Round 3 of the 2023 Enduro SA Cup moves to Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch this week and has already undergone some significant changes to ensure it beats a predicted weather threat that will produce extreme conditions that would require cancellation. Regardless, a big day of racing has attracted racers from around the country.
Words: Sean Badenhorst | Images: Chris Taylor Media
Originally scheduled for Sunday, 10 September, the Western Cape Enduro team that’s organising the event made the call to either cancel the race or move it a day earlier. It’s been moved to Saturday 9 September because heavy rain, strong windS and cold temperatures will arrive on Saturday night. The change in date also motivated the organisers to drop one of the stages for both the Full Enduro and the Lite.
After two rounds, hosted in Gauteng in February and Limpopo in March, the 2023 Enduro SA Cup standings have a very ‘Eastern/Northern South Africa’ complexion. Only a handful of Western Cape racers made the investment in travelling to contest the rounds at Thaba Trails and Summerplace Game Reserve.
The travel and accommodation costs are indeed high, especially with Enduro, where arriving a few days in advance is essential to develop some familiarity with the event venue and race stages. And quite a few Eastern/Northern racers have made that investment to duke out Round 3 of the series at one of the most iconic mountain bike trails venues in the country.
Jonkershoek isn’t everyone’s ideal trails venue, but it is highly respected by everyone. The elevation and gradient are significant by South African Enduro racing standards and it will be interesting to see what kind of toll four stages take on the competitors on Saturday. Fitness and stamina will be tested as much as skill at this round, where the competition time slot has been set at five hours.
A very wet winter followed a recent glimpse of summer and a committed trails team leave the Jonkershoek trails in superb condition. But the on-off spring rain has made the build-up this week challenging for those that arrived early
Locals always have an advantage over visitors at an Enduro race, but the Winelands locals have an even greater advantage for this round. There is no shuttling whatsoever permitted at Jonkershoek, which means visiting racers will have a very cursory awareness of what to expect come race day, especially since race day has been moved forward.
The revised planned race-day schedule is as follows:
- Stage 1: Red Phoenix sections 3 and 2
- Stage 2: DH sections 3, 2 and 1
- Stage 3: Iron Monkey sections 5, 4 and 3
- Stage 4: Armageddon sections 5, 4 and 3 into Zululand to end
The two-stage Lite Enduro option will use Stages 2 and 4.
With several top Western Cape enduro racers currently in Europe, the standout favourite for Saturday’s race is current national men’s champion, Johann Potgieter. Other Western Cape racers sure to impress are Michard Meets and Brandon Wilcocks. With overall Series leader, Keira Duncan of KwaZulu-Natal currently racing abroad, the biggest overall title challenges from outside the host province are likely to come from Gauteng’s Bryce Munro and Danny Fowler.
In the women’s division, Western Cape’s Frankie du Toit will be the clear favourite, with Gauteng’s Arielle Behr (Youth) and Limpopo’s Tasha Ehlers (Junior), leading the challenge from outside the host province.
Entries are online and can be done here.
