Fuelling Your Fire to Conquer the Merino Monster

Bike racing is meant to hurt. It should be hard. At the sharp end, the top teams do their best to turn each other inside out, to inflict pain until only those who can break through that threshold endure to the finish line. Then the next day, they do it again, layering fatigue upon fatigue. This begs the question, why?

Why inflict this upon oneself? There are as many answers to that, in subtle variations, as there are riders in any bike race. For most, it is simply because it is in the suffering and in the overcoming that they find meaning. The UCI SHC status Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, therefore has to be tough. It has to attract a strong field of elite racers and competitive age groupers. It has to provide the canvas upon which every participant can push to and beyond their limits.

It does, however, also need to strike a balance between challenge and comfort. To offer riders the opportunity to recover, to refuel, and to regroup mentally between each stage. “The landscape of the Koue Bokkeveld and Witzenberg, along with the February heat, combine to make it easy to create a race which is exceptionally tough,” Henco Rademeyer of Dryland Event Management noted. “But over the nearly two decades we, as Dryland, have been organising events, have discovered that you need to strike a balance. You need to take with one hand and give with the other, to challenge and reward. Sometimes the rewards have to be off the bike, because there is no room for easing up during the stage, but nonetheless, we have found we have to provide treats too.”

At the Kaleo race village, treats come in the form of a central venue with one start and finish for all four stages. Lush lawns, old oak trees, and tall blue gums take the sting out of the African sun. The meals are hearty, tasty, and provide the fuel required to conquer the 280 kilometre route. In the afternoon, a chill zone provides pancakes, hot off the pan, grilled ostrich steak strips cooked to perfection on a Weber gas barbecue, biltong, droëwors, sweets, and a selection of Biogen’s world-class sports nutrition recovery products. There are fridges filled with complimentary Biogen Electrolite Drink cans and Rhodes Quality fruit juices. It is not uncommon to see riders napping in the shade, on one of the many loungers, or on mattresses they have pulled from their tents. Experienced campaigners even know that just a short walk from the race village, there is a dam filled with icy mountain water to cool and soothe aching limbs after a hard morning on the bike.

“To aid the slower riders in the field, we will be instituting a rolling Biogen Water Point in 2026,” Rademeyer promised. “This year, the Biogen team did a pop-up water point on Stages 2 and 3, but we think the riders will be better served by having a roaming team equipped with bottles of ice-cold Biogen Cytogen and water. They will then be able to hand teams bottles on the go.”

Dryland’s medical team is among the best in the business and has decades of combined experience in wilderness situations. “Klein Karoo Event Medics have provided medical support for the Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, riders since day one, in 2013,” Rademeyer explained. “They know the area as well as any of the route team, this is hugely beneficial from a logistical and safety perspective. Hopefully, the only interaction riders will have with them is in the form of a cheer as you race by. But you will almost certainly be making use of EPT’s services. The leaders in sports massage therapy have also been at the event since the first edition. Their recovery treatments help take the sting from your legs and prepare you for the next stage.”

“We have exciting plans for the Stage 1 and 4 routes, but I don’t want to give too much away at this point,” Rademeyer hinted. “The primary challenges of the race will remain the infamous Witzenberg Valley and the iconic Merino Monster. Stage 3’s ascent of the Merino Monster is a rite of passage for anyone who wants to call themselves a ‘real’ mountain biker. From the Ceres Valley to the summit of the mountain requires conquering over 1 000 metres of vertical elevation gain. In 2025, Tristan Nortje set a new Strava KOM time for the final 8 kilometres of the climb. His record stands at 35 minutes and 36 seconds, waiting to be beaten again in 2026.”

One of the big advantages the race has over rivals is the simplicity of its logistics. Situated just 175 kilometres from Cape Town International, it, along with Dryland’s partnership with Avis Car Rental, which entitles all participants to a discount on their car hire, makes getting to the race easy. Once at Kaleo, there is no need to think about anything but racing bikes and recovering from bike racing from Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon.

For mountain bikers looking to take up the test of racing the tough terrain of the Bokveld and indulging in the hospitality of Dryland Event Management, entries to the 2026 edition open on 23 April 2025. For more information, visit www.tankwatrek.co.za.

Header Image: The racing is tough at the Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, but off the bike, Dryland ensure that riders can rest and recover to repeat their racing performances the following day. Photo by Oakpics.com.