Fonte: comunicato stampa
The first event of the 2014 UCI MTB World Cup presented by Shimano is to be staged in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Pietermaritzburg is the capital city of Kwazulu – Natal, one of nine provinces in the country, and is situated on the east coast of the country, 90km from the coastal city of Durban, the largest and busiest harbor in the Southern Hemisphere.
Pietermaritzburg is blessed with great weather, especially in the summer months, when it is warm but without the humidity of the coast. The terrain for all forms of cycling is excellent but especially for mountain biking with a vast number of trails that can be ridden all year round and as it is the foothills of the Drakensburg Mountains, one of the province’s World Heritage sites, the terrain is excellent for the sport.
The 2014 event is being organized by Cycling SA and Alec Lenferna will once again serve as the Event Director. Much of the same team that was in place for the previous events are back and the organizers together with the City have developed a prime piece of real estate which is almost right in the center of the city over the past four years as the premier Mountain Bike venue in the country. This 12 hectare piece of land boasts competition ready Cross Country, Downhill courses that will be utilized at the event in April 2014
XCO: 5.15km long for 707m altitude variance, The Cross Country course, designed and constructed by Nick Floros, was utilized for the previous World Cup events as well as the 2013 UCI MTB World Championships and has garnered much praise. Although not a massive course, it is one that tests the rider throughout and Nick and his team have already identified areas where the course can be changed slightly so as to make the course more testing and a course that will ensure that the best and strongest riders on the day will succeed.
