The country’s top racers will gather on Sunday at Thaba Trails, Johannesburg to contest the 2024 South African Enduro Championships, presented by Balwin. The event will double as an Inter-provincial to determine which is the country’s leading province in the growing discipline. Here’s who will be leading the charge for medals.
After successfully hosting rounds of the annual Enduro SA Cup Series in 2022, 2023 and 2024, Gauteng plays host to the Enduro SA Championships for the first time. What the province lacks in gradient-rich venues, it makes up for in rider numbers and event organisation experience. Three years ago, there was no formal Enduro racing scene in Gauteng. Thanks to Gauteng MTB’s Paola Damilano and her team, the discipline is established and thriving.
This isn’t the first time Thaba Trails has hosted an enduro or a national champs, but it the first Enduro national champs at the venue, which differs significantly from Cascades, Pietermaritzburg, host of last year’s national championships. There are six shortish stages ranging from rocky and ragged to fast and flowy.
Three new stages have been built since the venue hosted the opening round of the 2024 Enduro SA Cup Series in March 2024. This will add a fresh challenge for the racers, including the locals who have yet to compete on the three new legs. The super rocky Stage 1 from previous Enduro events won’t be used.
The stages are:
Stage 2: The Andes
Stage 3: The Prairie
Stage 4: 360 (new)
Stage 5: Cracker Jack (new)
Stage 6: Fo’eva
Stage 7: Maroela (new)
There will be a Lite event that’s also open to Sprogs, Nippers, Sport and eBike Lite racers, using the following stages:
Stage 3: The Prairie
Stage 4: 360 (new)
Stage 5: Cracker Jack (new)
Stage 7: Maroela (new)
Riders confirmed to contest the Elite men’s title include KwaZulu-Natal’s Keira Duncan (introduction image), Western Cape’s Jason Boulle and North West’s Wade Prinsloo, all of whom have either won or come close to winning provincial or national series races at Thaba Trails in the past.
Duncan won both SA Cup races at Thaba Trails previously, so will likely start at the favourite. Boulle has been impressive with his recent results and is a very real contender for the national title, while Prinsloo will be hoping for smooth runs at a venue he’s quite familiar with. Gauteng’s top men’s Enduro racer, Rory Kirk, is still abroad, leaving Joel Hieber with the responsibility of contesting the Elite men’s title for the host province.
“My plan is to probably give it full gas, ride smooth, have fun and keep it rubber side down,” was Duncan’s brief response when asked about his strategy for racing for a national title at Thaba Trails.
“It is certainly going to be a close battle for the title and it could go many ways! Last time out at Thaba I threw away a shot at the win by riding too cautiously on Stage 1, which was the most technical stage of the day so I’m definitely going to have a good talking to myself and make sure I ride with confidence where it counts. Beyond that, focusing on finding smooth lines that help carry speed and then pedal my heart out wherever I can,” said Boulle.
“I will also do some tweaks to the suspension to make sure the bike is efficient over the rocks at Thaba, maybe drop air pressure a bit and go up in compression damping,” he added.
After a long injury layoff, Veteran ace, Danny Fowler, rising Youth racer, Justin Deyzel and Sub-veteran speedster, Bryce Munro, will support Hieber in the host province’s quest for overall success, but all three are strong favourites to win their respective age category national titles.
Matt Lombardi opted not to defend his Elite men’s title, but fellow Western Cape racers, Boulle and Michard Meets are sure to be challenging for the gold medal, while Luca Zietsman will be the favourite to secure the Junior men’s national title and likely mount a challenge for the overall podium too.
Backing up Duncan from KwaZulu-Natal is Keagan Brand. He spent the past few months competing in Enduro races in Europe and will no doubt bring a load of experience to Thaba Trails where he is expected to challenge for an overall top five finish.
Western Cape’s Frankie du Toit will be at Thaba Trails to defend her Elite women’s national title. She’s the country’s dominant female Enduro racer currently and will start as the favourite.
“Thaba is quite rough and the risk of a silly crash or a mechanical is quite high, so, I think keeping it smooth will be very important. I will focus on being as consistent as possible throughout the day and keeping some energy for the last couple of stages as there are some sneaky kickers that get your heart rate up!” said Du Toit.
Other women likely to challenge for the overall podium and category wins are Gauteng’s Julia Kotze (Elite) and Danika Botha (Junior); and Limpopo Junior, Tashane Ehlers.
“I plan to be consistent and not push so hard that I make mistakes. The terrain is so unforgiving and the race will not be won on a single stage but can easily be lost on a single missed line that cuts a tyre or takes off your derailleur. So, my approach during practice was to choose lines that I can hit repeatedly, even when I’m tired,” said Kotze.
The event is organised by Cycling South Africa MTB with Balwin, the presenting sponsor. Supporting sponsorship is from the following brands: 32Gi (nutrition support and prizes), Leatt (prizes), 100% (prizes and sound system); Thaba Trails (venue); Med Guys (medical support); EcoLogic (bike wash and prizes) and SHRED (media).
Timing will be done by Send It, which times to the 1000th of a second. Registration is from 06h30, race briefing at 07h45 and racing starts at 08h00 with a 4hr30min time limit. Online entries can be done here and will close at midnight on Thursday 17 October 2024.
For more information, join the Gauteng Cycling Gravity Group on Telegram, here; or contact Paola Damilano on 0832523752 or paola.damilano@me.com
