Mountain bikers to race for ranking points
Mountain bikers will compete for international ranking points in the Barberton, Attakwas, Clarens and Sabie races next year, sponsor MTN announced on Monday.
This would enable local riders, who could not afford to stay in Europe for months to race, the opportunity to improve their international rankings, MTN said in a statement.
In attracting top international marathon riders, it would also introduce an ability check for local riders.
"The spin-off for international riders will be that the MTN series will make it possible for them to train and race in South Africa from the end of January until the Cape Epic," MTN said.
"It is common knowledge that the extremely cold conditions in Europe during January and February make it almost impossible to ride a mountain bike," it said.
The ranking points were negotiated with Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) by Wessel van der Walt, from Advendurance.
"To bring the series in line with the UCI standards, the first 15 riders in each of the pro-elite ultra races will receive prize money," he said.