Think you can ride 1000-kilometres from Bloemfontein to Cape Town? In less than five-days? If you’re the first pair, you win $750,000. Not Rand. No-no-no. Dollars!
The Munga has been created by adventurer Alex Harris. He won the Freedom Challenge (2300km in 14 days) in 2010 and 2011 and placed second in 2012. He raced the Tour Divide (>4000km in 17 days) and placed 4th. Alex knows all about non-stop, ultra-distance mountain bike racing.
The inaugural ‘The Munga’ takes place on 3 December 2014, starting from Bloemfontein. The race is limited to teams of two. There is no seeding and anyone can enter. Everyone starts in one bunch at the same time. The race is non-stop – racers choose when and where (and if) to sleep.
The first team to cross the finish line wins $750,000! There’s something in it for the second and third teams too. The second team to cross the finish line wins $100,000. The third team wins$ 50 000. And, the 4th team through to the 10th team each win an entry into next years race.
There’s also an Underdog prize of $100 000. Every team that finishes the race within the five-day cutoff period goes into a draw for this prize.
“What’s the catch?” you’re asking.
It’s not really a catch as much as a pricey entry fee. The Munga costs $10,000 per team to enter. That’s R107,263.27 at today’s exchange rate.
But, you could win R8-million! Second and third place prizes aren’t anything to sniff at either.
As for the route… It’s marked.
The Munga mountain bike race will begin in or around the town of Bloemfontein in South Africa and end on a wine farm just outside Stellenbosch. The route will be predominantly off road. The route will be marked so riders will not have to think about navigation. The route will be at least 1000kms, and possibly a bit more.
There are five stations along the race route. These are spaced roughly between 150 and 180kms apart from the start. At each of these stations riders will be able to eat and sleep. Riders do not have to stop at the station or sleep for that matter. It is totally up to them. Apart from the five stations riders will also have access to water points roughly every 50 to 60kms. This is an unsupported race so no team will be allowed to have support from outside in any physical form. Riders will have access to a mechanical station in each of the 5 stations. Riders will not have access to a bag during the race, only at the finish. Don’t pack a towel as there’s no time to shower!
This race is custom-made for adventure racers! Phone in some favours, pull every contact you have and get the $s to enter. I’ll gladly accept a 1% referral fee for telling you about this when you win.
The Munga website is themunga.com and they’re on Twitter at @TheMungaMTB and Facebook.