2026 SRAM Western Cape DH Series Race Calendar
Schedule and venues announced for the 2026 season
The SRAM Western Cape Downhill Series will consist of five rounds in 2026, including the provincial championship event in October. Four of the rounds are double-header events, incorporating the National Downhill Series. Additionally, the South African Championships (one-day race) will be held as an extra day, to one of the rounds.
The series enjoyed significant growth in 2025 with record entries. “The secret to the success is two-fold.” says Chris Nixon. “Our events cater to both the fastest riders in the country and the up and coming youth categories. We achieve this sweet-spot by carefully considering every inch of the race tracks, with the ultimate goal of having a challenging race track, that is also as safe as possible.”
Chris went on to say: “Secondly, let’s not forget it takes a village to put on these races and to that end we have an ever-expanding volunteer group that form a very efficient committee. These parents and riders contribute many hours of work in the months leading up to each event, and, over the weekend of the races, are on-hand ensuring everything sails smoothly. Without them, there would be no racing.”
The season will begin at the Zevenwacht Wine Estate in late January. For round two, the racers head to Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch, an iconic race venue that has hosted mountain bike racing since the 90’s. Round three takes place at the recently built Spice Route track just outside of Paarl. In late April, the series heads back to Paarl for the revised and renovated Taal Monument track. In October, a backup event is on the schedule before the season finale, the one-day provincial championship race.
2026 SRAM Western Cape (and SA) Downhill Race Calendar
24 – 25 January | WCDH & National #1, Zevenwacht Wine Estate
28 February – 1 March | WCDH & National #2, Jonkershoek Stellenbosch
27 – 28 March | WCDH & National #3, Spice Route Paarl
29 March | South African Championships, Spice Route Paarl
18 – 19 April | WCDH #4, Paarl
2 – 3 May | National #4, Cascades Pmb
3 – 4 October | WCDH #5, Zevenwacht Wine Estate (backup event)
24 – 25 October | WCDH Provincial Championships – Hellsend, Stellenbosch (tbc)
This series is now well-established as the premium gravity race series in the country. “With the continued support of headline sponsor SRAM / RockShox of Cape Cycle Systems, we’re super excited for what’s to come.” said Chris. “On that note we do have brand activation and sponsorship opportunities for more brands who want to get involved, so give us a shout.“
He continued, “Another positive upside I’d like to mention is the incredible young talent we are seeing come out of this ‘grassroots’ racing series. We have some phenomenally fast young riders and have a youth program in place that gives them a taste of riding and racing in Europe.”
The 2026 SRAM Western Cape Downhill Series is supported by Leatt, Uitsig Bike Park, Cape Cycle Systems, All Mountain Co, TCS Wifi, Schwalbe and Kamikaze. Click here to enter the first race. //