Good News!
After years of hard work by dedicated race organisers around the country, Zambia finally has its own National MTB Series.
The 2018 Zambian National MTB Series will consist of 6 rounds, spread evenly across the country. Championship categories will run from Under 14 (for 13 and 14 year olds) all the way up to 60 plus. The Buffalo Men and Eland Women categories will cater to men weighing over 85kg, and women weighing over 70kg.
For 2018, only your best 4 results out of the 6 races will count. This also means that if you have a crash or puncture at one race, you can redeem yourself at the next round. Riders who complete all 6 races will be rewarded with a super amazing, ultra special Zambia National MTB Series t-shirt.
ZambiaRaces is currently seeking a sponsor for the series.
Sponsorship will cover the following:
– Cost of printing t-shirts for riders who finish all 6 races (sponsor’s logo on shirt).
– Cost of trophies for category podiums at the end of the series (sponsor’s logo incorporated into custom made trophies).
– Cost of running the Zambia Races website, where races are marketed, and results will be posted (sponsor’s logo on website).
Here are the races and the categories. Click the links for more info on the individual races. If you have questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us or the race organizers (contact info on individual event pages).
Open |
Intermediate |
Under 14 |
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| 10 March | Jubilee Jungle Race | Luanshya | 70km | 35km | 35km |
| 26 May | Kasanka MTB Race | Kasanka National Park | 40km | 40km | 20km |
| 23 June | Elephant Epic | Lusaka / Lower Zam | 70km | No Race | No Race |
| 6 or 20 July | Tangila Trail Series | Mkushi | 70km | 40km | 20km |
| 5 August | Mulungushi MTB Race | Mulungushi Dam (Kabwe) | 70km | 40km | 20km |
| 15 September* | Kansanshi MTB Race | Solwezi | 50km | 50km | 30km |
Open Categories: |
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| Open Men | Open Distance | All Ages |
| Open Women | Open Distance | All Ages |
Sub Categories: |
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| Junior Men | Intermediate Distance | 17, 18 |
| Junior Women | Intermediate Distance | 17, 18 |
| Youth Men | Intermediate Distance | 15, 16 |
| Youth Women | Intermediate Distance | 15, 16 |
| Under 14 Boys | Under 14 Distance | 13, 14 |
| Under 14 Girls | Under 14 Distance | 13, 14 |
| Sub Veteran Men | Open Distance | 30 – 39 |
| Sub Veteran Women | Open Distance | 30 – 39 |
| Veteran Men | Open Distance | 40 – 49 |
| Veteran Women | Open Distance | 40 – 49 |
| Masters Men | Open Distance | 50 – 59 |
| Masters Women | Open Distance | 50 – 59 |
| Silver Fox Men | Open Distance | 60+ |
| Silver Fox Women | Open Distance | 60+ |
| Buffalo Men | Open Distance | Over 85kg |
| Eland Women | Open Distance | Over 70kg |
*The Kansanshi MTB date has changed from September 22 to September 15.
2 replies on “ZambiaRaces Launches 2018 National MTB Series”
As much as i appreciate your efforts and your contribution towards MTB sport, my understanding about Zambia National MTB series, it should be independent and completely seperate from charity organisations. Because these races which have been mentioned here most of them are charities. The first MTB National Championship was sponsored by Stanbic Bank some three years ago and it was held at Polo Cross off leopards road in Lusaka.Am very sure Stanbic Bank and yourselfs can come into agreement to continue these National MTB series, and offcourse other stakeholders can come along. National MTB series can also be done in junction with Cycling association of Zambia of which the top riders from these races can be attached to international competitions e.g All African Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
Hi Brian, thanks for your input. It is important to distinguish between a national series and the National Championships (single event, UCI recognised, must be held on the 23rd weekend of the year). Stanbic once sponsored the National Championships. This series is simply an effort to encourage riders to compete in the full circuit of races currently available in Zambia. Given that this series is not organised for profit, and asks nothing of the events involved except that they send us their results, I can see no conflict between the financial motivations of the race organisers and the existence of the series.
Rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel, we are using the same method as the South African National MTB series, by incorporating pre-existing events into the series. There is no reason why we should handicap ourselves, or do things differently from every other country that has a successful national series.
When considering CWG and Olympic selection, it is important to remember that the country’s top riders now all hold a significant number of UCI points. This is the criteria typically used by other countries for selection. Especially when considering that without these points, Zambia will not gain Olympic selection in the first place. Forcing riders to compete in a whole domestic series to gain selection is not in CAZ’s interest. It will prevent riders from spending the season competing internationally, and thereby gaining the UCI points that will get us into events such as the Olympics.
These are the events we have. We have no others. We either add up some points and make a series out of them, or we have no series. Progress, or no progress.