\/td>\n+-30km Fedhealth MTB Challenge (Half Marathon)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Entry Fee:<\/strong><\/td>\nR275 per rider (excludes CSA License)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Time:<\/strong><\/td>\n10:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Event:<\/strong><\/td>\n15km Fedhealth MTB Challenge (Fun Ride)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Entry Fee:<\/strong><\/td>\nR175 per rider<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

FREE ENTRY:\u00a0 <\/strong>Fedhealth members can enter free of charge \u2013 simply by typing in their membership number when entering online!<\/p>\n

CHARITY SUPPORT<\/u><\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0 When entering online mountain bikers can choose to support one (or both) of the event\u2019s:\u00a0 1. the Stellenbosch Trail Fund <\/strong>and 2. Aitsa Aftercare Centre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

EXCITING NEWS<\/u>:\u00a0<\/strong> All entrants will receive an exclusive event t-shirt (Fedhealth MTB Challenge Kids Event included) while medals will be awarded to all finishers!<\/p>\n

Entries Close<\/strong> on Tuesday, 03 September 2019!<\/p>\n

Facebook: <\/strong>Stellenbosch Trail Fund<\/a> \/<\/strong>Fedhealth Medical Aid<\/a> \/ Stillwater MTB Events<\/a>
\nTwitter:<\/strong> @FedhealthMTB<\/a> \/ @Fedhealthmed<\/a> \/ @Stillwater_MTB<\/a>
\nWebsite:<\/strong> www.stillwatersports.com<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information or to enter the Fedhealth MTB Challenge, contact Stillwater Sports on 082 991 0045 or email entries@stillwatersports.com<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n

Issued by: NEWSPORT MEDIA<\/a><\/p>\n

On behalf of: FEDHEALTH<\/a> and STILLWATER SPORTS<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Building up to the 5th annual Fedhealth MTB Challenge that will take place at Boschendal Farm Estate (The Retreat) on Saturday 07 September 2019 and Sunday 08 September 2019, Raymond Travers, a keen mountain biker from Gauteng, reminisces about his first Fedhealth MTB Challenge experience in 2018.\u00a0 The experience left him wanting more. \u201cMusic legend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":58746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3260],"tags":[3680,2726,2725,1747,2727,4103],"class_list":["post-30923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-boschendal-farm-estate","tag-fedhealth","tag-fedhealth-mtb-challenge","tag-mtb","tag-mtb-challenge","tag-raymond-travers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30923\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}