The Bicycle League is on

The League provides fun, accessible mountain bike participation opportunities for young riders by activating grass-roots race leagues with local and regional outcomes.

Loosely based on the Shorttrack/XCC race format with its short courses and race times, the sport’s perennial issue of a lack of venues is solved as most large school grounds and parks can easily accommodate the events.

Further, short races on easy courses are accessible for more fitness and proficiency levels. In keeping with the theme of accessibility, the bulk of the events are scheduled for midweek afternoons, no different from many other schools sports. An open-source organisational approach sees the League providing centralised registration, timing and result software as well as the training required to operate the events.

This localised, close-to-home approach will give the sport the all-important participation base to develop itself regionally while the youth focus drives growth in the most affordable equipment bracket. To grow the sport, we need basic racing on basic bicycles - organised by locals!

The League is operated by Cycle2Ride, who, with experienced program director Meurant Botha (Spur League, Dirtopia and Amarider), spent the last 4 years developing and refining the format, by hosting more than 50 races and training local teams.

By mid-2024, the team secured the support of the EduInnov8 Foundation who has committed to support the establisment of the League. Further, the program has sought endorsements from both Cycling South Africa and Schools Cycling South Africa and is ready to make a significant impact in the development of the sport.

The first events for local clusters in Gauteng and the Western Cape are set for mid February 2025 with registrations opening on 13 January 2025.

To find out more about the program please visit www.thebicycleleague.co.za or email info@thebicycleleague.co.za