The second round of the National Enduro season took place down in Port Elizabeth at Van der Kemp’s Kloof on the 28th April 2018.
About Van der Kemp’s Kloof Nature Reserve
The Van Der Kemp’s Kloof Trail starts at the historical Bethelsdorp Village (outside the Van der Kemp’s Kloof Church), the first missionary settlement in Port Elizabeth.
It proceeds up the kloof into wilderness atmosphere, returning along the plateau through botanically interesting grassy Fynbos, with magnificent views across the Swartkops Valley and Algoa Bay. 
The route
A very tough and demanding 35km loop, filled with loads of rock trails, awaited the riders on Saturday. The first lap was sure to be dusty as the riders took off in various groups, and five laps needed to be completed to finish the race.
Kyle Flanagan – 3rd in E1 category
“Firstly, I am super happy to be riding after my injury sustained at Round 1. I knew coming into this round, it was going to be tough and, so I started the first lap slow and steady, to build up to the finish. During the first lap I unfortunately took a wrong turn, which resulted in losing some time but once back on track, the laps went smooth. The track was very demanding and my fitness was down from not being able to train for the past couple of weeks. Five laps of 35km were completed and we came through the finish in a respectable 3rd place in the E1 class. I know that I have what it takes to challenge for the win and will be pushing hard at the next round to improve on our results.”
Blake Gutzeit – 2nd in E2 category
“I started on the 19th row so I knew dust was going to be a big factor on the first lap, so I had to calculate the risks for overtakes to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes. It was hard for me trying to overtake on the first lap, second was better but once I got to the third lap, the race was on. I managed to close the gap to Travis Teasdale, but coming into the fourth lap I felt a little lethargic and my reactions were a bit slow so I had to slow down a bit. I then filled up and fuelled my body and got going again to close down Teasdale, but managed to beat me by 40 seconds, which gave me second in E2 and second overall. A massive thanks to Yamaha and my Team!”
Bruce May – 5th in National Seniors
“I had a good battle with Bolle, and in the process took the wrong route at one of the splits. Realising my mistake, I stopped, and waited for Bolle to pass me to giveaway my advantage however, a crash on a technical climb at the end of the last lap resulted in failure to re-overtake Bolle. It was great racing, the track was hard on the hands, and definitely felt like we had done some work. Unfortunately my wrong-route taken caused me a 30min penalty which dropped me from second down to fifth.”
Denzil Torlage – 2nd in National Masters
“The first lap started quite intense with a lot of dust and a lot of riders to overtake. Coming into the second, the dust had settled somewhat but from passing so many riders early on, I started to get a bit tired and that’s when local rider, Steve Landman passed me for the lead of the race. I managed to settle into a good rhythm by lap three and held second position to the flag. The course was hectic and very demanding on the body.”
South Coast Bike Festival Super Enduro – 30 April 2018
Other news: South Coast Bike Festival Super Enduro
Two of our Bidvest bLU cRU Yamaha riders made the trip up to Margate to compete in the Super Enduro event held at the South Coast Bike Festival. Both Blake Gutzeit and Kyle Flanagan dominated proceedings with Blake Gutzeit taking the win, and Kyle Flanagan in second position.
