Wade Prinsloo and Julia Kotze conquered strong competition and rocky, dry conditions to secure the overall fastest men and women’s titles respectively at the 2022 Gauteng Enduro Champs, presented by Suzuki, held at Thaba Trails, Johannesburg on Sunday.
By Sean Badenhorst. | Photos: Dominic Barnardt
The event doubled as both the provincial champs for Limpopo and North West provinces as well as an inter-provincial contest, ensuring a high standard of racing on seven stimulating stages.
A total of 140 entrants were presented with seven stages, two of them new blind stages and the other five familiar lines from the final round of the Gauteng Provincial Series held last month.
Stage 1 was a blind stage and presented a rocky challenge almost throughout. Starting on slab rock near the summit of the largest hill at Thaba, the riders then had to negotiate a flatish rock-strewn trail that required a combination of power and decent suspension. Half way through the stage the gradient was introduced with a steep, twisty drop to the finish.
Stage 8 was also new – and blind – and used some of the old rocky, steep Blue Trail sections with some deep groove riding early on, changing to some pedally bits before joining the final fast section of the Stage 5 route used recently.
Prinsloo (main image) won the two blind stages – 1 and 8, finished second on two stages and third on another. That consistency saw him clock a tidy winning time of 11 minutes 59.138 seconds. Frank Meyer, winner of the final round of the Gauteng Series at the same venue a month before, won five of the stages on Sunday, but was 13 seconds slower than Prinsloo on the two combined blind stages, giving him second overall in 12:00.821.
Inus du Preez, a XCO specialist, confirmed his foray into Enduro this year was a good move with top-three finishes on four stages and third overall in a time of 12:15.937. Ryan Frerichs was third on three stages and fourth overall in 12:24.504, while Matteo Damilano rounded out the top five in 12:31.370.
For Prinsloo, a regular top-five overall contender, it was a case of all smooth runs at a venue he had done some practising on.
“Most of the year I finished top five – Buffelsdrift, Summerplace and Grootfontein. After those races I started to regain my momentum and started to fall in love with riding my bike again. I think the joy of riding really gave me a boost,” said Prinsloo.
“I have raced about 90% of the Gauteng Enduro Series blind. I have done one or two Lite Stages with Nipper riders that I coach, but no real pre-race prep for myself. This time around I went to see how long the pedal sections are as well as the climbs so I can make sure I don’t mess up with having the wrong gears on the climbs…
Prinsloo’s blind-riding experience worked in his favour on race day where he won both of the blind stages.
“With the blind stages, we need to give Uncle Wendell and his trails team props for their efforts. First time having a provincial champs at Thaba Trails and they made those blind stages incredibly fun! It’s that all in-the-moment action that’s exciting and hearing everyone’s “blind-stage battle stories” afterwards that add to the cool vibe.”
When asked about his bike and set-up, Prinsloo was as laid-back as you’d expect:
“I’m riding a Pyga Slakline. My tyre pressure was about 2/5th of a thumb dent in the front and and 1/5th of a thumb dent at the back. I’m not very technical – I ride on feel. Probably 1.6 Bars in the front and 1.8 Bars at the back. I’m running a Maxxis Assegai back and front with Cush Core inserts on Lyne AMP carbon rims. For my fork, I have a RockShox Lyric Ultimate with one volume token, 30% sag and I did have the rebound two clicks faster for rockier stages and one click slower for the more pedally stages. In my rear shock I have one Recce volume spacer as I’m a hard on my bike,” he explained.
Kotze’s season wasn’t the smoothest, having to deal with illness, injury and mechanicals at a number of Enduro races, but her win on Sunday did ensure she ended it on a high note. She won five of the seven stages and finished a respectable 23rd overall in a time of 14:06.140.
Lilian Baber, a Junior from Limpopo, won two stages and secured second place overall in a total time of 14:41.992. Returning from a long injury layoff, Arielle Behr secured third overall and first Youth in a time of 15:50.630, while Masters winner, Monica Glover and Carla Jansen van Vuuren were fourth and fifth respectively.
“It was an amazing feeling being part of the first ever Gauteng Enduro Champs and I am absolutely thrilled with taking the win,” said Kotze, adding: “I had a bit of a slow start to the day on the blind Stage 1, but the remainder of the stages went really well with Stage 2 being my favourite!
“I think Thaba Trails is an excellent venue for Enduro. There’s a good variety of terrain and obstacles. You have lines like Stage 1 and 2 that are rocky and steep and quite challenging and then lines like Stages 3 and 4, which are fast and flowy but challenge you with off-camber corners and windy pedal sections, with other stages offering something in between,” remarked Kotze.
The prizegiving for the event was a lengthy affair as it included podium recognition and provincial championships status for Gauteng, Limpopo and North West. Results below are for overall only with rider’s provinces in brackets.
Riders that were selected to represent their province at the event will be eligible to be awarded provincial colours, the first time for the discipline of Enduro.
“We are thrilled with our first full season of Enduro racing in Gauteng. Thanks to the venues, our sponsors and our event services partners, we were able to really put Gauteng on the Enduro map. We’re looking forward to growing Enduro even more in 2023,” said Paola Damiano of Gauteng Cycling, the Gauteng Enduro Series organiser.
Gauteng Enduro Champs, presented by Suzuki – Thaba Trails
Leading results
Enduro (seven stages)
Overall men
1 Wade Prinsloo (North West) 11:59.138
2 Frank Meyer (Gauteng) 12:00.821
3 Inus du Preez (Gauteng) 12:15.937
4 Ryan Frerichs (Gauteng) 12:24.504
5 Matteo Damilano (Gauteng) 12:31.370
6 Divan van Straaten (Gauteng) 12:33.221
7 Tyrone Anders (Limpopo) 12:46.023
8 Dan Fowler (Gauteng) 12:48.253
9 Massi Ambrosi (Gauteng) 12:58.124
10 Bradon Webster (Gauteng) 13:01.237
Elite men
1 Wade Prinsloo (North West) 11:59.138
2 Bradon Webster (Gauteng) 13:01.237
3 Christan Kirsten (North West) 13:14.362
Under-23 men
1 Inus du Preez (Gauteng) 12:15.937
2 Matteo Damilano (Gauteng) 12:31.370
3 Jaedon Terlouw (Gauteng) 13:13.188
Junior men
1 Divan van Straaten (Gauteng) 12:33.221
2 Massi Ambrosi (Gauteng) 12:58.124
3 Eugene Kriek (Gauteng) 13:08.810
Youth men
1 Joshua Kanis (Gauteng) 13:05.963
2 Henre Myburgh (Gauteng) 13:49.104
3 Tristan Vorster (Gauteng) 14:05.481
Sub-Junior Boys
1 Hanro Ehlers (Limpopo) 14:13.320
2 Laubscher Paquet (North West) 14:25.604
3 Luca Dos Santos (Gauteng) 18:10.191
Sub-Veteran Men
1 Frank Meyer (Gauteng) 12:00.821
2 Ryan Frerichs (Gauteng) 12:24.504
3 Dewald Lotter (Gauteng) 13:52.595
Veteran Men
1 Dan Fowler (Gauteng) 12:48.253
2 Carl Deary (Gauteng) 13:36.542
3 Chris Stafford (Gauteng) 14:30.747
Master Men
1 Sean O’Flynn Madden (Gauteng) 13:26.295
2 Sean Badenhorst (Gauteng) 14:22.132
3 Dion Retief (Gauteng) 15:19.879
Grandmaster Men
1 Mark Oliver (Gauteng) 18:57.396
2 Mike Behr (Gauteng) 21:09.135
eBike Men
1 Barry Crouse 13:32.757
2 Kalvin Christie 14:57.540
3 Andre Ehlers 16:22.114
Stage Top 3
Stage 1
1 Wade Prinsloo 1:38.1
2 Frank Meyer 1:46.2
3 Ryan Frerichs 1:46.6
Stage 2
1 Frank Meyer 2:02.2
2 Dan Fowler 2:10.1
3 Inus du Preez 2:10.2
Stage 3
1 Frank Meyer 1:41.7
2 Wade Prinsloo 1:43.4
3 Ryan Frerichs 1:43.6
Stage 4
1 Frank Meyer 1:39.3
2 Wade Prinsloo 1:39.9
3 Divan van Straaten 1:42.1
Stage 6
1 Frank Meyer 1:22.8
2 Massi Ambrosi 1:23.6
3 Inus du Preez 1:23.8
Stage 7
1 Frank Meyer 1:39.6
2 Inus du Preez 1:40.3
3 Wade Prinsloo 1:40.6
Stage 8
1 Wade Prinsloo 1:38.6
2 Inus du Preez 1:39.7
3 Ryan Frerichs 1:42.6
OVERALL WOMEN
1 Julia Kotze (Gauteng) 14:06.140
2 Lilian Baber (Limpopo) 14:41.992
3 Arielle Behr (Gauteng) 15:50.630
4 Monica Glover (Gauteng) 15:54.821
5 Carla Jansen van Vuuren (Limpopo) 16:10.735
Junior women
1 Lilian Baber (Limpopo) 14:41.992
2 Lianke Fourie (Limpopo) 17:48.718
Youth women
1 Arielle Behr (Gauteng) 15:50.630
2 Carla Jansen van Vuuren (Limpopo) 16:10.735
3 Tashane Ehlers (Limpopo) 16:30.196
Sub-Veteran Women
1 Licarmi Smith (Gauteng) 17:35.223
2 Maude Badenhorst (Gauteng) 18:21.712
3 Amanda Keen (Gauteng) 19:12.719
Veteran Women
1 Mattie Viviers (Gauteng) 17:32.980
2 Irma du Plooy (Gauteng) 18:41.307
3 Marlette de Jager (Gauteng) 19:04.185
Master Women
1 Monica Glover (Gauteng) 15:54.821
2 Tracey Reynolds (Gauteng) 21:02.435
3 Sabine Cowie (Gauteng) 27:50.737
Stage Top 3
Stage 1
1 Julia Kotze 2:16.1
2 Lilian Baber 2:16.2
3 Monica Glover 2:28.9
Stage 2
1 Julia Kotze 2:33.1
2 Lilian Baber 2:46.0
3 Arielle Behr 2:56.2
Stage 3
1 Julia Kotze 1:50.8
2 Lilian Baber 2:03.9
3 Arielle Behr 2:56.2
Stage 4
1 Julia Kotze 1:53.3
2 Lilian Baber 1:57.5
3 Monica Glover 2:03.9
Stage 6
1 Lilian Baber 1:33.4
2 Julia Kotze 1:34.5
3 Arielle Behr 1:40.9
Stage 7
1 Lilian Baber 2:00.2
2 Julia Kotze 2:02.5
3 Arielle Behr 2:12.7
Stage 8
1 Julia Kotze 1:55.9
2 Lilian Baber 2:04.8
3 Monica Glover 2:09.0
ENDURO LITE (4 stages)
Sprog Boys
1 Luke Stafford (Gauteng) 7:38.909
2 Evert Maritz (Gauteng) 7:54.516
3 Michael Kanis (Gauteng) 8:00.919
Nipper Boys
1 Ethan Duvenhage (Gauteng) 8:32.711
2 Franco Grobbelaar (North West) 9:45.990
3 Wihan van Niekerk (Gauteng) 9:46.615
Sprog Girls
1 Lohane Ehlers (Limpopo) 10:18.413
2 Olivia Marais (Gauteng) 14:57.000
Sport Men
1 Andrew Duvenhage 7:52.434
2 Sean Labuschange 8:16.054
3 Ruben Fitton 8:59.424
Sport Women
1 Giulia Damilano 9:42.052
2 Candice Stafford 10:00.123
3 Sharon Spiller 12:55.303
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 is done by Send It.
There are hundreds of images from the event on the Gauteng Cycling Facebook Page.
