We received the following message from the guys who organise the Gauteng races this morning…

Good morning all,
my sincere apologies for the shabby communication lately. Due to the local credit crunch our company has been a lot busier that usual and my days and nights are occupied by work. But never the less, the show must go on.Feel free to send this email along to as many people as you can.

This weekend’s provincial is cancelled due to the fact that i am in Talks with Derek Palmer of Gauteng North Cycling and the guys at Groenkloof nature reserve(Fort Klapperkop) and the plan was to start work on a new national standard course for Klapperkop. But alas, the communication coming my way is not as smooth as i’d hoped. But i will surely keep everyone in the loop with what is happening.

Downhill 2009:

I must admit, i was a little over eager with the preliminary calender handed out 22 Feb. So after considering the other events and the other logistical issues i have decided that we would be able to have one provincial event each month for the rest of the year. This is to allow enough riders to gain points for the year’s standings and also to enter events outside the province. Please see dates at the bottom. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for funrides, just let me know.

As for the courses, Helderkruin seems to have become a well liked spot and due to the Groenkloof management, we will be building a new course at Klapperkop that heads towards the fountains circle side. It would be much appreciated if we could get as many volunteers as possible to build a fun, testing and diverse course. But i will keep everyone informed as soon as the powers that be get back to me. So let’s hold thumbs for the National level course in the pipeline. I would love if we can get riders with hardtails supporting our events, as the courses are hardtail friendly and the UCI allows for hardtails to gain points in the hillcross class.

As for Paardeplaas- Krugersdorp. We have permission to build a course towards the Silverstar Casino side of the mountain as well as the Krugersdorp side. I will be more than happy to get it off the ground, but as for getting a decent shuttle service to get the riders from start to finish, i unfortunately do not have the time anymore to canvas potential sponsors. So please please please, if anyone is able to help organise about four 4×4 and drivers, please contact me. We will surely be able to build the best course in the province.

As for Giloolys: Due to the ongoing roadworks in Gauteng, access to Giloolys farm is a nightmare and thus hosting an event there is out of the question. But if someone can help out with multiple vehicles and drivers, Paardeplaas will outshine Giloolys by a mile.

I am open to any suggestions and ideas, and anyone willing to get involved are welcome to be a part of what seems to be a growing Downhill community.
Thank you once again for the amazing rider and spectator turnouts thus far and i hope we can take Downhill in Gauteng to e level where other provinces envy what we do for the sport. So please don’t be shy to contact me if you can bring sponsors on board or any other help that would enable us to get more riders, build more courses and make Downhill a household name among all cyclists.

Regards

Francois Swanepoel
084 636 2225

FINAL CALENDER FOR 2009:
19 APR – DH PROV#2 @ KLAPPERKOP
24 MAY – DH NATIONAL @ KLAPPERKOP
21 JUN – DH PROV #3 @ HELDERKRUIN
19 JUL – DH PROV # 4 @ HELDERKRUIN
02 AUG – DH PROV # 5 @ KLAPPERKOP
13 SEP – DH PROV # 6 @ HELDERKRUIN
18 OCT – DH NATIONAL @ KLAPPERKOP
22 NOV – DH PROV # 7 @ HELDERKRUIN

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 8:17 am and is filed under Events, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.