KZN dominate Tour Durban

THE much anticipated aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race saw cyclists from around the country converge on Durban soil for the cycle race on Monday.

Reynard Butler and Lise Olivier were crowned new champions of the aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race as locally based teams dominated the 105km road race that saw plenty of aggressive, fast racing in ideal warm and mostly windless weather conditions.

Butler, who was installed as the heir apparent to triple champion Nolan Hoffman, was brought to the line perfectly by his Durban based Team Abantu team mates, and claimed his first ever classic title, on his debut ride in the Durban event.

Team Abantu managed their lead-in perfectly with Butler taking the win from teammate David Maree, with Under 23 star Thulasizwe Mxenge (InterActive) claiming the bronze medal ahead of Luthando Kaka (Bonitas). Defending champion Nolan Hoffman finished just off the bunch in seventh while Team Bonitas’ danger man Herman Fouche ended ninth.

“It felt like a dream to me, crossing the line to win my first classic,” said Butler.

The race started with some ferocious breaks, largely driven by the Team Abantu sprinters and climbers. Bonitas speedster HB Kruger got the jump on the Abantu men to win the King of the Mountain hotspot, while Abantu made up for that disappointment when David Maree clinched the second hotspot outside Umhlanga.

“It was flat out attack the whole time,” said Butler. “The pace was fast and there was pressure to stay with all the moves.”

He said that he had felt particular pressure because he had never done the race before, and therefore didn’t know what to expect. The unique finish with two sharp right hand turns over the Argyle Road bridge had been tricky in the seven rider bunch that was jockeying for position in the end-sprint.

The women’s race was tightly controlled by the newly formed team Time Freight VELOLife and by the time the race had turned in Pinetown there were only seven riders together, four of which were from the KZN team, with Jeannie Bomford, and Bestmed’s Monique Gerber trying to put on the pressure in a bid to wrestle control away from them.

Team Time Freight VELOLife worked together to set up the experienced Pretoria-based road star and team captain Lise Olivier to take the end sprint comfortably in the end.

“We tried to make it really hard on the first climb to Pinetown and we attacked there, but once we had gone over the top at Pinetown fortunately there were four of our team in the bunch of seven.

Oliver said that she was exposed by her lack of knowledge of the course. “I went at the bottom of the climb to Pinetown but I totally underestimated what a long climb it was!”

The 55km cyclo-cross race for Mountain Bike enthusiasts was won by former champion Andrew Hill (TIB Insurance). Hill streaked away alone at the front as soon as the race left the tar and hit the single track, and comfortably added the cyclo-cross scalp to the aQuellé Tour Durban MTB title he won several years ago, bringing his tally of wins at this event to four in five years.

Talented rider Travis Walker’s race ended with a puncture, largely because he gambled by using a cyclo-cross tyre that wasn’t able to withstand the hammering on the single track sections. Julian Jessop took the silver from Brian Powell.

Beside the many professional riders, many new cycling enthusiasts also enjoyed the race. Durban youngster, Ashlen Ramsaroop said the race was a “great” experience. “It was my first big race and I enjoyed it. I did the 45 km and was proud of my time.”

Exhausted friends John Mathers and Wade Pretorius said completing the 105 km road race was an excellent achievement.