Sam Bull and Julia Kotze confirmed their status at the top male and female Enduro racers in Gauteng currently when they secured successive wins in the men and women’s categories respectively at Round 3 of the 2021 Sox Footwear Enduro Series, presented by SHRED at Buffelsdrift on Saturday, 6 November.
Bull won three of the five stages to clock an overall winning time of 13:07, just six seconds quicker than Francois Theron (13:13) with Chris Pearton a distant third with a time of 14:24. Jaedon Terlouw was the top Under-23 and fourth overall in 14:33, while Dion Retief was fifth overall in 14:36 and winner of the Master’s division.
As with Round 2 at the same venue, Kotze was once again the fastest female on all five stages and placed 16th overall in a combined time of 15:13. Lillian Baber, competing in her first Enduro, was second overall and first Youth Female in 16:17, while fastest Sub-Junior, Arielle Behr was third overall in 16:41.
“It didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped. On Stage 1 (Enduro Line 2), which I rode second, I had an issue with my drivetrain. I think I shifted in a rough section and the drivetrain jammed. So I had to get off and sort it out. I managed to push hard to the bottom from there. I wasn’t sure how much time I lost there and was a bit worried. But I had smooth, clean runs for the rest and am pleased to have taken the win,” said Bull.
“I’m glad the event started an hour earlier because I suffered in the heat at Round 2. This time the air wasn’t moving much so I was sweating a lot, but on the whole I felt better this time compared to last time.
“I think the organisers did another stellar job. The timing was slick with no issues, which is great. It’s been really nice to see Gauteng support the Enduro scene and this series has been a fantastic springboard to give the discipline some momentum in the province,” added Bull.
“I’d say my runs were all pretty smooth on Saturday. I rode a bit too conservatively on Stage 5 (Rocks 2 Crocs), but I managed to improve my times from the previous event on all the other stages. The earlier start definitely made a difference in terms of the heat compared to the previous round,” said Kotze, who did her first Enduro event in 2018.
“I really enjoy the technical aspects of Enduro racing, which is probably why Buffelsdrift is one of my favourite venues. The Enduro trails there require quite a high level of technical ability to hit at speed,” added Kotze, who confirmed that she plans to compete in the final round of the 2021 series at Grootfontein.
Over 100 riders competed in the event, which doubled as Round 3 of the inaugural Gauteng Province Enduro Series. The fourth and final round will take place at Grootfontein, Pretoria on Sunday, 5 December.
Sox Footwear Enduro Series, Round 3, Buffelsdrift, 6 November 2021
Leading results
Overall Men
1 Sam Bull 13:07.751
2 Francois Theron 13:13.877
3 Chris Pearton 14:24.985
4 Jaedon Terlouw 14:33.208
5 Dion Retief 14:36.574
6 Ryan van der Spuy 14:37.286
7 Eugene Kriek 14:38.572
8 Sean O’Flynn-Madden 14:39.049
9 Anru Botha 14:50.930
10 Charl van Zyl 14:57.104
Nipper Boys
1 Evert Maritz 12:17.035
2 Ruben Venter 13:15.381
3 Wihan van Niekerk 14:28.015
Sprog Boys
1 Sven Etsebeth 10:15.797
2 Michael Kanis 11:17.858
3 Luke Stafford 11:37.311
Sub-Junior Boys
1 Thomas Carter-Brown 15:49.201
2 Hanro Ehlers 16:15.15
3 Joshua West 17:40.135
Youth Men
1 Divan van Straaten 15:17.152
2 Luke Kirk 15:39.679
3 Cade Badenhorst 15:59.257
Junior Men
1 Eugene Kriek 14:38.572
2 Bartel Herbst 17:00.080
3 Veshan Pillay 17:47.248
Under-23 Men
1 Jaedon Terlouw 14:33.208
2 Anru Botha 14:50.930
Elite men
1 Sam Bull 13:07.751
2 Bradon Webster 15:07.388
3 Jaco Nel 17:11.802
Sub-Veteran Men
1 Francois Theron 13:13.877
2 Chris Pearton 14:24.985
3 Charl van Zyl 14:57.104
Veteran Men
1 Ryan van der Spuy 14:37.286
2 Sean O’Flynn-Madden 14:39.049
3 Pat Morewood 14:58.516
Master Men
1 Dion Retief 14:36.574
2 Ronnie Purnell 16:26.681
3 Sean Badenhorst 16:32.983
Sport Men
1 Arno Venter 16:23.409
2 Hano Mong 22:50.476
Lite Sport Men (3 Stages)
1 Chris Stafford 10:45.802
2 John Alan Todd 12:04.933
3 Reuben Botha 12:55.999
Overall women
1 Julia Kotze 15:13.207
2 Lillian Baber 16:17.684
3 Arielle Behr 16:41.646
Sub-Junior Girls
1 Arielle Behr 16:41.646
Youth Women
1 Lillian Baber 16:17.684
2 Tashane Ehlers 18:23.110
Junior Women
1 Lauriesian Brett 20:09.373
Sub-Veteran Women
1 Maude Badenhorst 18:32.768
2 Victoria Rose 18:34.878
3 Madele Venter 21:04.390
Master Women
1 Hildegard Setzkorn 21:22.006
Sport Women
1 Julia Kotze 15:13.207
2 Hester Basson 23:06.924
Note to competitors: You can find your Action Photo SA images via this link. Payment is done directly to Action Photo SA.
The remaining round of the 2021 Sox Footwear Enduro Series, presented by SHRED is:
Round 4: Grootfontein, Pretoria – Sunday, 5 December
Because this is an official provincial series, run by Gauteng Cycling, a Cycling South Africa Membership (licence) is required for all entrants. There is a R50 day licence option, but for riders that want to be considered for the provincial series, which carries official recognition on a regional and national racing level, a full 12-month CSA membership is required. This costs R250 for adults and R150 for Youth (under 19). This, along with the Provincial affiliation fee of R75 are both one-off payments required.
GALLERY
