Toni trains abroad
After taking part in the first two rounds of the Women’s World Enduro Cup, Toni Jardine, was invited by the family of one of her fellow competitors, Juliette Berrez, to train in France ahead of the French WEC (World Enduro Cup) GP which will be held in the Cantal Region in the Medieval Hamlet of Saint Flour this week from Friday to Sunday.
With the assistance of KTM SA and Ron Bailey from Springs based Roost KTM who arranged for Toni’s 2014 bike to be sent to France so she could train on it, Toni has had the privilege to train in the Rhone Alps and to take part in one of France’s most popular three day races, the Aveyronnaise Classic Enduro. This event takes place in the Aveyron Region in South Central France where riders start in the north and end in the south three days later, completing a distance of 750kms and taking part in 12 specials.
This year saw five women enter the event with Toni being the only international female rider.
With terrain similar to Natal, Toni says that there were many steep up and down hills and forest sections. The specials were fast and mostly grass with lots of corners which was good training for Toni ahead of the WEC race.
Toni managed to win some specials and took second place on all three days and second place over all in the ladies class and finished up 174th out of a field of 400 riders.
This incredible experience has allowed Toni to compete against some of the best female riders and will stand her in good stead upon her return to SA to reach even higher goals locally.
Toni would like to thank MSA (Motorsport SA) for assisting her in obtaining funding from FIM (Fédération Internationale De Motocyclisme) to compete in the 2013 WEC races and Springs’ Ron Bailey from Roost KTM along with Franziska Brandl from KTM SA for arranging her bike abroad.
