2017 SA Downhill Cup Round 1 | Helderberg

Round one of the 2017 SA Downhill Cup series kicked off with a bang and some tight racing this past weekend. Plenty of KZN riders made the trip down Cape Town to join in and give the Western Province boys a good run for their money on the ever popular Helderberg Downhill track.

The event format consisted of two days, with Saturday allowing for a full day of shuttle runs for riders to practice, and Sunday being race day. Race day morning also allowed for a small window of shuttle runs, to get everybody settled in and some last minute line choices, before the racing started at 10:30 am. Each rider got a seeding run which determined the starting position for the official race run, going from slowest to fastest. In total, 76 riders took part in the event, with a fair amount of KZN riders travelling down, joined by a handful of riders from GP. Among those visitors were the always fast, always dangerous McMaster and Philogene brothers. With the predicted cloud cover not showing up, temperatures soon reached high 20’s and saw spectators and riders alike head for the sparse shade on offer at Helderberg.

Chasing another victory, Stefan Garlicki couldn’t quite follow up last week’s win at Paarl, and had to settle for 2nd position, just 1.5 seconds behind Johann Potgieter. Pottie put in a flawless and blistering race run, bettering his seeding time by 4 seconds. 3rd spot on the podium was claimed by local shredder, Adi van der Merwe, some 2.5 seconds behind Garlicki. Other notable results include Cullen McMaster (Junior class) in 6th and Matt Lombardi (Enduro class) in 7th overall.

The crew from BMT providing shade, good vibes and some much-needed vision in the form of ice cold post-race beers. Winning.

Pre-race chit chat while waiting for the first shuttles to get things going.

The 1.5 hour pre-race practice session saw riders put in a few more runs to get things dialed in.

Stefan Garlicki during morning practice – 2nd Overall.

Cullen McMaster – 1st Junior and 6th Overall.

Struan McMaster – 4th Overall

Jonathan Philogene – 5th Overall.

Matt Lombardi – 1st Enduro and 7th Overall.

Rika Olivier – 1st Woman Overall

Sabine Thies – 2nd Woman Overall

Simone Futter – 3rd Woman Overall

The break between the seeding and race runs saw everybody seek shelter from the blazing midday sun.

Adi van der Merwe – 3rd Overall.

Theo Erlangsen – 9th Overall.

Johann Potgieter – 1st Overall

A big thank you goes out to all the sponsors, for making this event a reality. They are (in no particular order):

– Subaru
– National Lotteries Commission
– CSA
– Cascade Country Manor
– DCP Printers
– GIANT
– Hollywood Kitchens & Furniture
– Magine Media
– smith&nephew
– This Way Out
– Western Province Cycling

Check out the official race gallery here: http://esphotography.co.za/race_gallery.php?id=DH2017-Helderberg