Team South Africa wins the Int. GS Trophy.
After eight days of competition and approximately 2,500 kilometres of unforgettable riding action, the Int. GS Trophy 2020 is finally over, with Team South Africa crowned winners of the seventh edition of this unique amateur adventure riding event for BMW GS riders across the globe.
Battling right until the finish line.
Battling right until the finish line.
The final riding day from Wanaka to Queenstown took riders through the famous Nevis Valley (New Zealand’s highest road) with multiple water crossings of considerable depth – too deep in fact for the media support vehicles, which needed to bypass the first stage. This first special – entitled ‘Jerrycan Challenge’ – required riding and load-carrying skills of the highest order!
Three-way challenge.
Three-way challenge.
With the top three teams separated by just nine points going into this last day, there was everything to gain – or lose – at the second and final competition stage of the 2020 Int. GS Trophy, especially as double points were being awarded for this tricky parkour course at Coronet Peak ski station. You could feel the tension in the air, as the team that made the least mistakes and dealt with the pressure best over the course of the day would win the Int. GS Trophy.
There can be only one.
There can be only one.
Even at the conclusion of this final parkour, none of the participants were able to predict whether the South Africans, French or Italians were the ones that had done enough to lift the Trophy. A painful wait was therefore endured by all until the final results were revealed during the closing ceremony. In the end it was Team South Africa who emerged victorious on 394 points, with France and Italy finishing on the podium as worthy Trophy contenders in second (382) and third place (380).
Although the Int. GS Trophy has reached its conclusion, the stories told, the memories made and the friendships formed will live on for a long time in the minds and hearts of all those involved in this unforgettable event for GS fans worldwide.
