Known as the mother of hard enduro, the recent Roof of Africa certainly lived up to its reputation of being one of the toughest races on the calendar. Under scorching summer sunshine competitors faced three days of the toughest terrain. It was a race where only the strongest survived.

Proving his worth in a line up that included the majority of the world’s elite hard enduro riders, KTM’s Altus de Wet delivered a stunning performance. After almost 18 hours of competition and covering over 450km, the young South Africa claimed the runner-up position behind fellow countryman Wade Young. But it was a result that didn’t come easy.

Following a steady start to day one’s qualification runs, de Wet found himself in sixth position and outside of the top five. Now with five riders in front of him, the chase began on day two as the 400-strong entry tackled the 250km course that awaited. Quickly finding his rhythm in the extremely hot and physically demanding conditions, the KTM rider steadily worked his way through the field to finish day two in third overall. Ending his day just 26 seconds behind Husaberg’s Graham Jarvis, de Wet was right in podium contention.

“Day two was really tough, but I knew the third and final day was going to be the hardest of all,” recalled de Wet. “The most technical mountain passes were still waiting for us so nothing was certain at the point.”

Unfazed by the calibre of competition around him, de Wet continued to push hard on the final day of racing. Catching up to Jarvis, the duo swapped positions for the majority of the 150km long trail before de Wet worked his way clear of the Husaberg rider on the final climb to claim the runner up position.

“I’m extremely happy with my result,” remarked de Wet following the podium celebrations. “This year’s Roof of Africa was tough so to end it on the podium with second overall has been a massive achievement. It’s been a great end to a brilliant season.”