The Koue Bokkeveld in the Western Cape, an hour’s drive from Ceres, played host to the penultimate round of the South African National Cross Country (SACC) championship this past weekend. Rain and even snowfall earlier in the month helped with the dust and competitors were set off into what was going to be a hot day in the saddle.
Friday’s time trial (loop ‘A’) consisted of 46 km’s of more technical and rocky terrain as usual. Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Travis Teasdale, who made a guest appearance at the Koue Bokkeveld 400, managed to post the fastest time ahead of his team mate Ross Branch and third placed Michael Pentecost.
Saturday saw Teasdale setting off first on loop ‘B’. The Enduro expert however decided to save himself for the upcoming National Enduro and retired after the first loop. His team mate Ross Branch took the lead early in the race despite problems with his brakes, a flat wheel on the second lap of the 70 km loop however saw Branch falling back, losing important places during the race. He had to ride with a flat wheel for over 60 km’s and fell back to third place overall and second place in the OR1 class which is where Branch ended off his race day.
In the OR2 class Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Louw Schmidt had an average Time Trial just missing out on the top ten, so Schmidt knew he had some catch up to do on race day. Schmidt started charging early on in the race and took over the lead in the OR2 class after the first lap. A navigation mistake going into the third lap however saw Schmidt losing approx. 7 minutes and from there he had no other choice than taking himself and his KTM 350 XC-F to its limits. The hard work paid off and Schmidt managed to take over the lead again, winning the OR2 class and extending his lead in the OR2 championship rankings.
The Seniors class saw yet again Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Juan ‘Bollie’ van Rooyen taking the lead early on in the race and the experienced rider managed to not just win the Seniors class, but he crossed the chequered flag in seventh place overall amongst the younger competitors. Van Rooyen has now taken over the lead again in the Seniors class.
The final round of the SACC championship is taking place in Westonaria, Gauteng, on 28 and 29 October.
