How To Get Ahead During Lockdown with Ike Klaassen

Stellenbosch – Ike Klaassen is a 16-year-old Dutch/South African who has been dominating the local junior mountain bike downhill scene and earned himself a few titles in Europe over the past few years. Ike is one of South Africa’s top riders and also spends quite a lot of time overseas competing, to great success.

When in South Africa he has a private track to practice on – the Hellsend Dirt Compound – which can be found on the farm where he lives in Stellenbosch. When he got wind of the upcoming Lockdown, he and fellow rider Theo Erlangsen, who were both overseas at the time, had to make tracks to get back home in time.

“One month before Lockdown I went to Europe with Theo. We went to Portugal and Spain, and we were racing there,” recalled Ike. “Then everything happened super-sudden and super-drastic. We had to get out of Portugal really quickly. We made it back into South Africa with one day to spare before the airports shut down. So I ended up hanging with him for a good couple of months here at the farm. We have been riding together the whole time and training together.

Despite being in Europe as everything started going down, the two made it back before the world shut down, and proceeded to set up their Lockdown lives on the farm where Ike lives. 

“We were perfectly set-up for Lockdown, pretty much, with Hellsend Dirt Compound in our back yard,” said Ike. “It’s filled with dirt jumps, perfectly shaped by a trail builder called Justin Novella. We also had Duran Van Eeden staying here, and he builds all the downhill trails. We had everything we needed to keep fit and healthy and to keep training.”