It is still summer and what better way to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air than on your bike. Local DH pro Stefan Garlicki will help you to do just that. On 4 & 5 February it is time for the third annual  AVIS Van Rental Downhill challenge  held at the Taal Monument in Paarl. Event organiser Stefan Garlicki had the following to say…

This is a press release to inform you about the Avis Van Rental Downhill Challenge, to be held in Paarl on the 4^th and 5^th of Feb 2012.

“First off, just a little background on downhill mountain biking, it’s the most extreme discipline in mountain bike racing. The riders race against the clock down a marked course which is between 2 and 5 minutes long, it can be really steep and has big jumps, rocks, roots, tree’s and many other exciting obsticles. Downhill is picking up in South Africa every year and many people don’t realise it but we have two of the top riders in the world wearing the SA jersey. Greg Minnaar is the current world #2 and Andrew Neethling is the current world #9.

This is the 3^rd year we are running the event and the number of competitors increased by more than 30% from the first event to second. We will be expecting around 100 competitors this time round and hopefully loads of spectators. Downhill MTB is really exciting to watch and will draw lot’s of attention. This event will one of the best in the country with top riders there like, Andrew Neethling, Johann Potgieter, Stefan Garlicki (Paarl), Jonty Neethling and other up country possibilities include Hayden Brown, Tim Bentley, Travis Browning and Tiaan Odendaal. These riders all have international experience and will be battling it out for the R7000 in prize money.

Last year the event was won by 3 time SA champ Johann Potgieter, Stefan Garlicki 2^nd and world #9 Andrew Neethling 3^rd, these riders were only separated by 1.5 seconds. This time around the racing will be even closer with all of these riders wanting start the year with a bang.

The event will be held in Paarl at the Taal Monument and registration will open at 09:30 on Saturday 4 February 2012 followed by the practice which will run from 10:00 until 16:00. On Sunday 5 February there will be practice from 08:30 until 09:30 and racing will start at 10:00 sharp. Spectators should come for the race on Sunday which should prove really exciting, so bring your friends and come enjoy the action!

The event is proudly sponsored by Avis Van Rental, Red bull, Leatt and Csixx.”

For more info please contact event organiser, Stefan Garlicki:

s.garlicki.74@gmail.com / 0761829281

Eric Palmer was kind enough to cover the Paarl DH race for us this past weekend, and he certainly came through with the goods. Here are the results and a ton of pics from the race. Thanks to Eric for helping us out, and by the looks of it the event was a huge success.

“Was a chilled long morning warm up & shuttles were fast up the tar road. Practice went on till 2, but a few ppl just entered for shuttles & didn’t race, so the race it’s self was pretty short, but all in all a way more relaxed vibe than normal. Was great for shooting. Were also 3 unicycles & all 3 raced, but not sure on results.

DH:
1st Pottie
2nd Louis Knipe
3rd Jarryd Haley

Junior:
1st Luke Davis
2nd Duran van Eeden
3rd Gary Carsten

Elite men:
1st Mark Cameron
2nd Tyrone van Rooyen
3rd Duane Searle”