Holla Trails Enduro Mountain Bike Race

The final round of the KZN Gravity Enduro Series for 2023 found us at a brand-new venue – Holla Trails in Ballito.

This venue lends itself ideally to the goal of KZN Gravity, which is to grow the discipline of Enduro MTB, offering lightly technical stages to encourage newcomers into the sport. This event also hosted KZN’s first E-Bike Power Stage, an Enduro Stage where E-Bikes raced a technical climb before a joining the analog bike descent!

With 160 riders on the day, and a variety of trails through pristine coastal forest and sugarcane, the stage was set for a fast and fun day of Enduro mountain bike racing. Riders new and seasoned gathered to take on the dusty and loose course, eager to test their skills on the new terrain.

The dry and dusty conditions added an extra layer of complexity to the race. Riders had to be precise and even a little cautious on the descents, as the loose dirt and flat corners made for some sudden mishaps! 

Riders hurled bodies and bikes through the narrow tree-lined trails, conquering roots, rocks bridges and more – leaving a cloud of dust around them, some not quite managing to keep the rubber side of the bike down, but getting back up to tell the tale!

A newly cut and built Stage 5 had riders pondering an A and B Line over a rollable drop. While some conquered the feature with skill and style, others decided to take a safer approach.

The event was so well supported, that even an adaptive MTB entrant bravely conquered the narrow and dusty trails!

Some 16km later for the LITE Enduro and 30km for the FULL, it was time to hand in timing chips and see who would be crowned the fastest! With fitness and skill being the competitive advantage for this race, the local Holla XCO and marathon riders quickly made their presence known, taking charge of the race from the outset and seemingly effortlessly tackling the introductory Enduro course, claiming the top spots on the podiums and proving their dominance on their home turf. 

Top 3 Men

1st – Tyronne White
2nd – Joshua Paul
3rd – Brandon Waugh

Top 3 Women

1st – Errin Mackridge
2nd – Tyler Jacobs
3rd – Madison Bateson