Famed and feared, the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, is known as the Hell of the South for good reason. Temperatures in the Klein Karoo can soar in January, the Attakwaskloof is formidably rocky, and the rolling roads in the second half of the 120-kilometre-long course are corrugated and packed with climbs [...]
In episode 2 of the 2026 season of the Diverge Podcast, we look back at a mild and fast edition of the Attakwas Extreme, speculate on how the change to time parity with the men’s race will affect the women’s category at the Cape Epic, and discuss the announcement of the Burn Camps [...]
Alan Hatherly and Hayley Preen started their 2026 seasons with stellar victories in the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. The 120-kilometre race from Chandelier Game Lodge, near Oudtshoorn, to the Pine Creek Resort, in Great Brak, featured a revised route that lent itself to faster times. As did the cool weather on [...]
On Saturday, the 17th of January, the South African and global mountain biking season gets underway at the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Dubbed the Hell of the South, it challenges riders to an infamously tough, 120-kilometre course from Chandelier Game Lodge, near Oudtshoorn, to the Pine Creek Resort, in Great Brak. [...]
In the first episode of the new year, we look ahead at what’s to come on the bike in 2026. From the Attakwas Extreme, which kicks off the South African racing season through the Tankwa Trek, Cape Epic, Garden Route Giro, and on into the World Series calendar, which gets underway in South [...]
Over the last decade, we at Diverge have covered around 25 events per year across MTB, Gravel, Road, and Trail Running. With that experience in hand, we'll be bringing you more insights in 2026. Some of it will be on the ground, on the job for the event, while we will be covering other races [...]
The 20th 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 [...]
The Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, has for 20 years challenged with an infamously tough course. It is generally considered to be the hardest day on the bike of the year, and coming so early in the season it sets finishers up for anything the sport can throw at them. Regardless of [...]
2025 is already 30 days young and so much has happened. Join the Diverge Podcast as Seamus Allardice looks back on how the mountain biking season started at the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, on the 18th of January and at what happened at the first Ford Trailseeker of the year on [...]
The pre-race favourite Alan Hatherly surged away from Tristan Nortje, with 40 kilometres to race in the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, to win the 2025 Hell of the South title; on Saturday, 18 January. The cross-country World Champion’s first outing for Giant Factory Off Road Racing was a resounding success, as [...]
