NEW STAGES BEING PREPPED FOR 2023 SUMMERPLACE ENDURO

The Summerplace Enduro on Sunday 9 July forms Round 2 of the South African Enduro Series and Round 3 of the Gauteng Enduro Series, presented by Suzuki. A strong field of racers from around the country is expected to tackle the iconic trails, which trail-builder, David Baber, has been building with a truly Waterberg feel.

Following the success of the 2022 Summerplace Enduro, which formed part of the Gauteng Enduro Series, there was no hesitation by Cycling South Africa and Gauteng Cycling to include the Limpopo venue in the national and provincial series respectively. The quality and variety of the trails is important for an Enduro event and Summerplace comfortably ticked those boxes in 2022. But for 2023, more trails are being built that will add even greater value to the Enduro event.

“We only used the trails on our original land for the 2022 Enduro event. At the time we had recently acquired neighbouring farms and have since been steadily building trails on that land, which offers some generous elevation and more variety for Enduro lines,” explained Baber, co-owner and trail-builder at Summerplace Game Reserve.

“We are planning to have six Enduro stages for this year’s Summerplace Enduro, four of them brand new and the other two will be chosen from our existing trails, which riders enjoyed in 2022,” he added.

The new stages are all on a long, south-west-facing slope that offers good elevation, longer riding distance and rocky ridges. This will make the event more challenging in total distance and duration as the transfers will be longer than in 2022. The new trails that will be used for Summerplace Enduro stages are: Tumbleweed, Load Shredder, Skyfall and Red Mountain.

The Summerplace Enduro stages will range in duration from 1 minute 20 seconds to around five minutes for the winners; and they include fast, flowy sections, rocks, flat corners, berms and jumps. All the stages have flow, but it’s flow that Baber has created using the natural features and gradient.

“I have been mindful that this Enduro needs to test riders’ skill, stamina, line-choice ability and bikes in order to be considered worthy of a South African series event. But on every stage, I have made sure that there’s fun because that’s ultimately why we ride mountain bikes, right?” smiled Baber.

Round 1 of the 2023 Enduro SA Cup https://www.treadmtb.co.za/duncan-kotze-conquer-tough-conditions-to-win-enduro-series-opener/ took place at Thaba Trails in Johannesburg in February, where KwaZulu-Natal’s Keira Duncan and Gauteng’s Julia Kotze were the overall men and women’s winners. In order for racers to be in contention for the SA Cup series titles, they need to complete all four rounds, which should see a strong contingent of racers at the Summerplace Enduro in July.

Those keen to get a preview of the Summerplace Enduro stages would benefit from The Trail-shredding Experience from Friday 9-Sunday 11 June 2023, where all the stages will be included in the weekend’s riding, with local trail guides. More details here. https://www.summerplacegamereserve.com/copy-of-david-baber-master-trail-bu

Lodge accommodation at Summerplace is already booked for the weekend of the event, but there is still camping space as well as accommodation at neighbouring venues. Email bookings@summperlacegamereserve.com for enquiries.