With R100\u00a0000 on the line for the overall champions at the end of the 2026 Ford Trailseeker Series, the battle for primacy over the course of the season is the golden thread linking the six events. Just a month after the Cradle contest, and three weeks out from the Sondela showdown, the battle at Van Gaalen marks more than just the mid-point in the series. For men\u2019s standing leader, Marc Pritzen, it is an opportunity to cement his spot at the top. In the women\u2019s general classification, Sarah Mar\u00e9\u00a0is poised to benefit from consistency, commitment, and remaining injury-free. Though Samantha Sanders could leapfrog from sixth to first with a victory, setting up a fascinating intra-Efficient Infiniti Insure showdown.<\/p>\n
Header Image: A victory for Samantha Sanders (leading) could see her move to 70 points, which would be enough to take the series lead following her second place at the Cradle in May. Photo by Anthony Churchyard.<\/em><\/p>\n Taking place on Saturday, 6 June, the Van Gaalen leg of the Ford Trailseeker Series should see fiercely competitive racing. Famed as a mountain biking destination since 2008, the Van Gaalen Cheese Farm brings together the properties of multiple land owners to create an extensive network of over 80 kilometres of trails. The diversity of riding on offer makes it possible to host rides and races for the whole family, alongside the premier marathon-distance race. The elite men, elite women, and the avid amateur mountain bikers taking on the long course face a 67.7-kilometre route with 1\u00a0200 metres of climbing. From a racing and enjoyment perspective, the fact that the climbing is front-loaded into the first 45 kilometres should impact the tactics on the day. The strongest climbers will need to fight to get away early, while the fastest finishers will have to hang tough to remain in contact for the first one and a half to two hours to force the race down to a sprint.<\/p>\n On current form, after being able to stick with Samantha Sanders for 145 of the 158 kilometres of the King Price Race to the Sun, it seems likely that Sarah Mar\u00e9\u00a0will be able to force the contest into the closing kilometres on Saturday. The Efficient Infiniti Insure rider finds herself in third on the overall standings after two rounds of the 2026 Ford Trailseeker Series, yet due to World Series XCO commitments for Candice Lill and an injury that required surgery for Vera Looser, Mar\u00e9\u00a0is the effective leader. She currently has 36 points in the bank, 5 more than Frances Swanepoel (n\u00e9e Janse van Rensburg), who is missing the Van Gaalen event, and 6 more than her teammate, Sanders. On 25 and 21 points, respectively, Danielle du Toit and Roxanne Kemp are 11 and 15 points adrift of Mar\u00e9. Only Kemp will be racing Van Gaalen for Safari Essence Titan Racing, and should gain points, though it is less likely that she will close the gap on the de facto series leader and Sanders.<\/p>\n Round 3 of the Ford Trailseeker Series also sees Luzaan Durand, sixth at the Cradle and twelfth overall, returning to the start line, alongside Tania Bugarin Ortiz [seventh at Cradle and fourteenth overall], and Lilian Baber. Baber was twelfth from a stacked field at the Banhoek round, in January, and could upset the marathon specialists at Van Gaalen. Sanchia Malan makes the trip up to the North West from KwaZulu-Natal and will be hoping to challenge for a top-five placing for the first time in the series this year. Ricci-Lee Brookstone, best known for her performances on the road, has grown in stature on the mountain bike and will, along with Rachel Seaman and Kera Botha, not simply complete the elite women\u2019s line-up but look to shake it up.<\/p>\n Marc Pritzen headlines the men\u2019s field for the third leg of the Ford Trailseeker Series. The Honeycomb 226ers star currently leads the overall standings after a victory and a second place thus far, but his nearest rival, Jaedon Terlouw, is also on fine form. Terlouw was victorious at the King Price Race to the Sun on 30 May and has the skills to exploit the descents of the Van Gaalen course, even if he may lose time to Pritzen on the longer climbs.<\/p>\n Pritzen, on 70 points, and Terlouw, on 42 points, have a healthy buffer on the chasing pack of Wessel Botha, Arno du Toit, Jan Withaar, and Ignatius du Preez. Yet, with 40 points for a victory, a win by either of those four will dramatically change the look of the table. Of the quartet, Du Preez and Withaar are the most likely to cause an upset on current form. Du Preez sat out the King Price Race to the Sun, after securing third in the Cradle round of the Ford Trailseeker Series, while Withaar finished third behind Terlouw and Tristan Nortje at the end of the country\u2019s premier gravel bike race last weekend.<\/p>\n Johan de Villiers won the Sondela leg of the series in 2025 and is thus always a dangerous outsider. Herman Fourie, Jordon Boshoff, and Travis Rademan-Ludeke are likewise men to watch, as is Philip Buys. A true legend of the South African mountain biking scene, the Ford Prime Bunch team leader is overdue for a stellar result after a slightly disrupted first five months of 2026. 21-year-old Ernest Roets focuses on cross-country racing for much of the year, but that firepower could serve him well on the punchy route.<\/p>\n Halalisani Ndebele, Jean du Plessis, Alan Gordon, Unathi Nxumalo, Tumelo Makae, Noah Odendaal, Henr\u00e9\u00a0Myburgh, Stephan Aldum, Marco de Sousa, Thabiso Zindela, Alec Colesky, Wesley Boshoff, Wium du Toit, Diwan Prinsloo, John-James Martens, Daniel Scheepers, Luan Vermeulen, and Gerhard Bekker complete the elite men\u2019s line-up. The depth of the field and the prediction for near-perfect bike racing weather should encourage mountain bike fans to tune in to the Ford Trailseeker Series\u2019 race coverage.<\/p>\n Clear skies and crisp, but warming, temperatures will serve the racers well. To see them in action, follow\u00a0@trailseekerseriesmtb<\/u><\/a>\u00a0on Instagram and like the\u00a0Ford Trailseeker MTB Series<\/u><\/a>\u00a0Facebook page for regular updates on race day, Saturday, 6 June. Highlights from the race and the series can be viewed on the\u00a0Ford Trailseeker Series<\/u><\/a>\u00a0YouTube channel. For more information, visit\u00a0www.trailseeker.co.za<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n Ford Trailseeker Series Leaderboard<\/b><\/p>\n Elite Men\u2019s Standing after Round #2 of 6:<\/i><\/p>\n *Unlikely to race again in the Ford Trailseeker Series this year.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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