Just over a week ago the endurance mountain bikers had their time to shine, and this weekend it is the chance of the adrenaline junkies to take over Absa Karkloof Country Club for the Sappi Karkloof Classic Enduro and Downhill.
The two-day event is a highlight of the local gravity racing scene with the KZN provincial enduro championships taking place on Saturday and the KZN and Gauteng Downhill Championships being held on Sunday.
Just two weeks after the successful SA MTB Marathon Championships were held at South Africa’s top-ranked MTB park, the venue will once again be the venue for championship action with the focus this weekend on speed and adrenaline-fuelled action.
Saturday’s KZN Enduro Championships will see riders competing over five stages of the best flowing gravity trails the trail park can offer. A “lite” event will also provide for the younger riders in the nippers and sprogs age-groups, while also catering for the “fun riders” who are not up to a full enduro event.
Sunday’s downhill action will ramp up the difficulty with the downhillers taking on some of the more technical sections of the popular riding venue. Sunday’s racing is a combined championships with the Gauteng and the KZN riders both fighting for provincial titles as well as an event victory.
Last year Keira Duncan won the two-day enduro event at Karkloof in convincing fashion and he is once again proving the rider to beat in KZN this season. Recently he won the opening leg of the KZN Cup series, with Keagan Brand his nearest challenger.
In the women’s event Amber Cole was top in the opening event of the enduro and will be aiming to make it two from two this weekend.
At the most recent downhill events at Giba Gorge last month, Nate and Liam Hall fought for victory with Nate coming from behind after the first run to edge out his brother, with Luke Kirk third.
Racing is set to start at 8am on both days.