Stage 1
Saronsberg, Tulbagh – Saronsberg, Tulbagh
106km, 2 300m climbing 

Sweet (and sour)

Over its 300 years Tulbagh has built a reputation for excellent wine. Now the town nestled in a beautiful, lush valley is beginning to earn a name for great mountain biking, thanks to the efforts of local enthusiasts. From the race village at Saronsberg Wine Estate, Stage 1 loops around the town in the Tulbagh bowl with more than a few trips up the slopes of its surrounding mountains. It will introduce riders to many of the new tracks in the area with the action starting on the day’s Land Rover Technical Terrain, the Bone Trail, which snakes upwards across the mountainside. Then it’s downhill on The Labyrinth's zigzag singletrack descent. Riders will also cross Confucius’s Bridge and enjoy the Fairy Loop. After some early climbing most of the cool sections are between the 45km to 70km marks, but include some rugged ascents – the profile for that section looks like a set of shark’s teeth.