2022, Enduro, Events, Latest News, Race reports
SA Enduro Cup & KZN Championship 2022
Jun
The picturesque Karkloof valley just outside Howick in KwaZulu-Natal played host to the 2022 KZN Enduro Championships powered by Greg Minnaar Cycles. Warm sunny conditions greeted the riders for a change after a waterlogged season thus far. Riders were eager to hit the meticulous trails prepared by Karkloof MTB Club’s Nic Stubbs and Sappi Forestry.
This 2-Day events also made up Round 2 of the SA Cup Enduro Series.
9 Stages made up the course, 4 on Saturday, followed by 5 on Sunday. All the stage times over the 2 days would be combined to crown the winner for the weekend.
Day 1
170 Riders raced to either Stage 1 or 2 to start the 39 kilometre course that would make up Day 1 of the event. Stage 1 “Pines” had riders on their toes early on with its rock gardens hidden deep within the forests. A tricky mud section separated the field with those who knew how to handle the complicated slick uphill, and those who ended up wallowing in it.
Stage 2 “Katherines” gave riders a reprieve from the technical with it’s flowing forest section. Stage 3 “Keiras” a regular feature on the enduro circuit boasted fan favourite technical rock sections descending into tacky forest switchbacks.
A long transition took riders across the plantation to the newest kid on the block “Prodigal Son” the 4th and final stage of the day. This flow-fest of a trail had legs burning as riders pushed hard to finish the day….
At the end of Day 1 Keira Duncan was leading the pack overall in the mens with Sabine Thies pulling ahead of the rest of the women.
Day 2
Although shorter in distance, Day 2 promised climbs that would leave legs and lungs burning. Stage 1 for the day had riders making the first of the mammoth road climbs to “Jewitts” with its rocky flow trails leading straight into Stage 2 “The Gauntlet”, an absolute fan favourite which hasn’t made an appearance for many years at the venue. With its super-tube like twists and turns riders had broad smiles tackling the trail.
A small pedal had riders at the top of Stage 3 “Voodoo Lounge” with its g-force dips through freshly cut forests.
With the smallest climb of the day in the bag riders were faced with one of two left, taking them halfway up to “Windsong”, Stage 4, a fast and flowing forest trail which precious seconds could be gained by putting in the pedal strokes.
The great climb up “Lebanon” was the final hurdle for riders with the 40+ minute climb separating the pros from the weekend warriors. The reward however was Stage 5, a trail that felt like it never ends, Sisonke. Starting with open fields at the top of the mountain, riders then dipped down into the cool and narrow forest before reaching the valley floor.
Keira Duncan managed to hang onto his lead overall, and took the win for the weekend, making this his second win in the series, and extending his overall lead in the SA Cup Series, and being crowned the KZN Champion.
Sabine Thies also kept the rest at bay, scooping the Women’s Elite and overall.
Race RunsVideo Coverage
Wild Air were up from Cape Town and had some coverage for the weekend. If you missed the weekends racing, be sure to have a watch for some of what was missed out.
Results
Overall Men
1. Keira Duncan 25:21
2. Willie Van Eck 27:05
3. Ross Kew 27:12
4. Jason Boulle 27:19
5. Phillip ven Schalkwyk 27:26
Overall Women
1. Sabine Thies 31:17
2. Lilian Baber 32:01
3. Arielle Behr 32:30
4. Danika Botha 35.35
5. Tashane Ehlers 35.50
Full results can be viewed here. The current series results for KZN can be viewed here.
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