19 Jun 2025

The local trails will come alive with the energy and excitement of young riders as the Bike Shredders Series kicks off its first event of the 2025 season on Saturday. 

This much-anticipated kiddies mountain biking series, offering an inspiring platform for the youth to stay active, develop skills and embrace the spirit of sport will start and finish at Mokolodi 1 next to the Police Stop. 

Organised by Life Cycle Bicycle Coaching, Events and Timing, the Bike Shredders Series is a three-part event held throughout the year.

Even though this year’s race came a little later than usual, organisers are thrilled to finally bring it to life. 

“The delay was due to a combination of sponsorship challenges and the aftermath of the severe flooding experienced earlier this year across the country, which impacted many of the usual trails and forced route adjustments. We had to go back to the drawing board,” said the organiser of the event, Gobona Mantle. 

Despite scaling down of sponsorship, Mantle said the vision never changed as they continued to build a positive community around movement and sport by engaging children on outdoor activities such as cycling. 

Mantle further said their determination to carry on with the race event had not been deterred by the scaling down of their headline sponsor of years. 

She said their belief in the importance of youth sport development had compelled them to continue even with the little they had. 

She said they had had assistance from other partners such as Paratus, Nobble Supplies, Senkgamorodi Agro Farm Grip Runner as well as Lifecycle Events and Timing. 

As organisers, she said they saw the series as more than a competition, but as something keeping the youth off the streets and off the couch to channel their energy into something meaningful and fun. 

“We want to grow this into something that reaches even more children in the coming years,” she said. 

The race will feature three race distances: 5km, 10km and a 20km race. 

“The 20km will be in a two-lap format to add excitement, giving spectators and supporters more opportunities to cheer, and for the young riders, there is something special about pushing through that second lap and finishing strong,” said Mantle. 

She encouraged families, schools and communities to support the young riders, some of whom would be their first ride while others were seasoned riders. 

This year’s series is themed: A Pedal Toward Youth Development. ENDS