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Ever wondered what we get up to when we’re not “the guy at the bike shop”? We do have lives… This is where we will post general stuff that’s going on, like races, places to ride, places to go, people we met. We’ll post articles and pictures, and give you a place to leave your comments as well, or even your races and rides.

Greg Kaumpec DH
Added By Ian 15 June 2009

Sunday 14th June saw the fourth Greg Kaumpec Memorial DH Fun Race at Cascades in Pietermaritzburg. The aim of the race is to attract beginners to the sport by using a relatively easy course, while remembering someone who played a big role in out sport.

The course started at the tabletops on the World Cup DH track, and from there followed the course, turning off just before the road gap, and going down one of the XC climbs, before a challenging drop next to the 4X course and into the finish. The course was mostly hard-pack and dirt road, with a few sections to test the new riders, and keep the experienced guys happy too.

Sunday started overcast and chilly, and on the first shuttle up we even got a bit of drizzle, but luckily the rain stayed away and the course stayed dry and fast. Maverick Team Rider Kalvin Purchase even changed to his HolyRollers for added speed. Luckily the sun came out during practise.

The shuttle up was full for each run, and sometimes there were riders who couldn’t be squeezed in, just proving how many people came to the race. Riders were scrambling to get practise runs in, and the course was just pure fun all the way down.

Racing kicked off at 1, starting with the ladies. Vicky Phillips set the pace with a 4:09. The guy’s field had 36 riders, ranging from Nationals riders to first timers. Simon Dinkelman set the pace at 3:08:97 in his first run, with Tiaan Odendaal in 2nd and our own Kelvin Purchase in third. By the second run the course was getting a bit loose and some of the corners were turning to dust. In run 2 Vicky took .22 of a second off her first run time to take the win. Jo Ann Hoyer took 2nd with a 4:38, Nicole Browning 3rd in 5:27, Maverick Rider Steph Davies 4th and Sarah Hatherly 5th.

In the Mens, Simons run was enough for the win, bit he took .1 of a second off just to make sure, with a 3:08:87. Tiaan’s first run kept him in second, and Travis Browning stole 3rd from Kalvin, with a 3:14:62, taking .37 out of Kalvin, who ended 4th. XC Pro Travis Walker took 5th on his jump bike.

The Maverick Team did well, a 4th in the men’s and ladie’s. Ian Duxbury came 13th and Conrad Davies got 20th.

Almost 40% of the field were first time DH racers, showing that the sport is definitely on the up. Well done to all the riders, especially the Mavericks.