Preview: The 2023 Witfontein Enduro
The Witfontein Enduro has partnered with Western Cape Enduro to host round three of the 2023 provincial series.
After impressing riders in 2022, this year’s Witfontein Enduro is promising another mind-blowing experience on some of the raddest Enduro stages in the country. Here’s your event preview and link to enter.
Witfontein Enduro
Sunday, 6th August, Garden Route Botanical Gardens
The trails in Witfontein have long been deemed a hidden gem, with some believing they are among the best in the country. They encompass a variety of terrain including rocks, roots and chutes – with plenty of flow. Expect fynbos littered with rocks, pine needles inside the forests and some of the most sought-after lush loamers in SA. This year there will be one more stage than usual, so make sure you bring your climbing legs with you. Six stages totaling 32km and 1200m of climbing and a sure guarantee that you’ll be walking up to the last two stages await the riders of the full enduro. The lite category will race the three less technical stages, namely 1, 2, and 5 which will total 23km and 750m of climbing. Make sure you carry enough hydration and fuel because you’ll need to get through two-thirds of the race before the hydration station. The trails are open to the public for practice, with the only request that you support the local mountain bike club, the Hillbillies, for their daily efforts of trail building & maintenance. A 5-day trail pass is available at the local bike shops, or add a R50 donation with your race entry via Entry Ninja. The Lite and Full Events both have an eMTB class and entry fees are R350 or R450 respectively.
Stage 1: Stuka, Alaska, R&B, Supertubes | 2.8km, 230m descent
The event starts with the longest stage of them all which was last used in 2021. Stuka has been recently worked on yet is mostly unchanged and consists primarily of loose decomposed rock. The remaining trails have since been harvested and feel completely different from two years ago, and Alaska has received a couple shortcuts for better flow and less pedaling.
Stage 2: Sticks & Stones, Loam Star | 1.9km, 220m descent
The first half of this stage is the classic old national DH course, with a couple of natural chunky rock gardens, flat drops and double jumps which all have B-lines. Lower down it forks into Loam Star but don’t let the name deceive you. Two years’ worth of flooding have made the final section anything but ‘loamy’.
Stage 3: Moondust, Dirty Squirty, Rock ‘n Roll | 1.2km, 130m descent
Also unchanged from last year, you’ll drop into some off-camber that isn’t as dusty as it once was. Then on to some fast flow along Dirty Squirty to connect into the most technical section of the whole race… Rock ‘n Roll, steep chunky rocks. The stage finishes off with a much gentler ‘roll’ through a beautiful piece of indigenous forest finishing off with a minefield of toppled pines.
Stage 4: Sampies Plunge, Lockdown | 0.8km, 120m descent
Starting off at a mellow grade but on some super slick and damp dirt, this stage then drops into some steep, tight and janky switchbacks under the Yellow Woods. This stage is shorter than in previous years and will finish on the Lockdown trail.
Stage 5: Squamish, Fukushima | 1.2km, 120m descent
Squamish was all new for 2022, and this year it has grown several hundred meters longer. There’s a new climb, or maybe a hike-a-bike that shifts the start higher up, near the railway tracks. Starting off at a mellow grade over some tech rocks, then along the cliff edge of some old quarries. The trail gets really unique further down and you’ll cross an old stone dam wall and then for some urban assault vibe over the big platforms of what was once a concrete works. The stage wraps up with some smooth flow down Fukushima.
Stage 6: Fart Squirrel, ACDC | 1.3km, 200m descent
Once again, the finishing stage after the most grueling climb of the day. Fart Squirrel consists of some gnarly rocky sections linked together with pure loam. You’ll have to navigate the tight Keurbooms before you get to ACDC, one of the oldest trails on the mountain. Hang on to survive the last few rock rolls and a rooty off-camber slab before heading back to the gardens to compare times with mates.
Entries close at midday on Thursday, 3rd August. Trail maps here: Lite Enduro and Full Enduro