This KwaZulu-Natal phenom first burst onto the scene in November 2012 when he became the youngest ever winner of the Roof of Africa in Lesotho… and he has done it again!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (04 December 2021) – Hard Enduro racer and Red Bull athlete Wade Young secured his 6th, 1st place finish at the 2021 Motul Roof Of Africa this past weekend in Lesotho.
Young, who took part in the Gold Class race of the 53rd edition of the competition, finished in a total time of 13:40:31, in very challenging weather conditions that saw the organisers of the event change the format on the final day.
After securing his 4th Roof Of Africa win in a row, Young said, “I’m really happy to win my 6th Roof, it was a proper test with the changing weather conditions, and a wet Roof is always going to test the mind and body, I’m just relieved it’s over, and now it’s time to celebrate a long year!”
This KwaZulu-Natal phenom first burst onto the scene in November 2012 when he became the youngest ever winner of the Roof of Africa in Lesotho.
Some would say that winning one of the toughest hard Enduro races on the planet so early on in your career is a fluke. But the manner in which he did it, beating second place by a full eleven minutes and finishing ahead of former winners such as 2011 victor Graham Jarvis (third) and three-time winner Chris Birch, speaks of a rider of class way beyond his years.
In 2013 (then aged 17), he won the South African Championship in the Senior Off-Road class and took the title in the under-21 class. He also put in credible finishes at Harescramble and Romaniacs and was runner-up in the iconic King of The Hill event.
Then in 2014, he took the big step up from heir apparent to main contender in the world of Hard Enduro. Not only did he win his second Roof of Africa title, but he also claimed both Ukupachu and King of the Hill Hard Enduro’s and stood on the podium at Red Bull Romainiacs and Sea to Sky.
On South African soil, he successfully defended his overall South African Enduro championship title.
2015 saw him once again focused on the World Hard Enduro circuit with a fourth-place at Romaniacs (he was on course for a much higher finish until he drowned his bike on the final stage), a third-place at Sea to Sky and a second at The Roof of Africa.
In 2016 he signed with Factory Sherco and started the year with a big win at Hell’s Gate. A crash at Sea To Sky (where he won the Forest Stage) saw him break a bone in his hand and put an unfortunate end to his season.
He bounced back in 2017, however, and so far has won the German Wiesel-X extreme enduro, King of the Hill Hard Enduro in Romania and the XL Lagares.
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He followed this up with an epic 2018 winning three of the major global hard enduro events this year, taking out Red Bull Romaniacs, Red Bull Megawatt 111 in Poland and Sea to Sky in Turkey, among a string of other podium results. He then capped the year off by successfully defending his Roof of Africa title.
2019 saw him start strong with a runner up finish at the Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal. Unfortunately, he spent some time on the sidelines during the middle of the season after having to withdraw from Red Bull Romaniacs due to a crash. He came back strong during the latter part, however, winning the American Hard Enduro Series (AHES) series as well as stringing together a host of big results around the globe, including second place at Sea to Sky, winning the Uncle Hard Enduro in South Borneo, Indonesia in late November and claiming the one-day Wildwood Rock Extreme earlier the same month. He also chalked up yet another Roof of Africa title – his fifth (and his third in a row). With that victory, Young cemented second place in the all-time Roof of Africa hall of fame ahead of Graham Jarvis (four victories) but getting closer to the legendary Alfie Cox, who has nine.
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