Challenge yourself and the 36ONE course records in 2026

CYCLING NEWS - In 2026, The 36ONE MTB Challenge will once again offer R36 100* for the fastest men and women in South African cycling to aim for the existing course records.

In 2025, the task for the men was to beat the 13-hour barrier, while the women were aiming to break 15 hours.

Dan Loubser achieved the goal, breaking the previous best by over 40 minutes, while Yolande de Villiers took nearly 11 minutes off her course record but fell agonising seconds short of 15 hours.

Now 36ONE Asset Management and Dryland Event Management are laying down the gauntlet once more, incentivising record-chasing rides and encouraging everyone to push their limits from the 22^nd to 24 May next year.

The gravel roads of the Klein Karoo were long thought too rough – too rocky, too rutted – for gravel bikes. Gradually, that view has changed. In 2023, Wayne van der Walt became the first rider to win the 361-kilometre race on a gravel bike.

The FuelX rider even credited his bike choice in helping him slice through the mud more efficiently than the mountain bikes during particularly difficult conditions.

Two years later, Loubser went significantly faster in near-perfect weather to set an astonishing record of 12 hours, 34 minutes, and 57 seconds. His weapon of choice was a relatively stock gravel bike, as was the machine De Villiers rode to victory.

An extra R28 100 will be added to the solo men’s and women’s winners’ prizes if they can beat the new 36ONE MTB Challenge course records, taking the total winnings to R36 1000, which stand at 12:34:57 and 10:00:23, respectively. Photo by Oakpics.com.

With gravel cycling booming in South Africa currently and the Garden Route Giro set to further the trend with its first edition in 2026, from 13 to 18 April, more cyclists are likely to test their one-day limits on gravel bikes in the coming years. The 36ONE MTB Challenge remains the ultimate test, a one-shot circumnavigation of the Klein Karoo taking in 4 580 metres of climbing over the entirety of the course.

From Oudtshoorn, the route loops clockwise past the Kammanassie Dam to Check Point 1 at Louvain, then west to Volmoed and Check Point 2 on the easiest section of the four parts of the course.

Leg three, over the Rooiberg Pass to Calitzdorp, is the toughest on paper, but the final segment back to Oudtshoorn along the foothills of the Swartberg is not to be underestimated. It can, however, be undertaken as a relay rather than in one massive go.

Along with The Challenge Solo and Two Rider Team categories, riders can sign up to race The Relay, in teams of two or four, each completing one or two segments of the course. This may be the easiest way to acclimate to the demands of the event.

The other option is to take on The Half, which starts in Oudtshoorn and joins The Challenge route at Volmoed. At 196 kilometres long, it is not a true half and presents a more strenuous test than the average South African 100-Miler.

Yolande de Villiers took 11 minutes off her previous course record in 2025. Photo by Oakpics.com.

For riders who will not be chasing the bonuses for breaking a course record, the appeal of the event is the sheer scale of the trial it presents. Starting on Friday afternoon, every solo and team participant in the full-distance rides through the night, experiencing the Karoo stars from the bike.

Overnight cold temperatures add to the difficulty, while the daytime highs can bring heat into the equation, too. Bike choice for those riding to finish rather than race is also becoming a factor.

Popular wisdom suggests that a mountain bike would be more comfortable, due in no small part to the suspension and more upright riding position. Increasingly, though, gravel bikes can be set up for efficiency and comfort. Wider tyres have made a difference, and it has become normal to see mountain bike tyres squeezed into gravel frames.

Drop bars with broad flares also offer multiple hand positions, control on technical descents, and a more naturally aerodynamic position than mountain bike cockpits.

Despite all of this, the best bike for each individual taking on The 36ONE MTB Challenge remains the bike they are most comfortable on. 12 and a half hours, at the fastest end, or 24 hours for the mid-pack, to nearly 36 hours for the slowest finishers are all long times in the saddle.

Everyone suffers, everyone hurts; the difference is only in how long they hurt.

Will mountain or gravel bikes prove fastest in 2026? Photo by Oakpics.com.

While this sounds vaguely masochistic, it is the unspoken appeal of ultra-endurance sport. It is only through suffering that meaning can be derived.

If the quest for pure Type II fun appeals, visit www.the36one.co.za to find out more. Entries to the 2026 edition open on 3 September 2025. For more inspiration, follow @the36one on Instagram or like The 36ONE MTB Challenge Facebook page.