Rider's Brief | #4 Sondela, 1 Jul 2023
Welcome to the King Price Trailseeker Series – the king of all things trail.
Where MTB riding is an addiction and seeking new trails is a passion. Here you will find all you need to know about your upcoming race!
event info
*Please note that late entries are accepted on race day. However, a late entrant will be too late to receive priority seeding and cannot contend for a podium position. If you are a serious rider wishing to place well, please get your entry in by the Wednesday before the race.
Batch Start times
Route Info
Being a family affair, we offer distances suited to every age and ability. All the routes offer game-viewing in abundance. Watch out for the naughty aardvark who will burrow right on the trails!
And, if you’re worried about Sondela’s ‘horisontal climbs’ aka sand. Don’t be. The sand has been conveniently swept from the trails. You’re welcome 😉
expect a non-demanding, beautifully scenic route on jeep tracks that will leave our beginner riders challenged and wanting more!
this route is flat and fast with no technical sections and a perfect mix between flowy single-track and jeep tracks. Way too much fun!
this route is ideal when transitioning from 20 km to 40 km. It is flat and flows along a scenic blend of single and jeep tracks. Although there is almost no climbing on this route, the challenge is to keep working on the flat terrain.
The route starts flat and fast heading north to the Waterberge. Expect a lot of single-track punctuated with short, punchy power climbs. All technical sections are ridable and super fun. The route returns onto the flowy Sondela trails and finishes fast and furious back at Sondela.
SASeeding
•SASeeding data will be used to batch riders.
• To be an Overall Podium Contender you have to start in the A batch of your respective distance.
• If you compete as an age category rider you can start in any batch. It means that you can win your age category even if you begin in batch C for instance.
•There is no specific School XCM Series batch. School XCM Series riders will be seeded on merit alongside the regular Trailseeker riders.
•To better accommodate the School XCM Series riders, the top 25 boys and top 10 girls School Series riders in both the Half Marathon Short (20 km) and Half Marathon (40 km) will be seeded in the respective A-Batches (A-Men and A-Ladies)
Waterpoints
Tech ZONE
Specialized will man the tech zone at the start venue to assist with any issues that may pop up before your race starts.
finish vibe & Activations
You can look forward to a refreshing Bavaria 0.0% when you cross the finish line!
Normally Sondela does not allow day visitors into the Reserve, but your King Price Trailseeker race entry grants you free access to Sondela for the day!
Remember to pack your swimming gear to spend a relaxing afternoon around Sondela’s hot and cold swimming pools.
There will be tasty post-race food and drinks on sale prepared by Sondela.
Do not leave the kids at home. Sondela also offers a variety of super fun activities for kids of all ages that includes a series of exciting poolside games, a farmyard, sand art, painting, kleilat, Junior Rangers, Archery, go-carts and more!
Christiaan Baartman will be entertaining us live on the day.
medals & apparel
The top 3 riders in each racing category will receive gold, silver and bronze medals and all other riders will receive a beautifully designed finishers medal.
Online purchases can be collected at the merch stall on race day.
Race Results
After your race you will receive a Whatsapp with your race results. If your results are incorrect, or you have any other queries, please pop us a message on our WhatsApp line at 060 747 8286. We will get back to you asap.
View all results here.
Have you downloaded the Pursuit app yet? The Pursuit app was designed to track and measure your performance in outdoor mass-participation sports events in South Africa. The peer-to-peer performance index – The Pursuit Index – shows you how you rank against other athletes in your sporting discipline.
Give it a shot by signing up today.
Schools xcm series
#3 Van Gaalen forms part of the SCSA XCM Series where learners represent their schools and chase the maximum amount of points for the Series win!
School Cycling SA (SCSA) has partnered with the King Price Trailseeker Series to once again bring you the SCSA XCM (Cross Country Marathon) Series.
School learners will be able to proudly represent their respective schools and earn valuable points for their school. At the end of the series, the top:
- Boys Team
- Girls Team
- Mixed Team and
- Overall School Team
for primary and high schools will be announced.
Who can ride?
20km – Nipper (9 – 10 years), Sprog (11 – 12 years), Sub Junior (13 – 14 years)
40km – Youth (15 – 16 years), Junior (17 – 19 years)
The Sub-sub Nipper (5 – 6 years) and Sub Nipper (7 – 8 years) categories will remain a social race. They can ride the 10 km distance with a parent, but it will not form part of the Schools Series. We feel that the distance is too far for a little one to attempt without a parent nearby to lend a hand in case of technical or other difficulties.
Series Leaderboard 2023
The King Price Trailseeker Series Leaderboard is a way for riders to track their progress and compare their performance against other riders throughout the series. The leaderboard will be updated after each event, taking into account the rider’s finish position and overall time.
Riders are ranked based on their points accumulated throughout the series. Points are awarded to the top finishers in each category, with more points given to those who finish higher.
The top-ranked rider in every distance gets to wear the leader’s jersey to distinguish him/her from the rest of the field.
For #3 Van Gaalen the riders in the lead are:
70km: Jan Withaar & Sam Sanders
40km: Stephan Aldum & Rachel Jane Green
20km: Jaco Aldum & Bella Grobler
