Hard work pays off for Toni

Toni Jardine’s campaign at the FIM Women’s World Enduro Championship (WEC) came to an end this past weekend as she competed in the final round in Brioude, France.

The Edenvale resident felt confident going into the last event and it showed as she achieved her best results to date in the WEC Championship.

She arrived in Brioude on Tuesday night and spent the whole of Wednesday and some of Thursday walking the specials routes.

They looked great and she could not wait to get started. Friday she managed to test the bike and get her suspension correctly set up ahead of the Super Test on Friday night.

The Super Test has been one of Toni’s biggest challenges and getting stuck in the rock garden twice, despite no other mistakes, left her behind.

You cannot afford to make any mistakes in the Super Test.

Saturday kicked off in an excellent fashion and Toni managed a sixth place finish in the Cross Test, which was a fast section on the side of a hill, only 30 seconds behind Laia Sanz.

It boosted Toni’s confidence and she knows her hard work is paying off.

She lost some time in the Extreme Test with its tricky sections. She just could not stay on the bike and because of too many falls, she dropped a few positions.

The Enduro Test, which was long and flowing and had two massive sandy climbs, did not make matters better as she was stuck behind one of the other ladies and did not have any opportunities to pass. She finished off the day in 10th position.

Sunday was a great day for Toni and it proved that consistency pays off.

Toni kept it on two wheels with solid riding in most of the specials and was rewarded with an eighth place finish at the end of the day.

Toni finished the Championship with a hard-earned 12th overall out of 26 ladies.

She said Brioude was her best international race so far and has just fuelled her motivation that her hard work will keep paying off as she can see the results getting better each time.

“I just want to say a huge thank you to Ludivine Puy for being there for the ladies at every round of the World Enduro Championship. For those who do not know Lulu, she is the first Women World Champ and the one who introduced women into the World Championships.

Lulu is there at every race to help the women and ride the course before, to make sure it is okay for us. Thank you Lulu, for all the help, support, advice and motivation at every race and each special test,” said Toni.

Toni now heads to the last National Off Road Race before she heads to Argentina for the ISDE.