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All content © Bob MuIIins |
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 Roof
of Africa 2016 Date Announcement
Extreme Off Road Promotions have pleasure in announcing that the dates
for the 2016 Roof of Africa have been confirmed as follows:
Graham Jarvis claims victory at the Roof of Africa Saturday’s final stage of the 2015 Roof of Africa was set to have some close racing with the first four riders, all within a minute of overall leader, Wade Young and it didn’t disappoint. Shorty after the start, all four riders had regrouped and it looked like it was going to be another game of cat and mouse like Friday’s stage. Graham Jarvis was happy to let Travis Teasdale do the navigation and was biding his time before they reached the big mountain passes. Jarvis played a perfect tactical game and his confidence in his own ability was evident as he let Wade Young, Teasdale and Swanepoel all race out of the neutral refuel, towards the first serious pass of the day. Jarvis took his time but it wasn’t long before he had moved into the lead going up Mokopu Pass, by the top he was nearly 6 minute up on Wade Young who was pulling away from both Teasdale and Swanepoel. The Roof is know as one of the hardest enduro’s in the world because of the endless, in your face, technical terrain and Saturday was no exception, straight after cresting Mokopu Pass the riders were send up Flying Sheppard Pass which summited at nearly 9000ft. Jarvis continued to build on his lead going up the loose rocky pass, before dropping into the green valleys below. Brett Swanepoel and Travis Teasdale were matching each other move for move and managed to gain back some time on Young going up Flying Sheppard. Meanwhile further back on Mokopu Pass, Altus De Wet was moving up towards Kenny Gilbert and Jade Gudzeit. Temperatures were rising and Gudzeit was also managing issues with his cooling system, cresting Mokopu Pass in a cloud of white steam. Jarvis had pulled a 20 minutes gap on Wade Young after Hard Rock Pass and arrived at the final DSP on a blistering pace. He maintained his lead back to the finish to claim his 3rd Roof of Africa title in front of a typically animated Roof of Africa crowd. Wade Young came in just under 20 min later, still with enough energy to pull a spectacular wheelie up the final climb for his home crowd. Travis Teasdale and Brett Swanepoel were pushing hard for the finished, just over 2 minutes behind Young and swopping back and forth coming into the final climb. Swanepoel snuck in front on the last track and just pipped Teasdale to the line.
Graham Jarvis: “It feels great to get the win at the Roof of Africa. It’s an incredible event, and this year was as tough as ever. I’ve learned lot over the years and I know I’m not as quick as the younger riders on the faster sections, so this year it was all about taking my time and waiting for the more technical sections. The first two days were really about putting myself in the right position for the final day. At the start of the final day I decided to stay behind the guys ahead of me at first. I let them do some of the navigating, and saved some energy. Last year I ran out of energy, so I didn't want to make that mistake again. Once we arrived at the difficult hill climbs I gave it everything I had. I knew that was where I could make up time, and things went to plan. The Roof of Africa certainly doesn't get any easier, but to end 2015 with a win here is a great way to finish off the season.” Words: Greg Miller Pictures: Greg Miller
Travis Teasdale wins Day 2 of the 2015 Roof of Africa The Roof of Africa is known as the Mother of Hard Enduro and it has produced a generation of incredibly talent young South African Hard Enduro riders. Friday’s first full day stage, of the 2015 Roof of Africa was the perfect showcase of these young talents. Wade Young was first out the start shoot with a 5 m 21 sec over 2nd place, after his convincing victory in the Time Trial of Thursday. Roof of Africa veteran Jade Gudzeit was closely followed by Yamaha teammates Brett Swanepoel while Kenny Gilbert had a 3 min deficit. Altus De Wet and Graham Jarvis left the start shoot over 9 minutes behind Young and it wasn’t long before Jarvis started moving up the field. Today’s stand out rider was South African, youngster Travis Teasdale who started in 10th place nearly 14 minutes back. Young held a steady lead for the first 50km, however Jarvis, Teasdale and Swanepoel were all on the move and were slowly gaining on Young. Bye the time they reached the second DSP just outside Ramabanta, Young’s lead was less than 3 minutes and Teasdale was leading a group that contained himself, Graham Jarvis and Brett Swanepoel. Shortly after DSP 2 Teasdale’s group made contact with Young and, a four way battle for the lead ensued, for the next 50km. Graham Jarvis looked very comfortable on the course and looked like he may be biding his time before Saturday’s final stage. Navigational mistakes hampered any attempts at trying to pull a gap on the group and he was happy to follow in 2nd place. Travis Teasdale had the navigation dialed in and was often the rider leading at the front of the pack. Wade Young looked to be in a bit of difficulty at the top of the Whispering Death Pass but quickly recovered on the descent and made his way to the front of the pack as the terrain opened up and the speeds picked up. Jarvis was noticeably slower, on the high-speed sections, leading towards the finish line and he will have to hope that tomorrow is significantly harder than today if he is going to be able to get away and maintain a lead over the 3 young South Africans. On the run into the finish, Young moved back into first position and was
pushing hard to try gain a small advantage over his rivals. The first four
riders all finished within 48 sec of Young and it’s more than likely that
this group with quickly reform after the start tomorrow morning. With temperature’s rising through the day, many of the riders further down the field began to fall victim to the heat, with a handful of competitors having to be treated for dehydration. Day 2 Time Results: 1st: Travis Teasdale 2nd Graham Jarvis 3rd Brett Swanepoel 4th Kenny Gilbert 5th Wade Young 6th Jade Gudzeit 7th Bronson Louw 8th Marc Torlage 9th Altus De Wet 10th Henco Botha Day 2 Overall Results: 1st: Wade Young 2nd Travis Teasdale 3rd Brett Swanepoel 4th Graham Jarvis 5th Jade Gudzeit 6th Kenny Gilbert 7th Altus De Wet 8th Bronson Louw 9th Dwayne Kleynhans 10th Henco Botha Words: Greg Miller |
Day 3 Overall Results: 1st: Graham Jarvis 2nd Wade Young 3rd Brett
Swanepoel 4th Travis Teasdale 5th Jade Gudzeit 6th Kenny Gilbert 7th Altus
De Wet 8th Henco Botha 9th Dwayne Kleynhans 10th Wesley Redinger 