CYCLING NEWS - The 20^th anniversary edition of the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, will challenge mountain bikers with an infamously tough course from the Klein Karoo to Great Brak on the coast, but the tweaked route may well prove faster. 

A return to the original approach to the Attakwaskloof removes two rocky climbs, along with 4 kilometres of racing, and includes a new singletrack section. 

This combination produces a faster route, which should increase the average speed of every participant when the 2026 edition takes place on 17 January.

In 2025, the Hell of the South featured a 124-kilometre-long route, with 2 900 metres of climbing. In 2026, the elevation gain drops by 250 metres to 2 650 metres, and the total distance is shortened by 4 kilometres to 120 kilometres. 

Dryland Event Management therefore believes that the winning time will be faster, especially if conditions on race day prove favourable. 

The climb soon after the first water point reduced even the world’s best mountain bikers to pushing their bikes, removing it, and another ascent reduces the total elevation gain to 2 650 metres.

Currently, the men’s course record is held by Wessel Botha, who utilized the cool conditions of an August 2021 edition to break Urs Huber’s longstanding previous best and set a time of 4 hours, 46 minutes, and 22 seconds. 

The women’s record dates back to 2017, when the then reigning Marathon World Champion, Annika Langvad, posted a time of 5 hours, 25 minutes, and 55 seconds.

“I think that removing the two rocky climbs between Water Points 1 and 2 will make the opening kilometres easier and faster,” Henco Rademeyer of Dryland Event Management speculated. 

“The route will by no means be easy, though! The Attakwaskloof remains as formidable as ever, and those ‘rollers’ from Bonniedale to Great Brak are infamous for a reason. The Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, will remain a serious challenge. 

"It is a race which keeps riders training through the festive season and sets every finisher up for a good year on the bike, because with an Atta in the bag you know you probably won’t face a tougher day on riding for the rest of the year.”

In 2026 the Hell of the South will feature a 120-kilometre-long route, which includes 2 650 metres of climbing and Water Points at the 21-, 40-, 66-, 78-, 94-, and 108-kilometre marks. Image: Dryland Event Management

“In 2026, rather than heading southwest, in Chandelier Game Reserve, riders will turn west earlier and cut through the Goeie Hoop Farm, on the Kandelaarsrivier, where a mix of taller Protea and Waboom trees punctuate the landscape, rather than the low shrubs and Acacia Karroo trees of Chandelier. 

"Nearing the Robinson Pass Road, which links Oudtshoorn with Mossel Bay, the route now crosses further north than before, near Kruispad,” Rademeyer revealed. 

“A new singletrack, which we have built specifically for the 2026 event, runs parallel to the road before the riders turn west again to Safranriver. This brings them to the original northern approach to the Attakwaskloof and onto a dual track which traces an ancient wagon trail.”

“Climbing the Safranriver Valley in a southerly direction, you will pass the ruins of the old Blue Hotel, a stopover point for pioneers traversing the kloof in the days before motor vehicles. I’m sure the fastest riders won’t notice, but if you’re not racing, you’ll even be able to see the old stalls where travellers’ horses were stabled overnight. 

"The route then joins the dual track long-time participants in the Hell of the South are familiar with and climbs towards the King and Queen of the Mountain hotspot at the summit of the Attakwaskloof Pass.”

Approaching the Outeniqua Mountains, the vegetation shifts from Klein Karoo shrubveld and acacia trees to taller and denser fynbos. 

The final 70 kilometres will be familiar to participants with a finishers’ medal on their mountain biking palmarès, and this fact alone should suggest that caution will still be required when approaching the 2026 edition. 

“We actually took riders into the Attakwaskloof via Safranriver in the first years of the race,” Rademeyer reminisced. “I think the 20^th edition is the perfect time to revive that route. I’m excited to see how modern bikes, as well as the advancements in training and nutrition, will impact the perception of the difficulty of the route.”

“We’re excited to see the number of first-timers who have entered for 2026, too. At this stage, 24% of the start list will be making their Hell of the South debut in January,” Rademeyer added. “We are aiming to reach 1 000 participants in the full Extreme distance this year, and I think the updated route is just the news riders who have been hesitant about entering were waiting for. 

"Without those two rocky climbs, the route is more ridable, which means you’ll be able to get into a rhythm before the climb to the Attakwaskloof and save more energy for the rollers in the last 50 kilometres. Riders do, however, need to be aware that the first two water points come 3 and 6 kilometres, respectively, earlier into the route. This means that the distance between Water Point 2 and 3 increases by 6 kilometres to 26 kilometres. 

"There will be water and Biogen ElectroLite Ready To Drink cans at the King and Queen of the Mountain Hotspot, but we will be enforcing the rule that each rider departs the Safranriver aid station with two full bottles or a hydration pack, because that section of route can take up to 3 hours to complete.”

The Attakwaskloof itself will be as rough as ever in 2026, following a dry winter and a hot start to the South African summer. 

For more information on the 2026 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, visit www.atta.co.za. 

Entries to the full 120-kilometre race will remain open until 9 January 2026, while entries to the Half and Mini distances, which start and finish at Pine Creek Resort, are available online and at registration on Friday 16 January, as well as Saturday 17 January. 

The 47-kilometre Half and 32-kilometre Mini are perfect for high school and primary school mountain bikers who enjoy the marathon racing format. E-MTBs are not permitted in the Extreme event, but E-Bikers are welcome to enter the Half or Mini distances.

Some call the climbs in the final 50 kilometres rollers; others have less euphemistic names for them.

* Late entry fees apply from 30 November until entries close. 

Riders, like Samantha Sanders, who thrive in hot weather and on the most challenging courses, tend to perform best at the sharp end of the Hell of the South. Photos: Max Sullivan

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