{"id":227972,"date":"2022-06-04T05:36:26","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T03:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=116743"},"modified":"2022-06-04T05:36:26","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T03:36:26","slug":"great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition breaks new ground for e-bikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"republication_tracker_tool-2\" class=\"republication_tracker_tool clearfix\">\n<h5 class=\"adtitle\">Republish for Free<\/h5>\n<div class=\"license\">\n<p><button name=\"Republish This Story\" id=\"cc-btn\" class=\"republication-tracker-tool-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"license\" rel=\"noreferrer license noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"message\">\n<p>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<figure id=\"attachment_116744\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116744\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?attachment_id=116744\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"201\" class=\"wp-image-116744 size-thumbnail lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-116744 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes.jpg\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"201\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116744\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the Rubicon Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition will experience the spectacular views of the Zuurberg mountain range when the three-stage ride takes place from the Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, near Gqeberha, from Friday to Sunday. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>An event such as the Rubicon Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition is the perfect platform to demonstrate the versatility of one of cycling\u2019s fast-growing sectors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe growth of the e-bike has been phenomenal,\u201d said Giant Bicycles marketing manager Max Sullivan, \u201cand we expect this sector will continue to grow, particularly since e-bikes are in their infancy compared to the acoustic bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The inaugural mountain bike event for e-bikes \u2013 believed to be a first of its kind in South Africa \u2013 takes place at the Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, near Gqeberha, from Friday to Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>It follows closely on last weekend\u2019s Great Zuurberg Trek, the race that inspired the E-edition, and Sullivan will be in the field alongside Gqeberha\u2019s Marco Joubert.<\/p>\n<p>The latter, a professional with the Imbuko-Giant Pro Cycling team, will be riding his acoustic Anthem to level the playing fields \u2013 an element introduced by the organisers to allow riders to participate with weaker teammates without compromising their own experience.<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan felt the emergence of e-biking had opened the sport to a much wider audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is definitely a place for an e-bike event of this nature because so many more people, who may not be quite as fit as regular competitors, can get to see the same views, ride up the same mountains and complete the same event as the more experienced riders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the same time there is a class of e-bikes that are incredibly capable, allowing experienced riders to go faster up and downhill, with more ease and more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Race owner Trevor Hayter supported Sullivan\u2019s thoughts on the growth of the e-bike sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that post this inaugural event we will experience exceptional growth to the extent that we will be fully subscribed within a year or two,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe saw that kind of growth with the GZT, despite there being many \u2018normal\u2019 events on offer, so with fewer e-bike options we believe we will grow aggressively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur research shows that some folk who used to ride three-day events regularly have stopped because of age, health or an inability to put in the training. E-bikes are bringing them back into the three-stage arena.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the focus on \u201cbeing a ride rather than a race\u201d was one of its key selling points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis has created a situation where stronger riders can partner with less able riders, for example a parent with their younger and fitter child, or spouses, where one is on a normal mountain bike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have reduced the ascent and distance to cater for e-bikes and slightly less fit participants,\u201d explained Hayter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy doing this we are affording those riders who might feel the sister GZT is a bit too challenging to experience these diverse and fun trails.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kelly Scott, head of marketing and communications of the Rubicon Group, said the GZT-E encompassed many of the company\u2019s principles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRubicon is at the forefront of sustainable technology in South Africa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that technology isn\u2019t just useful in our day to day lives \u2013 it can also have a fun component. The GZT-E is exactly that!<\/p>\n<p>She said Rubicon echoed Tesla\u2019s mission statement of accelerating the world\u2019s transition to a sustainable future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cE-mobility, whether it be e-bicycles or other forms of electric vehicles, promotes that ideology, hence our proud involvement in this event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added that their in-house developed Power Rig would be at the Zuurberg Mountain Village this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis unit has been developed as a standalone, off-grid, e-bike charging station that can charge an impressive 25 e-bikes per session.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan said a team from Rubicon would be testing out their fleet of demo bikes, so they were looking forward to \u201cseeing the smiles on their faces out on the route\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Driving sustainability was a very exciting space to be in, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor us it is about connecting with and supporting the industry in which we operate. And hey, at the end of the day, we like riding bikes too!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe uniqueness of this event really caught our eye, being the first stage race revolving around e-bikes and in such an amazing location. We just had to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Participants in the Rubicon GZT-E will ride 60km with 1 450m of elevation on the opening day. Stages two and three will be 60km with 1 300m and 48km with 1 200m of ascent, respectively.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"><\/span> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Press Release Views:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">157<\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-pagination pagination\">Pages: <span class=\"post-page-numbers current\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>1<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\">Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republish for Free Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Participants in the Rubicon Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition will experience the spectacular views of the Zuurberg mountain range when the three-stage ride takes place from the Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, near Gqeberha, from Friday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021,1],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-227972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"category-south-africa","9":"tag-mypr","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/great-zuurberg-trek-e-edition-breaks-new-ground-for-e-bikes.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}