Drak Descent gets trail shake-up

Despite a cancellation of the event at the beginning of 2021, organisers of the 2022 Euro Steel Drak Descent in partnership with FNB have decided to make adjustments to the route that wasn’t used this year for the events to be held on the last weekend of January.

The Euro Steel Drak Descent in partnership with FNB has become a favourite ride for riders that spend a lot of time on the Sani Spoors trails around Underberg and with the value of having riders back on the trails it’s been decided that they will make some minor changes to the trails.

“We are constantly looking for more exciting, more beautiful places to take the riders,” member of the race organising committee Pierre Horn said. “We’re not necessarily looking to make it more challenging but looking to make it more spectacular and more scenic.

“We are also very aware about the impact caused through erosion. Although we use a lot of cattle and eland paths we can see that if the animals use these regularly through a season it can be subject to quite severe erosion.”

The organisers have decide to make a few changes to one of the race’s newer sections, the Super Bowl contour trail.

“There was a quite a gnarly downhill section that we have changed and the new route will be more exciting and less challenging than the original route.

“It will be more rider friendly and excitingly it will be going in the opposite direction,” Horn explained.

“While it is a ride down river we thought that it would be nice to try and take in a view of the Berg and not just the foothills.

“In the areas where we divert away from the rivers we decided to try and reverse the route to try and take people back towards the mountains and give riders a chance to see the entire Southern Drakensberg.

“We are certain that should we get it right it will make a major impact in terms of the vistas that the riders will take in.”

The Southern Drakensberg provides a stunning backdrop for riders enjoying the summer conditions that are on offer as they take on the various distances on offer at the 2022 Drak Descent and Drak MTB Challenge. For the organising committee riding in those conditions in that terrain is mountain biking bliss.

“The Drak Descent is proper mountain biking!”

“You follow cattle and game paths through technical bits as well as sections where you can ride at great pace and the route takes riders over a variety of terrains which makes for some exciting racing.

“With the trail runs and the N3TC Drak Challenge canoeing race going on over the same weekend means that there is so much going on in the district.

“Also to be able to see the Southern Drakensberg, which is a World Heritage Site, is another drawcard as it provides riders with something that they would never see out of the two race days because a lot of the trail is inaccessible all year round.”