The annual Pennypinchers Grahamstown to Sea (G2C) 58km mountain bike race from Grahamstown to Port Alfred takes place next month.
The annual Pennypinchers Grahamstown to Sea (G2C) 58km mountain bike race from Grahamstown to Port Alfred takes place next month.
Organised by the Albany Saints & Sinners Multi-Sport Club, and sponsored by Pennypinchers (Grahamstown and Port Alfred), the event takes place on Sunday 10 July, the final day of the 2016 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
All three G2C races to date have attracted mammoth entries – in excess of 300 each – from all over the Eastern Cape and beyond.
The route may see riders descending from 643m above sea level outside Grahamstown to just 69m at the finish outside Port Alfred, but it’s certainly not sit-back-in-the-saddle stuff .
Race director John Stapleton said because the event starts in the mountains and finishes at the coast, it’s not downhill and plain sailing all the way. There are some tough, if not mean, hills along the route, plus several fast downhill sections.
From the start at the Pennypinchers warehouse in the industrial area to the west of Grahamstown, cyclists will make their way to the top of Mountain Drive, riding along the ridge road towards the Toposcope, the highest point of the mountain.
Then it’s a downhill rush on rough single-track to Woesthill Pass, and the 3km tarred downhill section of road is a welcome sight. This section of road is full of sharp twists and turns, and will require lots of nerve and skill.
The bridge at the bottom of the pass marks a change of gear for the hard, 2km uphill slog, still on tar, which takes the field to the gravel road that is the entry point to the rural district of Southwell.
From here it’s undulating gravel road, with a couple of tough passes thrown in to test riders’ stamina. As soon as they catch a whiff of the sea air, riders turn left on to a farm road that leads to the finish at Rosehill Mall shopping centre outside Port Alfred.
The 2016 G2C starts at 8.30am on Sunday 10 July, and the cut-off at the finish is 1pm, giving riders 4 hours 30 minutes to complete the course.
Registration is from 2pm to 5pm on the Saturday prior to the race, and from 6.30am to 7.30am on the Sunday at the Pennypinchers warehouse in the industrial area. Entry fee is R190 and entries are being accepted online at www.grahamstown2sea.co.za where further information is also available.
Late entries will cost R250 per rider.
