Karkloof Classic could be a youth revolution

The KZN mountain bike landscape has seen a substantial and noticeable changing of the guard in 2023, and Daniel van der Watt is leading the charge of the new brigade into the Karkloof Classic.

Young gun Van der Watt is a strong favourite to win the Sappi Karkloof Classic.

Van der Watt leading the charge toward Karkloof glory

The 19-year-old DriveTrain Academy rider credits his success in 2023 to a move with his family from Pietermaritzburg to Ballito on the KZN North Coast, and the resultant change in coach which has allowed him to “find the love for mountain biking again”.

The tall, strong rider adds that the new coaching philosophy from Tyronne White means he is “not worrying about the numbers as much and having a lot more fun on the bike.”

The new outlook is clearly paying dividends and Van der Watt has this year picked up marathon wins at the Illovo Wartburg Classic in February, and the New Hanover MTB and aQuellé Tour Durban in May. He has also dominated the tough cross country scene and won the opening two rounds of the KZN MTB XCO series and is clearly the rider to beat at the third leg at Cascades on Sunday.

“My family moved to the coast recently and I moved with them, so it just made sense to change coaches and I am now training with Tyronne at DriveTrain Academy,” said the rising star.

“Tyronne organises a group of us to ride together two or three times a week and we go out and enjoy the trails, and so we are not staying in set training zones as much.

“Last year I was training on my own a lot more which meant riding to set numbers and training zones. Of course now, on the days we are doing intervals, we are looking at hitting the right numbers, but on the other days we are pushing hard when we feel good and if we are not feeling great we can back off a bit.

“I have really found the love for mountain biking again this year and that is why I am doing better I think.”

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Trails await

Van der Watt is looking forward to a good ride and continuing his dominance in KZN when he tackles the Karkloof trails on May 28th, but is aware he faces a tough challenge. His task is made even more difficult because he is competing in a South African XCO Cup event in Bloemfontein the day before.

“The Sappi Karkloof Classic is a big goal for me this year. I want to try and win the bigger marathon events in KZN this year and Karkloof is one of the biggest.

“I think on my form so far this year I have a good chance to win in Karkloof but after travelling back from Bloemfontein I think my legs may be a bit sore so if will not be easy.”

The Sappi Karkloof Classic Trail Festival 2023 will take place on Saturday 27, and Sunday, 28 May.