After a successful inaugural Battle Valleys Enduro at Trennerys Hotel over the past weekend, organisers are planning bigger and better events when it comes to enduro racing in the Eastern Cape.
About 100 riders participated in the first hard enduro event in the Eastern Cape, and showed keen interest in seeing more of these events being held in the region.
“The first edition of Battle Valleys was a blast and went off exactly the way we planned,” organiser Aidan Carr said.
“This will definitely now become an annual event, next year same time, same place.
“But the main goal for us is to offer riders a challenge, fresh tracks and something they need to train for, it’s all about seeing how far you can push yourself.
“So we want to keep building from here, next year we are looking at a three-day event and we will definitely be raising the bar and riders can expect a longer prologue on the Friday and all the tracks to be a notch harder,” he added.
“I think that East London and the Eastern Cape has some seriously talented riders and enduro can become a massive sport in the region.”
Although there will be no major enduro events in the immediate area over the rest of the year, there will be a number of high-profile enduros around the country for riders to look forward to, with the closest being the Chasing Giants event taking place in Katberg.
“First up there is a two-day navigational event happening in Katberg [in September], then it’s the Impi Original [in October in KwaZulu-Natal] and then the world-renowned Roof of Africa [in Lesotho in December],” said Carr.
At the past weekend’s event, a large contingent of riders from the Eastern Cape, as well as others from around the country participated in the first Battle Valleys competition. With it being a new event, it was not done in race format. The goal was for riders to complete the challenging course on the day.
“The course was a mix of everything – deep mud holes, tricky river beds, steep downhills and some challenging hills,” said Carr.
“East London’s top enduro riders took part with a number of national enduro riders competing,” he added.
“Local riders Devon Owen and Jeff Mullins both brought home gold finishes and kept the KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg riders pushing hard.
“Silver finishes went to East London riders Andre Burger and Matthew Boy and PE rider Daniel Strydom came home on the top steps, well done to all our finishers.
“The riders smiles receiving their traditional Xhosa pipe finishers award and the sense of achievement crossing Saturdays finish line were great moments,” said Carr.
“The vibe, food, accommodation was top-notch, Trennerys staff went out their way to ensure all the riders were looked after.”
Off-roaders rev it up in style
‘Bigger and better to come’ as bikers give huge thumbs up to the inaugural Trennerys’s Battle of Valley event
Image: Supplied
After a successful inaugural Battle Valleys Enduro at Trennerys Hotel over the past weekend, organisers are planning bigger and better events when it comes to enduro racing in the Eastern Cape.
About 100 riders participated in the first hard enduro event in the Eastern Cape, and showed keen interest in seeing more of these events being held in the region.
“The first edition of Battle Valleys was a blast and went off exactly the way we planned,” organiser Aidan Carr said.
“This will definitely now become an annual event, next year same time, same place.
“But the main goal for us is to offer riders a challenge, fresh tracks and something they need to train for, it’s all about seeing how far you can push yourself.
“So we want to keep building from here, next year we are looking at a three-day event and we will definitely be raising the bar and riders can expect a longer prologue on the Friday and all the tracks to be a notch harder,” he added.
“I think that East London and the Eastern Cape has some seriously talented riders and enduro can become a massive sport in the region.”
Although there will be no major enduro events in the immediate area over the rest of the year, there will be a number of high-profile enduros around the country for riders to look forward to, with the closest being the Chasing Giants event taking place in Katberg.
“First up there is a two-day navigational event happening in Katberg [in September], then it’s the Impi Original [in October in KwaZulu-Natal] and then the world-renowned Roof of Africa [in Lesotho in December],” said Carr.
At the past weekend’s event, a large contingent of riders from the Eastern Cape, as well as others from around the country participated in the first Battle Valleys competition. With it being a new event, it was not done in race format. The goal was for riders to complete the challenging course on the day.
“The course was a mix of everything – deep mud holes, tricky river beds, steep downhills and some challenging hills,” said Carr.
“East London’s top enduro riders took part with a number of national enduro riders competing,” he added.
“Local riders Devon Owen and Jeff Mullins both brought home gold finishes and kept the KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg riders pushing hard.
“Silver finishes went to East London riders Andre Burger and Matthew Boy and PE rider Daniel Strydom came home on the top steps, well done to all our finishers.
“The riders smiles receiving their traditional Xhosa pipe finishers award and the sense of achievement crossing Saturdays finish line were great moments,” said Carr.
“The vibe, food, accommodation was top-notch, Trennerys staff went out their way to ensure all the riders were looked after.”
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