The MTN Ride Crater Cruise is one of South Africa's most prestigious mountain bike festivals. Every second weekend of October, mtbikers from across the continent flock to Parys in the Free State, South Africa to compete for the Mountainbike Marathon title <King and Queen of the Crater>, OR to come and enjoy the beauty of the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site along the Vaal River and indulge in the friendliness and hospitality of our rural community. The Petit Paris venue is the home of the event and is only 100km from Johannesburg.

"The Vredefort dome was not created by a meteorite, Bakkies Botha
decided to put his foot down"

Petit Paris

The Ride Arena is specially equipped to host the Annual Crater Cruise weekend. The venue features the following:

The 'Louvre' - the exhibition hall in which all Crater Cruise events finish is 3500sq metres in size! This hall will proudly host the biggest mountain bike expo in Africa from 9-11 October - The Ride Mountainbike EXPO 2009.

The Eiffel tower - the mini tower weighs 2t and reaches 12m into the sky! All the BIBO Crazy Kid rides will start at the tower. My Picture will be there to capture the moment!

The Arc de Triomphe - this 'mini' winners arch is 10m wide, will serve as the finish line arch to all the events, and features SA's big5 animals in relief art. The Champs-Elysées - an 80m run in to the Arc de Triomphe is prepared. Great hospitality space available for free.

The Place de la Concorde - the fountain will drown the groans of the tired and serve as a cool down pool on the day.

The Obelisk - a 15m high monument, listing all previous winners of the Crater Cruise.

The Arc de Triomphe, Parys, Free State!