Part 2. Day 1. The Race.
Most Pics by Foley Foto. Some by Black Rock Studio.
Thaba Bosiu Cultural village saw riders and spectators arriving at the crack of dawn to kick off proceedings. There was a buzz in the air as the Gold class started lining up for the days onslaught on the mountains. A long day lay ahead.
And the fun started really early when Roof opener Brett Swanepoel tried to rev his Sherco on the startline. It popped and spluttered and would just not rev out. He lost more than 20 minutes stripping the bike to try and get it sorted. Remember: Outside assistance is not allowed, but competitors are allowed to help each other. Frantic spannering saw the faulty plug replaced and he eventually got going.
It was the start of an epic race for Swanepoel, we’ll tell you more a bit later.
In the Interim, international star Matthew Green took off, followed by a whole posse of gold riders including Sherco USA’s rider Cody Webb, Travis Teasdale, Will Slater, Lesotho’s favourite, Wade Young and the unassuming James Moore…Â
And the scene was set for an epic encounter.
The silver riders followed, and by the time the bronze riders started lining up, the sun was beating down. The Bronze class now included the Binder Squared. Both Brad on a KTM and Darryn, who travelled through the night to join the party on a Husqvarna lined up to take on the day’s fun…
As the riders headed out from Thaba Bosiu, they were dropped down into a gorge, we wandered down there to watch the Iron class head through. It was great! Just about the only mud puddle in Lesotho was waiting at the bottom of one of the drops… it caught quite a few riders out.
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The chase was on to meet the riders at the next stop. The Bushman’s pass area was once again the spot to take your deck chair. Altus de Wet, the route director, made sure that spectators could catch the action from all angles. We wandered a little way down the pass and it was not too long before the gold riders came charging through. Not really charging. The extreme heat of the day was taking its toll, the guys did not look quite as fresh as they usually do. A pass that is usually pretty easy for Gold riders was suddenly not so simple…
Wade Young was in front. By quite a margin. Incredible when you consider that he had been knocked down to ninth position at the time trial. He was followed a bit later by Travis Teasdale and then the floodgates opened as most of the classes hit the pass. Man we saw stuff. Sheer grit, determination and pandemonium. Thirty degrees plus heat and one of those nasty tennis ball climbs… It was like a badly choreographed ballet as riders tried to choose the correct line and find that all important traction. Anyone who did Roof this year is tough in our books. It was epic to watch.
Entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Lesotho! The riders tell us about a Goggo who sat on one of the passes with a bucket of water and sold it to the riders for 5 bucks a cup! And they were so grateful to see her there. Nice one!
Some riders played smart and helped each other up, others just slogged, but the flood of riders became a trickle and we moved across the mountain to hear the news that because of the heat, the day had been cut shorter for the gold riders. We almost missed Young tearing up the mountain to the Red Bull finishers arch. A class act, he was seriously in the lead.
The man of the match, without a doubt was Brett Swanepoel. Seriously, not only did he have a problem at the start, but somewhere along the route, he had an altercation with an adventure bike that had somehow wandered onto the trail. Emergency repairs and he was gone! He climbed the hill next. Two Sherco riders so far…Â
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We knew that it was ‘race on’ and waited expectantly for Green, Teasdale and Slater who we’d seen on the previous pass. Along came Cody Webb. Three Sherco riders! Hollee Cow! Never seen before at The Roof Of Africa. Still no sign of the usual suspects… along came a Gold rider on a KTM. It was young James Moore from the Ride KTM Durban outfit. Warning shot fired!
The Iron class was led in by Fast KTM’s Nathaniel Do Amaral. He was chased in by Jack Brotherton and then Frans De Klerk.
Bronze Class was won by Thomas Bird. Louis-Bresler Knipe came in next, followed by Mike Morris.
Silver:Â
Saw Grant Burton-Durham on top, Kevin De Kok was then followed in by Tate Strouh.Â
It was one hell of a ride. The heat played a major factor, the riders really got their money’s worth.
So where were the other gold riders?
Well….
Chatting to Cody, he came up a climb and found Travis Teasdales bike and helmet, but… No Travis… It was so hot… Teasdale was dehydrated and trying to get his core temperature down in a shepherd’s hut.
The same thing happened to Slater. Matthew Green Found him lying under a bush and stayed with him to make sure that he was OK. Two international quality hard enduro riders down! This was certainly going to go down as a Roof to remember…
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William Gillit:
Thank you to everyone who made roof possible for me this year. Started 31st on Friday and had a good day finishing the Full gold route on Friday. Saturday I was with the last of the gold riders 15th to 20th and pushing hard but our average speed was way off to avoid the timebar .We weren’t dillydallying out on the track but we just needed to be faster and more efficient .@altie_1 thanks for all your hard work preparing all the trails. Will need a bit more training on the bicycle and gym to get another gold medal .
What happened with our moto GP stars?
Bru!Â
It looked like they were having a picnic as they climbed the final pass for the day.Â
Darryn (with a Y) just behind Brad… These guys….! Proof that your fitness is what really counts when it comes to racing…
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And that home grown PZ490?
We watched in amazement as it crested the mountain and came into the pits. As resilient as the Voortrekkers of old. Just…
 Faster.
Riders came through until late that evening. Nobody gets left behind! What a day! The Roof of Africa had claimed some pretty high profile victims thus far…Â
What would the final day bring?
Got a Roof of Africa experience you’d like to share? Send to info@motomedia.co.za and we might just make you famous…
More Roof news soon. Enjoy the pics below.
