Words & Photo: ETdotKomm
“Yes, I really enjoyed it,” were the words of the tall 16-year-old Pietermaritzburg scholar, Travis Teasdale, when asked if it was possible to enjoy the extremely tough and challenging three-day ‘Roof of Africa’ enduro race that took place in horrendous weather conditions in Lesotho.
It was the 2013 Junior National Off-road Champion’s first ‘Roof’ attempt and an event that will go down in the history of the modern ‘Roof of Africa’ as a very wet and slippery race that not only tested the riders’ abilities and skills, but also their determination and perseverance.
The young Teasdale, a Grace College student who competed for the first time for Team Brother Broadlink KTM, started Day Two on Friday in sixth place after posting a fast time at the 45km time-trial. After six hours and 42 minutes on a wet saddle, he completed the day in 15th place overall – he injured his leg when he crashed, but the words ‘giving up’ are not in his vocabulary and he pushed hard till the end.
When yet another misty and rainy day greeted them on Saturday morning, he was up for the task ahead despite still suffering from his leg injury. The 120 odd kilometre route was changed somewhat due to the incessant rain that kept on falling through the night, but the slippery rocks and muddy roads did not keep him back as he enjoyed the challenge. Unfortunately his service crew missed him at the first service point – many crews and riders missed each other due to the traffic jams on the gravel roads – and he ran out of snacks, but his good friend and coach, William ‘Wild Will’ Gillitt (he finished his umpteenth ‘Roof’ in 13th place) shared his food with him and Teasdale was good to go again!
After racing for just over 10 hours on Saturday, Travis received the chequered flag as a signal that he has finished his first ‘Roof of Africa’ and he is already looking forward to many more. His total race time for the three days, were 18 hours and just over 14 minutes putting him in 15th place overall (only one minute separates him from Wynand Badenhorst in 14th place...)
Teasdale was in the company of some of the world’s best extreme enduro riders with the UK rider, Graham Jarvis taking victory for the second time while the Kiwi, Chris Birch, who lived and raced in South Africa for two years and coached the youngsters, finished second. Teasdale’s team-mate, Scott Bouverie, was third.
Now it’s back to school and exams while the planning and training for the 2014 racing season continue.
