It was a day of prime times on [mostly] hero dirt in Stellenbosch.
Last Sunday, Jonkershoek played host to a rescheduled round of the 2023 Western Cape Enduro Series. Inclement weather in April forced the organizers to push the event to late May, and the reward was a spectacularly chilly, dry and sunny day on bikes in some of the most majestic mountains the continent has. Here’s a photographic synopsis of the day.
Good vibes at the frisky 4-degree start to the day.Some amazing stages await, but first coffee and some moves for the paparazzi. | *Click to enlargeGrassroots events like the Western Cape Enduro series are run on a tight budget. The Life Support medical crew, venue hire, marshalls, insurance, timekeeping, etc. eat into the entry fee revenue, pretty quickly. The simple truth is without the volunteers on the committee (who work for free!) the events would not happen. Christiaan Steffens, Frankie du Toit, Darren Stow and Louis van der Walt, on behalf of all the riders, we salute you. Kyle Ridge of The Hanger Bike Co, grips it and rips it!Nanda Swiegers was having a good time out there until a DNF ended the day.P2 in Sub Jnr Boys for the ‘Flying Lion’ young Lian De Jager.
The stages for this round of the Western Cape Enduro excluded the brutal Plumber Trail. Lite riders raced the Armageddon and Red Phoenix lines. The Full Enduro and eMTB riders completed the same two stages as the Lite riders, plus a timed run down Iron Monkey and the Downhill lines.
Despite a slam, moto shredder Waldo de Wet nabbed P5 in the very competitive sub-vet category. Waldo, at the start there are three things to remember: GoPro on, goggles on and helmet strapped on. Dankie. The morning sun eventually topped the majestic mountain of Jonkershoek and was welcomed by the riders.Pinning his way to P3 in Jnr Men was Jean-Luc Roux.A guru of gravity racing, Gary Barnard was back on the analog rig for this race. P1 in Vets and P8 overall. Hardtail, no dropper, flat pedals – let’s go!Rudolf De Lange rolling to the win in Nipper Boys.Despite the recent rains, the Red Phoenix trail was in prime condition. Smiles all around.
Enduro racing is unique in that some of the fastest gravity racers in the country will lineup alongside rookies. The spirit of Enduro is such that everyone shares their knowledge and expertise to guide the newbies along. It is this “we are all equal” vibe that is propelling the popularity of Enduro racing.
Almost 20% of the field were eBikes. Marc Carr had an unfortunate detour on the Armageddon Stage which cost a chunk of time and took him out of the Top 10. Better luck next time bru.Elizna Kleynscheldt shows you how much fun Enduro racing is.Super Mom Chrissy Bruwer rock ‘n rolling into P6 in the Lite Women category.P9 for Chrisman De Jager in Lite Mens category.Annemi “fast-as” Pfister, P3 in the overall women’s category.Luckily the heavy unseasonal rains gave way to blue skies for race day.P1 in Senior Men and only 5 seconds off the overall win was Michard Meets. Multi-talent Matt Lombardi hereby submits his CV to Monster Energy for a Darkfest entry. Matt took the win in the eMTB category and was only 4 seconds back on Tim Bentley who won the overall on an analog rig. Both riders are super-talented and it’s interesting that only 4 seconds separated the eMTB from the human-powered rig after 16 minutes of racing. Horses for courses innit.Overall Women’s Podium (eMTB and Analog) from left: Michell Lombardi 5th, Annemie Pfister 3rd, Amy Burton 1st, Gina Nixon 2nd and Jessi Nixon 4th. Overall Men’s Podium (eMTB and Analog) from left: Michard Meets 4th, Johann Potgieter 3rd, Tim Bentley (1st), Matt Lombardi 2nd, Brandon Willcocks 5th.
Click here for the full overall results. Chapeau to all involved.
