A brand new event is about to shake up South Africa’s mountain biking scene. With the support of a powerhouse partnership between Media24 and Dryland Event Management, the highly anticipated Bicycling Karooburn will come to life in 2020.
The Karooburn dream was birthed on South Africa’s longest straight gravel road that stretches between Calvinia and Ceres. With 242 kilometres and 1850 metres of vertical ascent to work with, event organisers quickly saw the potential of a truly unique gravel route that was begging to be explored.
“This is a long distance off-road event like no other. Spectacular and harsh – it’s the ultimate off-road endurance test that will test every part of you… especially your mind,” says Mike Finch, Editor-In-Chief of Bicycling Magazine.
In teams of two or four, riders will battle it out for glory over a period of 24 hours. The event will start in Calvinia and finish at Kaleo Guest Farm near Ceres with both a gravel and mountain bike race in separate categories.
Francois Malan, Commercial Head of Events at Media24 commented, “Media24 is proud to partner with Dryland on this project. Their expertise in creating and managing premium sports events makes us confident that Karooburn will be a success. We have seen our audience make lifestyle changes that allow for greater health and wellness conscious lives, so building on our already popular fitness events just made sense. Media24 will continue to successfully invest in experiential partnerships across a host of brands and event categories. Events of this nature are a growing focus not only for our magazine brands but also for our clients and partners.”
Dryland Event Management has established itself as one of the premier event companies in South Africa with an impressive pedigree of high-profile mountain bike races. The company boasts events like the Momentum Health Tankwa Trek presented by Biogen – a stage race with stature in both local and international circles that attracts some of the biggest names in the sport.
With a loyal market of South African riders that have an insatiable appetite for long endurance events, Karooburn will surely follow the same pattern of success. Director of Dryland Event Management Henco Rademeyer commented:
“We are delighted to partner Media24 in this venture. Their expertise on a media and marketing level is unparalleled and with them taking on this responsibility, we can focus more on the logistics and operations. We will be putting on a true gravel experience for both gravel and mountain bikes. The gravel bike market has grown immensely in South Africa and it is about time that we offer an event that caters for this discipline.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
GRAVEL & MTB BIKE CATEGORY
DATE: 22 February 2020
DISTANCE: 242km
RACE START: 10:00 at Calvinia Primary School.
ENTRY FEE:
TEAM OF 2 = R 2700.00
TEAM OF 4 = R 4900.00
ROUTE MAP
Entries are officially open! For more information, visit www.karooburn.co.za.
Bicycling Karooburn is now open for sponsorship and creating opportunities where clients can engage with the Bicycling audience.