Great Zuurberg Trek | 2025
Sat, 24th may 25 kromriver, race information, join the great zuurberg trek and discover the thrill of mountain biking at its finest..
About Great Zuurberg Trek | 2025
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Gqeberha duo claim Great Zuurberg Trek title
Overall leaders Bruce Campbell and Jay Carneiro stormed home on the final day of the Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race to claim their first title in the eighth edition of the three-day event on Sunday.
In near-perfect conditions, the Gqeberha duo crossed the line in 3:03:40 to finish the technical 50km course more than five minutes ahead of second-placed Gavin Wood and Mark Pienaar.
The latter’s steady performances over the three days saw them secure second place in the general classification.
Warren Barber and Warren Dickson were a further three minutes adrift to place third in the standings.
The champions’ broad smiles at the finish told the story of a job well done, particularly for Campbell who had recorded several top 10s in the event over the years.
They rode a peerless race to conquer a mud-shortened stage one and a string of punctures on the queen stage on Saturday.
Having taken the initiative on the opening day, they had a good game plan for the tough second day.
“It worked out perfectly — until it didn’t,” Campbell said wryly, referring to the previous stage when they spent most of the day chasing and just managing to scrape in for the victory.
“But today we were very confident in our ability on the trails.”
Carneiro credited his partner for setting a tempo that saw the opposition “just popping off the back” while encouraging him every inch of the way.
“He is quite calculated, actually. I didn’t realise it,” he admitted.
“He knows when to turn the throttle a bit — slowly, slowly, slowly and, when you look again, you’ve got a gap. Then you just go for it.”
Carneiro also praised his teammate’s skills.
“You can just judge his braking point and go there. The man was a beast.”
The pair had not ridden many of the new trails they had encountered on the final day but were full of praise afterwards.
“I felt like I was surfing on my bike, drifting through the corners,” Campbell said.
The women’s title went to the Namibian pairing of Jana von Backstrom and Mimi Hough after the unfortunate withdrawal of Juanita Mackenzie, one-half of the leading team after day one, due to a shoulder injury on Saturday.
“Today was very exciting. I saw great skills even if I lacked a bit of skill myself at the end. But, all in all, it was a really good ride,” Von Backstrom said.
“It’s been magnificent. The trails have been great. We learnt a lot, we saw a lot, and the mud was a lot.”
Gqeberha husband and wife team Mark and Gail Willimott took no prisoners in the mixed category. The couple won every stage comfortably, even finishing among the top men’s teams on day two.
“Our game plan was pretty much to come and ride and have fun. And, if you’ve got good legs, pedal hard,” Mark said.
“It’s a very cool event. It doesn’t kill you and it leaves time to enjoy the afternoons.” — Full Stop Communications
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[Event] Great Zuurberg Trek - 3 Day MTB stage race
By TJ78 December 8, 2022 in Events
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Experience three days of boutique-style mountain biking in the heart of the Eastern Cape from May 25 to 28, 2023. Enjoy four-star luxury accommodation, fine dining and world-class riding, while making a difference to the surrounding rural communities.
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Age just a number at Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition
June 5, 2023 , 11:13 am By In the Bunch
You’re only as old as you feel, and three septuagenarians who took part in the 2023 Rubicon Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition in Greater Addo could not be feeling any better.
After the first day over 40km on Friday, Stuart Woodhead, 78, Alex Solomon, 75, and Pierre le Roux, 77, had hardly broken a sweat, their sense of humour still very much intact.
“There were some very steep sections, but the e-bike sorts it all out. You become a member of the Flat Earth Society,” Plettenberg Bay’s Solomon quipped.
Joking aside, the three men’s performances epitomise what battery-powered bicycles can do for mountain bikers for whom conventional steeds have become too difficult to handle on routes like the ones encountered at the GZT-E.
Rubicon Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition riders Alex Solomon, 75, left, and Stuart Woodhead, 78, are feeling younger than ever. Photo: Full Stop Communications
Woodhead, who travelled from Hoedspruit in Limpopo, acknowledged that his age would not have allowed him to ride a normal bike given the “ups and downs” of the course.
A seasoned road cyclist, he participated in 26 Cape Town Cycle Tours before turning his attention to mountain biking.
This was before both knees were replaced and he had to undergo two back operations. Thankfully, e-biking allowed him to continue in the sport he loves.
“A lot of my younger mates say, ‘Wow, respect’, and I think my children are quite impressed that I carry on,” he said.
Woodhead added he had thought that he had been to most parts of southern Africa, but he had missed the Addo and Zuurberg area.
“I am very impressed with the scenery. I’m very impressed with everything, the communication and accommodation [at Zuurberg Mountain Village].”
Solomon described the first day of his ride as “absolutely fabulous”, and sarcastically hoped Eskom would spare a thought for the participants “so we might even get to ride day two”.
He, too, is a Cape Town Cycle Tour veteran, having ridden 21 events.
Cycling allowed him to meet so many wonderful people, so he was thrilled that he was still able to take part.
“At the young age of 75 I decided to get an e-bike. Mountain bikes got so amazing. To the guy who invented e-bikes – thank you!”
This year’s Rubicon GZT-E is Gauteng resident Le Roux’s first organised event on an e-bike, and like his fellow 70-somethings, he is loving every moment.
An adventurer by nature, he started cycling some 14 years ago after friends suggested he give it a go. A week later he bought a road bike and was on his way to competing in his first 947 Ride Joburg.
“Then I saw guys riding in the bush and I said, ‘I’m going to do that’. So I went into Cycle Works and bought a mountain bike,” he said.
Le Roux, originally from the Eastern Cape before moving to Johannesburg decades ago, said he loved the scenery in the Greater Addo area, which encapsulated the Zuurberg mountains.
“If I couldn’t cycle here, we would be walking here. I am a nature person. It’s the absolute peace we have with nature that I love.”
He has taken part in several of South Africa’s most well-known mountain bike events, including the Wines to Whales, sani2c and Cradle Traverse, but praised the GZT-E for its unique offering.
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Great Zuurberg Trek-E-Edition 2023
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