The first-ever Gauteng Enduro team will compete at the first-ever Gauteng Enduro Champs in an inter-provincial format against Limpopo and North West to ensure the first-ever Provincial Enduro colours can be earned. The event will take place at Thaba Trails, south of Joburg on Sunday 16 October.
The establishment and rapid growth of Enduro racing in Gauteng has been phenomenal and is largely due to the efforts of Paola Damilano, Chairperson of Gauteng Cycling, who collaborated with various mountain bike trails venues to create a provincial series in 2022. Partnerships from various brands, including the presenting sponsor, Suzuki, ensured it was a success.
A four-round provincial series was held at Buffelsdrift (Pretoria), Summerplace Game Reserve (Waterberg), Grootfontein (Pretoria) and Thaba Trails (Johannesburg) giving Gauteng riders – and those from neighbouring provinces – opportunities to compete and gain experience on a wide range of trails.
The awarding of provincial colours to a selected racing team – based on provincial series performances – will be the culmination of significant efforts under the guidance of Damilano, whose ultimate aim is to create an infrastructure to ensure Enduro racing sustainability and essentially a blueprint which other provinces can duplicate should they want to.
The Gauteng Champs will incorporate seven stages on similar runs to the final round of the Gauteng Series. Dry, hot conditions have made the surfaces loose and dusty of late, but predicted rain on race day will certainly change the dynamic.
The organisers are introducing at least one blind stage and have made some adjustments to selected stages. The event also doubles as a provincial championship for Limpopo and North West provinces, so a large field is expected.
Balwin Properties has invested in the Gauteng Champs as a sponsor and has funded the category championship jerseys for all the winners.
Gauteng Gravity Team 2022
Enduro
Elite men: Bradon Webster, Jo Bester
Under-23 men: Matteo Damilano
Junior men: Divan van Straaten, Etienne Kros, Eugene Kriek
Youth men: Cade Badenhorst, Joshua Kanis, Joshua West
Sprog boys: Evert Martiz, Luke Stafford, Michael Kanis
Nipper boys: Wihan van Niekerk
Sub-veteran men: Chris Kuun, Dana Coetzee, Frank Meyer
Veteran men: Carl Deary, Chris Stafford, Justin Joubert
Master men: Barry Crouse, James Morland
Elite women: Julia Kotze
Sprog girls: Olivia Marais
Sub-veteran women: Amanda Keen, Licarmi Smith, Maude Badenhorst
Veteran women: Irma du Plooy, Mattie Viviers
Downhill
Elite men: Rory Kirk
Junior men: Eugene Kriek
Youth men: Connor Taylor
Youth women: Arielle Behr
All the usual CSA categories will be contested as will an eBike category for 19 years and older racers in both the Full Enduro and the Lite Enduro. Entry is online only and closes on Saturday 15 October at midday. But enter online by midday on Wednesday 12 October to get a free pair of bespoke Sox Footwear socks to commemorate the first-ever provincial champs for Gauteng, Limpopo and North West. Racing starts at 08h30 on Sunday. Entry is via the Cycling South Africa portal here or via the CSA app.
Suzuki is the presenting sponsor the 2022 Gauteng Enduro Series. Other brands that have invested in the sponsoring the Gauteng Enduro Series are EcoLogic (bike wash products), 100% (eyewear products), 32 GI (performance supplements), Med Guys (medical support) and SHRED (media partner). Timing will once again be done by Send It, which times down to 1000th of a second.
For more information, join the Gauteng Cycling Gravity Group on Telegram, here; or contact Paola Damilano on 0832523752 or paola.damilano@me.com
