With more than 320 participants for this 2018 edition, the Grit Colin Mayer positions itself as the major MTB race of the island. This year, there are 70 more participants than in 2017, split into three categories: the solo race, Electro Bike and Sunday Riders. Besides a great number of Mauritian participants, the Race Director Michel Mayer said that there will be 70 South-African cyclists, some fifty from Reunion Island and some from France, England and Slovakia. There will also be some hundred children expected for the Sun Kids Race.
The organising team and various sponsors held a press conference this Wednesday 26th September at SPARC Uniciti sports centre that will host the race village. The Grit Colin Mayer Tour will take place from the 5th to the 7th October, offering to the participants the opportunity to discover the West coast. They will explore new circuits especially designed for the event, through Casela estate and other properties of Medine group.
The guests of honour will be Andrew McLean and Reinhard Zellhuber this year. McLean is a globally renowned cyclist from South-Africa. He counts not less than 25 victories at the Cape Epic and 3 victories in the general ranking in his category. He won several times the Cape Argus Cycle Tour and the 94.7 Cycle Challenge (veteran and in tandem), and also won four times the Giro del Capo. Reinhard Zellhuber, from South-Africa also, is considered as the new rising star of MTB. He won a bronze medal at the African MTB Championships in April this year in the -23 year-old men category.
There will be three rounds for the grit Colin Mayer Tour: the Casela Safari Challenge (62 km), the Unicit Cross Country, of level 4 and that should be the most difficult according to the Race Course Director Christophe Chasteau, and the SPARC Ultimate Pursuit of 50 km. The winning team will bear the colours of Sun Resorts.
New features have been added to the 2018 edition of the tour: the Buffalo category for the teams having cyclists of more than 90 kg before the race, the -23 year-old category, and the Electro-Bike open category. The last one will not be counted as a competition but will offer to MTB amateurs a chance to take part in the Grit Colin Mayer Tour and enjoy the different tracks of the race.
The Grit Colin Mayer Tour will also have a part for the youngest ones. The race dedicated to children from 6 to 13 years old, sponsored by Sun Resorts, will start at SPARC and will go through the surrounding sugar cane fields. This race will take place on Sunday 7th October at 11.30 am, and split in two categories: 6 – 9 years old and 10 to 13 years old. The children will also enjoy the Sun Kids Village (sponsored by Sun Resorts), set up at SPARC.
The race packs will be distributed on Thursday 4th October, from 5 pm to 7 pm, at SPARC Uniciti.
Info : www.colinmayertour.com
