flag

Race Report: Enduro Western Cape Round 2, Contermanskloof

Jul 31, 2018
by Ewald Sadie  


Following a very successful first round of the newly found Enduro Western Cape series, riders were treated to another Tygerberg based round just a few minutes up the road. The lush green hills and neverending hero dirt of the Contermanskloof trails delivered the expected amount of stoke, flow and action as riders took on the five stages. With the addition of a brand new stage and some adjustments to others, Robert Starke’s efforts ensured that things stayed interesting and fresh for the 161 riders. The winter morning kicked off at a bone-chilling 3 degrees Celsius, but warmed up nicely for a perfect day out on the grassy hills overlooking Table Bay and the rolling hills around Durbanville.

On the racing side, it was Contermans owner and trail builder Robert on the top step with total time of 14:47.57. Just under 5 seconds off the pace was round one’s winner Matt Lombardi, followed by Dane Olsen some 40 seconds back. In the women’s race, Frankie du Toit put in the fastest time to take the honours, followed by Joanna Dobinson in second and round one’s second place finisher, Katja Steenkamp in third.

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

bigquotesI wasn’t even planning on racing today, 'cause my doctor only gave me the green light this week, so I didn’t want to start too hard. I surprised myself a little bit with the win, but I’m very happy with it. I’m also on a new bike and I loved it - it was perfect for this race.Frankie du Toit

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

bigquotesI had a pretty solid race today. Some interesting off camber kept things spicy. I was really focusing on flowing and keeping it clean. I'm nursing some injured ribs after a pretty rough crash recently, so I tried my best to keep it upright. Mission accomplished. Happy to have been in touch with the winner, Rob Starke, on his home turf. The EWC team did a really great job today getting a proper race in with a good variety of tracks, and the vibe after the race was nice to be a part of. It seems Enduro is on the up, and I’m stoked to see more and more people turning up to race. A really good day out riding bikes. Can’t wait for the next one in Jonkers!Matt Lombardi, 2nd Men

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

bigquotesEven though I built stage 1, I never tested it, so I rode that blind which was exciting for me. I came into the race quite nervous cause my fitness isn’t where it needs to be and I’ve only been riding once a week. I guess knowing how to ride these trails and how to get the most out of them with the least amount of effort, is what gave me the edge.Robert Starke, 1st Men

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

bigquotesI found it incredible - much better than last year. You can see the effort that went into cutting new trails for us. Very well organised with staggered starts sorting out the heavy congestion at the start of stages. There was hero dirt everywhere - fast but also tricky.Joanna Dobinson

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2

2018 EWC round 2
2018 EWC round 2

Healing vibes to Karl Kielblock who took a tumble during the race, and had to receive medical attention. He went down on Stage 3 at 37kph and picked up a concussion. "I would like to thank you guys for making sure the proper medical assistance was on hand in case of an incident such as mine yesterday. Until it happens, most of us (me) take it for granted. Having a well-trained paramedic team with the right equipment to do their jobs properly is only appreciated when you get badly hurt at an event.”

Top 3 men:
1 Robert Starke 14:47.571
2 Matt Lombardi 14:52.570
3 Dane Olsen 15:28.319

Top 10 Women:
1 Frankie Du Toit 18:14.685
2 Joanna Dobinson 19:02.192
3 Katja Steenkamp 19:13.173

2018 EWC round 2

Full results can be downloaded here.

A big thank you must go to Giant Bicycles as well as Tygerberg MTB club for financial support. To the 161 riders that attended the event and also to Robert Starke for the trails and post-race beer keg. See you at the next one at Jonkershoek on 16 September!

Author Info:
shift-media-co avatar

Member since Dec 11, 2017
3 articles

1 Comment
  • 2 0
 Epic event, loved it, can't wait for the next one in Jonkershoek!







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.039689
Mobile Version of Website