Keira Duncan and Frankie du Toit tamed a strong field and challenging conditions to secure the men and women’s titles respectively at Round 1 of the 2024 Enduro SA Cup, presented by Balwin and Suzuki at Thaba Trails, Johannesburg on Sunday 31 March.
Words: Sean Badenhorst | Photography: Dominic Barnardt and Justin Barlow
It was the second win for Duncan at this venue, but it was an extremely narrow victory margin. The KwaZulu-Natal racer beat Western Cape’s Matt Lombardi by just a single second over the seven stages, including a blind stage. Third place went to another Western Cape rider, Jason Boulle. Local Veteran racer, Danny Fowler grabbed fourth place overall and his category win, while Western Cape’s, Luca Zietsman, was fifth overall and first Junior.
Overnight rain changed the trail conditions from dry and loose to muddy for the early part of the 4h30m racing session. A consistent breeze and sunshine dried out the trails as the morning wore on, making for mostly drier, more grippy conditions except for some damp spots in the trees. Some racers opted to start on the rocky Stages 1 and 2, while others opted to tackle other stages and wait for the trail surfaces of Stages 1 and 2 to dry out, which they did.
“I had a pretty good race. I enjoy the variety of the stages at Thaba Trails – nice and challenging,” said Duncan, adding: “The rain last night definitely changed the conditions, pretty much similar to last year, but it dried out quite well and there were only a few really slippery places.”
Duncan won two stages (4 and 7) and clocked a cumulative time of 14 minutes 00.21 seconds. This was just one second quicker than Lombardi’s final time and a good reason to have a timing system that records to the 1000th of a second! Duncan’s worst stage finish was 10th on Stage 3 confirming his consistency throughout.
Lombardi, the current national Enduro champion, has also been racing the downhill national series this past summer and is undeniably quick. Any questions about his ability to handle the jagged rocks at Thaba Trails were rapidly dispelled when he won Stage 1, a rock-strewn slope that’s a challenge in any conditions. Lombardi also narrowly pipped Fowler to win Stage 2, another rock-rich section.
Boulle is continuing to build his reputation as a major Enduro contender, but didn’t do himself any favours racing the XCO and XCC national races on the two preceding days. While the pedalling sections on the Thaba Trails Enduro stages are limited, they do require all-out power, especially if you’re chasing a podium spot. Perhaps appropriately, Boulle won Stages 5 and 6, the most pedally of the seven stages.
Fowler’s fourth place overall and first Veteran is impressive, but not necessarily surprising. The 42-year-old speedster holds several Strava segment KOMs at Thaba Trails and is a perennial overall podium contender. A crash on Stage 4 and racing past the tag-in point on Stage 6, no doubt cost him time, but his consistency on the other stages stood him in good stead.
Luca Zietsman’s fifth overall and first Junior performance confirms his status as a future star. While not new to top results, the Western Cape racer shone in conditions normally suited to more experienced racers.
The women’s field lacked its potential depth with several racers not present. But the competition was fierce nonetheless. Du Toit won all seven stages fairly convincingly and ended up 21st overall with total time of 16:09.281. Youth racer from the Western Cape, Eryn Marais, was second in 17:38.638, while Junior Gauteng racer, Arielle Behr, finished third in 19:18.569. Sub-Veteran, Philippa Spies put in a solid challenge with a couple of stage top 3s to end up fourth overall with Sub-Junior, Loane Ehlers rounding out the top five.
While she was the firm favourite, SA Enduro and DH Champ, Du Toit, said it was a challenging event.
“It was a surprisingly tough day out there. A lot of power sections you have to pedal really hard and also concentrate on line choice. It was difficult to trust the soil from the rain last night. It was quite messy on some stages. I managed to keep the wheels on the ground though, so I’m quite happy,” said a smiling Du Toit afterwards.
As always, the rugged terrain at Thaba Trails claimed a few wheels and other components and some podium hopes in the process, with some pre-race favourites having to deal with mechanical issues.
There was a Lite event and an eBike category in the main event, but since the event held national cup status, these weren’t recognised in the official results.
Round 2 of the 2024 Enduro SA Cup will take place at Summerplace Game Reserve, Limpopo on Saturday 15 June. It will have a UCI Category 3 status.
Top 3 on each Stage
MEN
Stage 1
1 Matt Lombardi 1:39.4
2 Keira Duncan 1:42.7
3 Danny Fowler 1:46.5
Stage 2
1 Matt Lombardi 2:34.4
2 Danny Fowler 2:34.6
3 Rory Kirk 2:35.1
Stage 3
1 Vincent Leygonie 1:37.4
2 Danny Fowler 1:38.0
3 Tyrone Anders 1:39.1
Stage 4
1 Keira Duncan 2:06.0
2 Luca Zietsman 2:07.0
3 Marc Fourie 2:09.2
Stage 5
1 Jason Boulle 1:52.2
2 Keira Duncan 1:53.1
3 Luca Zietsman 1:54.5
Stage 6
1 Jason Boulle 2:01.3
2 Matt Lombardi 2:03.0
3 Keira Duncan 2:04.1
Stage 7
1 Keira Duncan 1:52.5
2 Matt Lombardi 1:52.8
3 Jason Boulle 1:53.9
WOMEN
Stage 1
1 Frankie du Toit 2:10.3
2 Arielle Behr 2:32.6
3 Eryn Marais 2:39.7
Stage 2
1 Frankie du Toit 2:55.5
2 Eryn Marais 3:14.8
3 Arielle Behr 3:35.8
Stage 3
1 Frankie du Toit 1:51.6
2 Philippa Spies 1:57.5
3 Arielle Behr 1:57.8
Stage 4
1 Frankie du Toit 2:30.2
2 Eryn Marais 2:33.5
3 Philippa Spies 2:47.4
Stage 5
1 Frankie du Toit 2:08.8
2 Eryn Marais 2:13.7
3 Arielle Behr 2:15.9
Stage 6
1 Frankie du Toit 2:27.4
2 Eryn Marais 2:39.9
3 Arielle Behr 2:43.0
Stage 7
1 Frankie du Toit 2:06.8
2 Eryn Marais 2:17.7
3 Arielle Behr 2:23.5
LEADING RESULTS
Men
Overall
1 Keira Duncan (KwaZulu-Natal) 14:00.021
2 Matt Lombardi (Western Cape) 14:01.066
3 Jason Boulle (Western Cape) 14:13.190
4 Danny Fowler (Gauteng) 14:17.313
5 Luca Zietsman (Western Cape) 14:22.445
6 Marc Fourie (Western Cape) 14:39.905
7 Vincent Leygonie (Gauteng) 14:41.351
8 Wade-Patrick Prinsloo (North West) 14:51.410
9 Henre Myburgh (Gauteng) 15:16.017
10 Joshua Kanis (Gauteng) 15:22.547
Elite
1 Keira Duncan (KwaZulu-Natal) 14:00.021
2 Matt Lombardi (Western Cape) 14:01.066
3 Jason Boulle (Western Cape) 14:13.190
Junior
1 Luca Zietsman (Western Cape) 14:22.445
2 Henre Myburgh (Gauteng) 15:16.017
3 Joshua Kanis (Gauteng) 15:22.547
Youth
1 Neil van der Vyver (Western Cape) 15:24.329
2 Troy Cole (KwaZulu-Natal) 16:07.096
3 Reuben Spies (Gauteng) 16:15.020
Sub-Junior
1 Luke Stafford (Gauteng) 16:19.170
2 Evert Maritz (Gauteng) 17:16.557
3 Luan Labuschagne (Gauteng) 18:13.119
Sub-Veteran
1 Dustin Rudman (Gauteng) 15:48.195
2 Miguel Carvalho (Gauteng) 15:57.079
3 Pierre Reyneke (Gauteng) 17:24.498
Veteran
1 Danny Fowler (Gauteng) 14:17.313
2 Ricky Tomaselli (Gauteng) 15:53.971
3 Ryan van der Spuy (Gauteng) 16:48.490
Master
1 Sean O’Flynn-Madden (Gauteng) 15:46.630
2 Sean Badenhorst (Gauteng) 17:33.686
3 Mark van Schaik (North West) 19:48.524
Grand Master
1 Anton Blignaut (Gauteng) 20:49.639
2 Michael Behr (Gauteng) 23:04.160
LEADING RESULTS
Women
Overall
1 Frankie du Toit (Western Cape) 16:09.281
2 Eryn Marais (Western Cape) 17:38.658
3 Arielle Behr (Gauteng) 19:18.569
4 Philippa Spies (Gauteng) 20:31.825
5 Loane Ehlers (Limpopo) 21:32.377
6 Amber Cole (KwaZulu-Natal) 24:14.899
7 Kerstin Mattukat (Gauteng) 24:22.619
8 Candice Stafford (Gauteng) 25:15.384
9 Catherine Mcgown (Gauteng) 25:19.992
10 Corne Ackermann (Mpumalanga) 33:46.127
Elite
1 Frankie du Toit (Western Cape) 16:09.281
Junior
1 Arielle Behr (Gauteng) 19:18.569
2 Amber Cole (KwaZulu-Natal) 24:14.899
Youth
1 Eryn Marais (Western Cape) 17:38.658
Sub-Junior
1 Lohané Ehlers (Limpopo) 21:32.377
Sub-Veteran
1 Philippa Spies (Gauteng) 20:31.825
2 Kerstin Mattukat (Gauteng) 24:22.619
Veteran
1 Candice Stafford (Gauteng) 25:15.384
2 Catherine Mcgown (Gauteng) 25:19.992
Grand Master
1 Corne Ackermann (Mpumalanga) 33:46.127
For full photo gallery, vist the Cycling SA MTB Facebook page here.
