Three Days of Grit: Challenging Conditions Define the Weekend
| This event and race report is supported by Cape Cycle Systems, distributors of SRAM and RockShox in South Africa. |
Perhaps one of the most beautiful places you’d ever ride any bike, the Spice Route in Paarl hosted a triple header race weekend on the 27th to 29th March. The three-day event incorporated round three of the Western Cape series, round three of the South African Cup and the 2026 South African National Championships – a one-day race.
In accordance with UCI rules and regulations, the field was required to complete separate seeding and race runs for the national title (the Champs race), which extended the event to a third day. As a grassroots event made possible by a dedicated community of volunteers, parents, and supporters, this additional day on the mountain placed a significant extra demand on everyone involved. However, driven by a shared passion for the sport, the entire team rose to the occasion, and all three days of racing ran smoothly.
The downhill track at Spice Route was designed and built approximately three years ago. From the outset, the goal was to create a highly challenging course that closely mirrors those used in the World Series, thereby providing South Africa’s youth with valuable exposure to international racing standards.
After Friday’s practice sessions had churned the surface into soft, powdery dust, with loose rocks, sharp edges, and exposed roots lurking beneath, a spell of rain overnight helped settle the track. On Saturday, conditions were initially very slick for a few hours before gradually improving into classic “hero dirt.” By Sunday, the course featured a mix of both powdery sections and tacky, grippy patches. All in all, it was a weekend of varied conditions that demanded focus and adaptability from the riders. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus more on the national title race, and the results thereof. Follow along in the images below, as I recap the action.
The tallest man on the circuit, Philip van Schalkwyk is pretty good at hinging, folding and tucking around his bike. Not dissimilar to the G.O.A.T. It’s a classic style that is very effective – Phillip was my darkhorse for the win and ended the weekend less than a second off the Elite podium. Chris Nixon steers with the hips through the off-camber entrance to the rock garden. This section was one of the key separator sections on the track.New bike and new pace from Anne Cramer this weekend who is clearly loving the extra travel and capability of a full Downhill bike.Daniel Stone took the win in the Sprog Boys category by a full 8-seconds. With many months experience in Europe, this Spice Route Track is one we expected Daniel to do very well on – and he delivered. Nice riding Champ!Daniel’s Dad Craig Stone, was also flying all weekend and took the Vet Men’s win.Ethan Duvenage is the 2026 national champion in the Junior Boys category. Silver in the Junior Men’s category went to Julian Oosthuizen who was just 1.3 off the win.Around about now Gerhard Hoepfner is real happy with his choice of aggressive tread patterns for this weekend’s race. Rolling speed wasn’t the issue on a steep track like this. Line precision and braking grip was priority number one that influence tyre choice.New bike, new kit and new form! A return to health and fitness for Dani Botha saw her mixing it up near the sharp end of the Elite Women’s field. An off in the race run took her out of the running for the top step in the final race for the SA sleeve. Isabella Stermin drops into the chute on her way to the win in the Junior Girls category.Pieter Venter gets a top three from me for the unofficial steeze and style competition. As a first year Elite, 6th place against a stacked field is not a bad result from the affable youngster.Waldo De Wet put his Moto background, raw speed and power to good use to grab the win in the Sub Vet category.Lian de Jager gaps into the mineshaft on his way to 3rd place (1st trail bike though!) in the talent-stacked Youth Men category. Lian approaches his riding with near-perfect technique and a lot of speed – a combination that will yield wins in the future.Kai van Rensburg is a sender, a proper sender who has overcome setbacks and continues to perform at the highest level in his class. Well done on your silver medal young man!“I had a sketchy run!” said Arielle Behr after her final lap. Sketchy was good enough for a silver in Elite Women, 4.4 seconds off the win.Luc Rossouw with some proper bike-yoga on his way to 5th place in his first year in that stacked Youth Men category.Yours truly. Good fun on a gnarly track!Sven Etsebeth, off the XC bike, onto the Enduro machine for a solid sixth place finish.Pottie had but a week on his new bike and said he needed just a little more time to get comfortable at full race pace. Nevertheless, he took a solid 3rd place in Elite Men.Shamsher Essop lines up the huge huck which is some five meters down to the sweet spot – it’s a huge feature that is within view from the main spectator gathering spot providing plenty of entertainment. Keagan Brand is still one of the younger riders in the Elite Men category and is champing at the bit to take over from the established guard. P4this weekend, just 5/100ths of a second off the podium.William Nelson, also on my podium for steeze and style, squashes the gap into the powdery corkscrew section. Tricia Rossouw on her way to the fastest time in the Junior Women’s category. Tricia posts consistently times, a sign she is never over-riding the track – which is wise in this game.Jake van Schoor, 7th overall and the 2026 SA Youth Men Champion. Jake is a prodigious talent who came to Downhill from Moto and never seems to not win. His presence lifts everyone’s game.Straight from a month of digging and riding the biggest jumps in the world at Darkfest, Theo Erlangsen had about a week to get his attention back to rough, janky riding where speed is everything. By the end of three days of Downhill, the three-time SA Champion was 1.1seconds off from making it a fourth title.Zak Jones piloted his South African made prototype Pyga to it’s first-ever National Championship title in the Junior Men category. With commitments to some European campaigning this year, Zak was hungry for the win as it would afford him the opportunity to fly the South African flag abroad. What a ride!Enthralled with the challenge from new talent making their way into the women’s field – Frankie du Toit knew she needed a clean and flat-out lap to take the win. And that’s exactly what she did. Well done Champ!In a game that presents so many curve-balls and challenges, back-to-back titles at the Elite level don’t come easy. It requires immense commitment, many months of personal sacrifice and an intelligent approach to the race itself. Rory Kirk checked all the boxes to take first place and a repeat win in the Elite Men’s category.Chapeau Rory! You are now part of a rare few that have multiple wins in the Elite category.
Congratulations to all the champions and everyone involved.
| Western Cape Downhill is sported by Commencal, Cape Cycle Systems, SRAM, RockShox, Leatt, All Mountain, Foton, Maxxis, Kamikaze, Uitsig Bikepark, Foton, TCS Wifi | Images: Chris Taylor and Retroyspective |
