Fun in the Fynbos at the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience

There are few better ways to immerse yourself in nature than on a mountain bike, and the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience provides the chance to do just that in Cape Nature’s most spectacular reserve – De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Experience three days of amazing mountain biking; through pristine coastal fynbos, into the rapidly dwindling renosterveld and see why the Overberg is the breadbasket of the province when you trundle past ripening wheat fields too.

About De Hoop

• 34 000 hectares in size
• World Heritage Site
• Its marine reserve extends 5km out to sea
•  1 500 species of plants
• 86 mammal species
• 260 bird species
• 250 species of marine life
• Great land based whale watching

Find out more: www.capenature.co.za.

Event Accommodation

All entries include standard tented accommodation, with each rider allocated a 2 person tent. But if you would like to upgrade you can book your own accommodation in one of the De Hoop Collection’s amazing chalets, suites, manor houses or simply upgrade to luxury camping. Find out more by visiting www.dehoopcollection.com or contact Nicola de Kock, at: nicola@dehoopcollection.co.za.

Press Release

De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience 2018 Routes Revealed

The inaugural De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience, which takes place from the 22nd to the 24th of September 2018, has revealed the routes for the three day mountain biking extravaganza. Freebody-Sports and the De Hoop Collection have worked tirelessly over the autumn months to bring together a mix of established, virgin and usually off-limits trails to create a compact, yet challenging and rewarding route.

“We believe that we have put together a route which showcases the De Hoop and Rûens regions of the Overberg like never before” said Race Director Anneke Viljoen. “The local land owners have been incredibly accommodating and have gone out of their way to help us create this amazing route. From our route guru, Neil Neethling, who ensured the route passed by all the most beautiful sights of the area; to Adam Albertyn, who has built a brand new section of singletrack on his farm especially for Stage 2 of the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience – we could not have produced this route without the local farmers. We also owe a debt of gratitude to the World Wildlife Fund and Peter Krcmar, owner of the Fynbos Trust, for allowing the race to traverse their beautiful and ecologically sensitive land” Viljoen concluded.

The race will start with a fifty one kilometre long opening stage, which sets the scene for the long weekend’s riding. The stage kicks off with opportunities for game viewing by skirting the great plains of the reserve – which provides grazing for herds of cape mountain zebra, bontebok and eland – before heading north towards the limestone hills which separate the reserve from the surrounding farmlands. Once in the linestone hills the challenging but rewarding nature of riding in the area will become apparent; with the highlight of the day, a technical singletrack descent dubbed “Pebble Dash” leading riders into the farmlands and onto the trails alongside the Potberg River. The route crosses the stream a number of times as it winds its way to the headwaters of the De Hoop Vlei; traversing fields of ripening wheat, barley and canola. After crossing the vlei riders face the day’s most significant challenge, the three kilometre long “Fynbos Climb”. From the summit of the climb it is largely downhill to the finish though, where a delicious lunch awaits at the De Hoop Collection.

The second stage of the race departs from De Hoop Nature Reserve and the farms immediately surrounding it for the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve. Funded by the World Wildlife Fund, Haarwegskloof is the largest and most contiguous extant lowland Renosterveld remaining in the world. The sixty two kilometre stage, to and from this unique reserve, takes in trails never before used in a mountain bike race and a four kilometre stretch of virgin, downhill, singletrack which has been built specifically to link Haarwegskloof with the existing De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience trail network.

The third and final stage of the event also takes in a new, unexplored, region to mountain bikers. Unlike the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve though the Fynbos Trust land, to the north west of the De Hoop Vlei, is closed to the public outside of the event; so being able to ride there is a unique treat reserved for entrants to the race. Stage three is a fifty kilometre circumnavigation of the De Hoop Vlei, utilising some familiar trails in the first twenty kilometres before entering the Fynbos Trust property and ascending the daunting “Fynbos Licker”. When taking on this climb it is important to remember that the views back down towards the vlei are truly spectacular, so treating oneself to a breather to admire them is highly recommended. The stage also takes in another highlight of the event, the day’s final water point at the historic Melkkamer manor house.

With the conclusion of the three days’ riding, which totals a manageable one hundred and sixty three kilometres, riders will be treated to a final lunch of Overberg country cuisine while the category winners are rewarded with prizes for their efforts. Riders with a less competitive nature need not be dissuaded however, as the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience route holds more charms when undertaken at a slower speed and with an eye to absorb the beauty of the route. For more information on the event, including further route details and stage profiles, visit www.dehoopvleimtb.co.za.

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Photo Captions and Credits

1. The De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience spends two of its three days skirting the wetland from which it derives its name. Photo by Oakpics.com.
2. The rocky limestone jeep tracks and trails of the area provide challenging but rewarding riding. Photo by Oakpics.com.
3. The northern reaches of the vlei, near its headwaters, offers amazing views of limestone cliffs – pockmarked with caves. Photo by Oakpics.com.
4. The local land owners have been putting in a tremendous amount of work building new trails and refreshing the existing singletracks ahead of the inaugural De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience in September. Photo by Oakpics.com.

To download the high resolution versions of these images please click here.

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Contact

For more information on the De Hoop Vlei Experience please visit www.dehoopvleimtb.co.za or contact Race Director, Anneke Viljoen on 084 228 0414 or via email at anneke@freebody-sports.com.

Order a set of beautiful VYE De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience kit when you enter the three day stage race, which takes place from the 22nd to the 24th of September 2018. The top and bibs can be ordered separately or as a complete kit. Simply add the items you want to your cart when entering the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience on Entry Ninja. 

Pricing:

• Velo Race Jersey: R650
• Miracle / Mirgage bib shorts: R1,200
• Complete Kit (Best Value): R1,600
• Orders must be placed before 20 August 2018.

View the VYE sizing chart by clicking here or visit their website: www.vyecyclekit.co.za. 

The Big Route Reveal

The Freebody-Sports team excited to announce that 2018 De Hoop Vlei MTB route has been finalised and will be revealed shortly. Needless to say three amazing days of challenging but exhilarating mountain biking awaits – including sections never before ridden by mountain bikers, let alone used in a race. 

ENTER NOW

Freebody-Sports Launch the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience.

The jewel in Cape Nature’s reserves, De Hoop Nature Reserve, will be hosting a three day mountain biking experience this September which will change your perception of Western Cape mountain biking. View big antelope, rare birds and one of the world’s most diverse floral kingdoms form the saddle of your bike in the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience.

The route will circumnavigate the De Hoop Vlei on the final day of the event.

From the 22nd to the 24th of September 2018 the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience will explore the game trails, 4×4 tracks and gravel roads of the 34 000 hectare nature reserve. Nestled between the Potberg Mountain and the Indian Ocean the reserve boasts a rugged coastline – known for shipwrecks and perfect whale watching – a Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance vlei and a diverse landscape of mountains, limestone hills, grassy plains and snow white sand dunes.

The De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience takes in three days of spectacular mountain biking in and around the De Hoop Nature Reserve.

The three day mountain bike experience will showcase all of these aspects, as well as visit the surrounding farms where wheat and canola fields will be growing in the Overberg sun, while Merino sheep graze alongside blue cranes, the South African national bird, in the next paddock.

Two of the three days of the event will feature entirely new routes, never used before by mountain bike races or weekend fun riders visiting the De Hoop Collection. Local farmer and avid mountain biker, Niel Neethling, is responsible for the routes and promises stages of 55, 65 and 52 kilometres in distance with 900, 1 300 and 800 meters of climbing respectively.

Route director Neil Neethling leading the route recce.

Neethling has been hard at work securing land access to private farms and negotiating thoroughfares through highly restricted areas. One of these special sections is the Renosterveld Reserve, located within the heart of the region’s wheat farms, which protects the biodiversity of the exceptionally endangered renosterveld fynbos vegetation. Another is the western banks of the De Hoop Vlei, where the historic 200 year old Melkkamer Manor house is located, which has not seen public access off the main road to the Melkkamer house since the 1980s.

With three days of mountain bike exploration provided by the De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience game sightings are guaranteed. Not only with riders see bontebok and cape mountain zebra; but also herds of eland, the world’s second largest antelope. For the birders in the mountain bike community the vlei’s Ramsar status ensures it remains a protected and ideal habitat for a plethora of wetland bird species, while the Potberg Mountain is also home to a large colony of Cape Vultures which take to the wing most afternoons in search of carrion. The reserve is the largest conserved area of lowland fynbos in the Western Cape and its diverse flora includes 1 500 species, many of them endemic to De Hoop’s specific climate and soil. In total De Hoop Nature Reserve boasts 86 mammal species, more than 260 bird species and over 250 species of fish in its marine reserve.

The event’s mix of singletrack, 4×4 trails and gravel roads provide a scenic and varied riding experience.

The De Hoop Vlei MTB Experience entry fee includes accommodation in a standard dome tent but offers riders and their families a choice of accommodation upgrades in the De Hoop Collection’s superb facilities, as well as providing three breakfasts and lunches as well as two dinners during the event. All rider and supporter meals will be catered for by the amazing Antoinette Events, the Overberg’s premier wedding and functions catering company. Supporter packages which including meals are available for riders’ family members and friends. The De Hoop Collection are also offering a fun ride and trail run, environmental education tours and even spa treatments for non-riders to book during the event. Accommodation upgrade options meanwhile include luxury camping, self-catering cottages and suites in the 300 year old manor houses.
 
For more information on the event visit www.dehoopvleimtb.co.za, while to find out more about the De Hoop Collection – the activities they offer for non-cyclists and their accommodation – options please visit www.dehoopcollection.com. If you have any queries please email Race Director Anneke Viljoen at anneke@freebody-sports.com.

FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE

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