Expedition Africa 120km Drakensberg - ARWS Africa Championships

Top African Teams Race for the ARWS-Africa Title on the Drakensberg this Weekend

Press Release / 04.11.2021

The Drakensberg will be the final playground for South African adventure racing teams in 2021.  This weekend the best teams in the ARWS Africa series will be decided when the Alpine Health Resort hosts the Championship Final and teams from all over South Africa will gather there to decide who the best adventure racing team in Africa is.

2021 was a challenging year for adventure racing in South Africa, as for all sports and the rest of the world. The Covid pandemic placed a severe strain on teams, their families, and the organisers. We at ARWS Africa were truly fortunate to be able to host our six events throughout 2021, although significantly re-scheduling happened. Congratulations are due to all the teams that still managed to attend the events within the restrictions of this pandemic.

In a few days’ time the winner of the ARWS Africa series will be decided on a 120km course. The 2021 series has been extremely exciting; with the top teams in the rankings being remarkably close together. The team who wins the final event is most likely to be the winner of the series and only a few points separate the top two teams: Team DSV Cyanosis and Team Songlines.

Team Pinegold is close behind the two top teams and a misstep this weekend by either could see the team from East London take the top step on the podium. A top five finish in the series is possible for Teams Adicted2Adventure.co.za, Truffle Hunters and Jabberwock.  A good showing by any of these teams will elevate them further up the loader board.

Good results by the male team of four, Les Polidour from France and the female team of four, team Breakaway will see them as the winners in their categories.

In the mixed pair category Team Pens and Pootjies and in the male pair category Team WieGeeOm should be able to clinch the series in their respective categories.

For the first time in history the best adventure racing team in the 24-hour race category will be awarded a spot at the prestigious AR World Championships, which is to be held in Paraguay next year.  September 2022 will see the winner of the ARWS Africa series travelling to Paraguay to race amongst the best adventure racing teams in the world!

ARWS Africa will launch the 2022 racing schedule featuring a 5-event series after the Championship race this weekend and the 2022 series winner will receive a free entry to the AR World Championships 2023.  (This will be held at an extremely exciting destination and is not to be missed!)

In a major breakthrough for adventure racing world-wide the AR World Series will establish Regional Championships in 2022 in Africa, Oceania, South America, Asia, Europe, and the USA.  Participants in these series will receive a ranking in their region and in the World Series.

This is a massive incentive for adventure racing teams to participate in their regional series, not only for the top teams who are trying to win the free ARWC entry, but to all teams, so they can achieve regional rankings and ARWS ranking points.

The Expedition Africa media team will provide pre-race interviews with the top teams, live feeds, and video clips during the race.  All of the action can be followed on Facebook at @expafrica and @arwsafrica, while family and friends can follow the live tracking on www.expafrica.live

Tune in to support all the teams and follow them online. It’s going to be a historic and exciting race!