There is good reason why Oak Valley is some of the most sought after mountain bike trails in the Elgin Valley. Smooth, fast and full of flow, these custom-built trails are closed once a year for the Trail Series® Super League - and they never disappoint.
It’s been another fractured year for events as a whole, and with COVID-19 wave after wave there was no certainty in any date. Hence, it was every race for itself, with no chance of bedding down the overall Super League in 2021.
It was a classic blustery summer SE ripping through the valley over the weekend, keeping many from making the trip. But still, over 500 runners rocked up to tackle one of the three distances on offer.
Lovemo Nyaude rules the 22.5km XL roost
First to go at 7am was the 22.5km XL runners. Lovemo Nyaude set a blistering pace up front, with Simon Short not far behind. In the ladies...
We are proud to announce a fundamental & positive change to the way we will be presenting the Phantom Rally in 2021. From Special Stage 7 (March) onwards we will be hosting the entire navigation component on an internationally acclaimed mapping technology platform called Komoot. Partnering with Komoot means we can make the whole stage presentation & admin process a lot easier for everyone - to use, to follow and to share.
Why Komoot? Over the last four months of testing we have found Komoot to be accurate & reliable, easy to use, packed with features (including offline navigation) and compatible with most smart wearable devices (including Garmin, Suunto, Polar, Samsung and Apple). So it turns out there is a reason it’s voted number one in the world! And if you use Komoot on your mobile for navigation, we can pull your GPX file directly from Komoot to get your result.
So are you new to Komoot...
2021 didn't start with the bang we were hoping for and now that the first month has already come to an end, we are once again forced to re-evaluate the year ahead of us.
As you will already know, the lockdown level 3 status has necessitated the postponement of one of the most popular of the Trail Series routes - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. This was scheduled for 19 January and will be moved to a later date. As we are currently still in level 3 until 15 February, the next event scheduled for 14 February - Lebanon, Grabouw - has also been postponed. We intend to hold both of these events later in the year and will confirm the new dates when we have clarity on what will be allowed, and when.
As for the remaining events in the series, it is unlikely that race 3 - Tygerberg Nature Reserve - will go ahead as...
7 Super League
2020 se gat. But the past is the past and it's time to look forward to 2021. We kick start the 2021 seven series Super League with glorious Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on the 19th Jan and end with the feel good trails of Oak Valley on 21st November. There will be a short, long and XL distance at every race. Check out the calendar here
Entries will open 25th Nov for the whole TSSL. So give yourself something to look forward to in 2021 and get those entries in early!
Phantom Rally
We roll into Special Stage 6 on 1st Dec. This stage centres in the leafy deep south suburb of Noordhoek. All three routes are a blend of trail & tar as we incorporate Chapman's Peak Drive with local beach and mountain trails. Race routes will be released on the 25th Nov here
The good news is that Special Stage 6 will extend until the...
We make our final COVID-19 stand in this years TSSL as planned at Oak Valley. It's coming up fast, and you might have some questions. We’ve worked with all stakeholders and authorities to bring you a safe, enjoyable racing experience. And there will be no cardboard cutout fans, we promise!
PRE ENTRY ONLY
Entries are PRE-ENTRY only, so please don't rock up on the day to enter. This is because every participant is required to complete a COVID-19 self screening form 48hrs before (more on this below). Entries are also limited and currently available here.
BACK TO BATCH STARTS
We are back to the usual racing batches for Oak Valley, albeit it small COVID-19 compliant batches of 50. The start times are indicated on the event page. In the XL, we will place you in a batch, but if you consider yourself an ELITE or PODIUM contender, please drop us an email BY FRIDAY 3pm and we will...
We are thrilled to have the greenlight to bring our running family back together in an authentic in-person racing experience once again. The first of our revised 2020 events is the Trail Series® Super League event at Paul Cluver on 11 October. That’s coming up fast, and you might have some questions. We’ve worked with all stakeholders and authorities to bring you a safe, enjoyable racing experience. And there will be no cardboard cutout fans, we promise!
PRE ENTRY ONLY
Entries are PRE-ENTRY only, so please don't rock up on the day to enter. This is because every participant is required to complete a COVID-19 self screening form 48hrs before (more on this below). Entries are also limited and currently available here.
Entries will be open until 9am on Friday, 9th October.
BOOKING A START TIME SLOT
There are five, one hour time slots to select from, starting from 6-7am and ending with 11-12pm. These slots will be...
YES! The fourth & fifth races in the 2020 TSSL at Paul Cluver & Oak Valley Estates have been rescheduled for 11th October and 15th November respectively, albeit presented in a somewhat different, COVID-19 alert level 1 compliant, way!
But outdoor events over 500 in capacity are not allowed?
Correct, which we are not running this is in a classic event style, but rather applying a COVID-19 adapted and approved strategy was that in it's simplest terms can be understood as an 'arrive and run' policy.
More detail on how this will work will be communicated in due course to all entrants.
Will the three routes be marked?
Yes, properly marked in the tried and proven manner that all our 350+ events that we have run have been ;-) The marked trails will be managed and someone is on standby should you go wrong en route.
When will this be available?
Paul Cluver: The three race distances will be available for you to race...
Curious to run the myriad of Newlands Forest tracks, but unsure of exact routes? We take you to the heart of this magical playground, and beyond. Special Stage 3 features Newlands Forest, resplendent in its Spring attire, with extensions into Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and some lesser known trails on Table Mountain back-table for the XL.
If you’re heading to The Forest for the first time, you’ll be entering a piece of Cape history that is as layered as the dense canopies of the forest’s ravines. Newlands is a natural transition zone between endangered Granite Fynbos and Peninsula Shale Fynbos, in an area that also originally supported large indigenous forests. In the late 1800s, most of the indigenous forests were felled and the fynbos cleared, to make way for commercial pine plantations, which still remain.
The original inhabitants of the area were the Khoi-khoi, who migrated and herded their cattle over much of what is now the city of Cape...
‘Ya, nee’ as the expression goes in Afrikaans. That’s what we have all become used to in this new era of a viral pandemic.
And so it comes to be that Paul Cluver which was on, is now off. Switched off by the powers that be that cannot ultimately wrap their heads around the concept on its own, COVID-19 compliant, merits.
There is an event department in most municipalities, programmed for events and events only. There is one script and don’t by any means attempt to reskin it in a way that makes it a non-event and therefore ‘Rona’ compliant.
So we conclude: You can go to a mall with thousands of people. You can go to a casino with hundreds of others. You can go to an airport and fly. You can get crammed in a taxi. But don’t for a second think you can book a time slot to run on...
So by now you should know how the Phantom Rally works and that every special stage lasts a month. Once the special stage closes we throw all the names in the electronic lucky draw hat and pull out the lucky 10 winning names. Every month (at the time of writing!) we have 10 lucky draws prizes collectively worth R5,000.
We have the following brands to thank for supporting the Phantom Rally:
Please support these brands who have gone out of their way to support this initiative during this crazy Covid-19 time!
Steenberg Vineyards - THE best sparkling wine on the market!
Boldgear - proudly South African apparel!
North Ridge - proudly South African backpacks that last forever, guaranteed.
Black Diamond - Internationally acclaimed mountain gear.
Jaybird - the best wireless headphones for running out there.
Bos Sport - Rooibos rehydration!