Back-to-back victory for Klopper at Ride for Sight

Christiaan Klopper fought off a four-man strong attack in a cat-and-mouse sprint to the finish to defend his Dis-Chem Ride for Sight men’s title at Boksburg City Stadium on February 15.

The Tshenolo Pro Cycling rider put himself in contention for back-to-back victories in the 125km race with an unyielding assault on the sharp turn into the stadium before winning the thrilling sprint to the finish, crossing the line in 02:45:14.

“We always have good luck in this race. This is the fifth year I’m on the podium and the second year winning it. Team Tshenolo really loves this race. We love coming out here. It really suits us,” he said.

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After relentless work with his teammates in the first half of the event, Klopper joined a breakaway party of 11 riders 90km into the race on the climb into Heidelberg.

With a depleted team of only four riders, Team Tshenolo was completely outnumbered in the bunch. However, the defending champion and his captain, last year’s runner-up Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, stuck to their plan of being part of every move made by the peloton.

With the numbers against them, they avoided taking any risks, choosing to allow the bunch to do the bulk of the work.

With a strong tailwind on the stretch towards Carnival City, the race was split into five, and the quintet raced all the way to the finish, with Klopper securing victory ahead of Janse van Rensburg, with Ryno Schutte taking the third wheel.

“We knew there were a couple of fast guys in the bunch. Reinardt and I tried to make it as hard as possible to get ahead of them. After that, there were a couple of moves that were made. Eventually, one stuck.

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“Reinhardt wasn’t originally a part of it. He came over to us, and the five of us went all the way to the finish,” said Klopper.

On the sprint to the finish, a carbon copy of the way the 2025 race finished, Klopper said, “It’s exactly the same as last year. Reinardt let the wheel go a little bit, and nobody could come back again.”

Janse van Rensburg, a previous winner of the race and a Tour de France and Vuelta â Espana competitor, lauded the team, saying they used the windy conditions and knowledge of the finishing straight to their advantage.

“I’m very proud. We started with only four guys today. Other team members are going to Rwanda this week. We were outnumbered, but we used the conditions to our advantage.

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“I think the experience counted, especially after last year, knowing exactly how the finish works. It was a big advantage this year,” he said.

Asked about their team tactics, the 37-year old two-time national road champion said their plan was to stick with the bunch and watch every move being made.

“It was important for us not to miss any important moves. We wanted to be in all the moves. When we reached Suikerbosrand, the wind was a little bit to the side, I said to the team that three of us should go. That made a big split. It was only Christiaan and me in the big move.

“We were still outnumbered by Luso ACDC Pro Cycling and Team Nessa. But coming into the last 30km, the wind suited us. That’s where we split the race into five again.”