Hume hits the Silver Class roof

LOCAL endurance rider Calvin Hume ended his 2016 season off on a high, when beating a field of 171 riders to take the Silver Class in the 49th Roof of Africa race held in Lesotho recently.

The talented young rider, who peaked this season, claiming the WFO Liquorland Enduro title, National Enduro Championship title and KZN Cross Country title in the High School Class, added this prestigious title to his overflowing trophy cabinet.

The international event sponsored by Motul is known as the ‘mother of hard enduros’ and is ranked as one of the most difficult extreme races in the world.

This year saw no fewer than 25 international riders competing in the race, of which current world champion Graham Jarvis and world number two Alfredo Gomez were included in the star studded line-up.

This year’s entries were: 86 riders in the gold class, 172 in the silver class and 157 in the bronze class (total of 415).

The racing started off with a 56km time trial in the mountains to set the starting order for day two. Hume placed in the top 15.

Day two’s ride challenged competitors to complete a 121km track with mountain passes ‘Snake Bite’ and ‘Bushman’s’ having an altitude of 2160m above sea level.

Hume ended in the top bunch of gold riders and completed the day’s racing in first for the silver class, placing himself in the top 12 for the next day’s race.

The last day challenged riders to complete a 124km course which included Puke Pass, which tested riders’ strength and skills before heading to the finish line.

‘This was said to be one of the hardest Roofs to date, 301 kilometres of riding that saw top riders taking over 18 hours to complete the three days of racing,’ said Calvin’s father, Brett.

‘Calvin, coming from Zululand loved the hot conditions and rode a brilliant race, keeping up with the best in the world and South Africa.

‘Calvin is now set to do the gold class next year and will be racing for the KTM team next year.’

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