The increasingly popular trail synergy race that blends mountain biking and trail running, the 2015 Momentum Health OatWell Dual-Cross Series powered by PeptoPro, will commence this weekend at Hakahana Trails, near Hartebeespoortdam, west of Pretoria.
Brand du Plessis and Lise Olivier won the men and women’s series titles respectively in 2014 and will be back in 2015 for more exciting race action in the four-race series, widely regarded as the most prestigious off-road duathlon series in the country.
Making his Dual-Cross Series debut on Saturday, will be seven-time off-road triathlon world champion, Conrad Stoltz (Specialized). During a stellar career, Stoltz, a former Olympian, has won the X-Terra World Championship title four times and the Cross Triathlon World Championships title three times. And he’s looking forward to a new challenge in an event that has no swim leg.
“I’m excited to see what it is all about. It will be strange to go to a race and leave the swimming goggles a home. I’ve heard there are technical run and bike courses with fantastic organisation. The extensive media coverage is also great. Multi-sport athletes always appreciate media coverage!” smiled Stoltz.
“I am really looking forward to racing on South African soil again and I’ve only heard good things about the series. I plan to compete at all four legs this year,” added Stoltz, who usually races abroad.
At 41, Stoltz is still a professional athlete and will face rivals that are all younger than him, including Du Plessis, the winner at the Hakahana Trails event last year. They will tackle the full distance race, which is a sequential 5km trail run, 30km mountain bike and 2.5km trail run.
The obvious appeal of the Dual-Cross format racing is that it offers a challenge to both mountain bikers and trail runners, or multi-sport athletes looking for something different. In its first year, the Dual Cross Series attracted an average of 1 000 competitors per event. The organisers are expecting to exceed this in 2015.
According to Race Director, Fritz Pienaar, and his team from Advendurance, they learned a great deal in the first year of the series and have made improvements where necessary and additions where possible to ensure the participant experience is complete and enjoyable.
“It is always difficult to find that balance between technical and non-intimidating trails,” Pienaar commented. “We’ve listened to our participants and the general feedback is to offer a safe, but challenging experience that not only caters for the serious athletes, but for the entire family as well. The addition of a Momentum Health kiddies area is sure to make events even more appealing to the entire family.”
Photo by: Zoon Cronje | Nikon
The full event/distance offering is:
Saturday 7 February 2015:
06:00–08:50: Registration at Hakahana Trails
07:00: DualX Quarter/Kids 8-12 yrs 1.25/7.5/0.750 – Individual and Recreational Relay Teams
07:10: DualX Brats/Kids
08:00: DualX Full Distance 5/30/2.5 – Individual A Batch
08:05: DualX Full Distance 5/30/2.5 – Individual B Batch
08:10: DualX Full Distance 5/30/2.5 – Individual C Batch and Recreational Relay Teams
09:00: DualX Half Distance 2.5/15/1.25 – Individual A Batch
09:05: DualX Half Distance 2.5/15/1.25 – Individual B Batch and Recreational Relay Teams
09:30–11:30: Prize giving
For more information, visit www.dualx.co.za.
