The UFO at the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The car that fell from the sky at Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
That is a lot of bakkies. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A rider joins the action at the Tankwa Padstal before heading out again. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Another rider pulling in at waterpoint 4 at Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The workshop at the Tankwa Padstal doubles as a bar. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Another rider pulls in at the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
It was a scorcher of a day at the News24 Karoo Burn. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Don't look now! You might start seeing things at the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Just park here. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A close-up of a race number on a bike. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Lone rider. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The wind made the News24 Karoo Burn extra tough this year. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Friends, family, and fans welcome riders as they pull in at Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
All done at waterpoint 4, now to take on the legendary Katbakkies. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A stop at waterpoint 4 at the News24 Karoo Burn. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Two is better than one. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The lads still looking good as they pull into the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The perfect spot for a mid-race photo oppportunity. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A photo with the car that fell from the sky at the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A celebratory hands-free ride at the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Another rider pulls in at the Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
It's always great to have a buddy when doing the News24 Karoo Burn. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The bicycles need a rest too. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
168km into the race at Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Riders pulling into Tankwa Padstal. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Turn right here and Katbakkies lies straight ahead. Let the climb begin. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
The wind made the last stretch extra tough. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Next stop Winkelhaak. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A road sign at waterpoint 5. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Another rider coming down Katbakkies to waterpoint 5. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Coming down Katbakkies to waterpoint 5. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
A quick rest before the last stretch to Winkelhaak and then the finish at Kaleo Guest Farm. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
Even the bikes need a rest at Rietrivier's waterpoint 5. (Photo: Herman Eloff/News24)
What a weekend. Riders faced some tough conditions to complete the News24 Karoo Burn 2023 race this weekend.
I joined our cycling editor, Lance Branquinho, out in the Tankwa and saw the legendary Katbakkies for myself.
"You ride, and then you think you're at the top, and then you get there, and there's another climb waiting, and then another, and another," one exhausted and dust-covered rider told his wife as he was munching down a post-race hot dog.
In the end, it was Dusty Day and Yolande de Villiers who emerged victorious in a war of attrition against the wind, as much as against the brutal R355 gravel road.
The 242-kilometre-long race from Calvinia to Kaleo Guest Farm, near Ceres, took on the longest, straight, uninterrupted gravel road in the country. If that was not challenge enough, a southerly wind blew all day, providing a stiff headwind for the entire course.
"Long… headwind… hot…. tough…." Day puffed on the finish line. "Ja, dit was hard!" ("Yes, it was tough!")
"We [Day, CP van Wyk, Jaco Davel and Bennie Viljoen] all worked together against the wind," Day expanded. "There was no point in trying to do anything alone. We all know the race would be made after the Tankwa Padstal on Katbakkies Pass."
“It was an absolutely brutal day with virtually no free kilometres,” News24 cycling editor Lance Branquinho said. "Wind is any rider's worst adversary, and it was relentless to the end. Even the strongest riders finished way slower than they anticipated."
Despite all the challenging conditions, the News24 Karoo Burn was undoubtedly a success. Ultra-endurance racing is, after all, not meant to be easy.
WATCH A VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND HERE:
