SUNDAY’S aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race proved to be a memorable one for Travis Stedman and Joanna van de Winkel who won the men’s and women’s 110km events respectively.

It was Stedman’s first-ever Tour Durban title while Van de Winkel, who has been the dominant force at this event in recent years, claimed a second successive title.

Stedman (Toyota Specialized) claimed a narrow victory over defending champion Josh Rheeders (Luso ACDC Pro Cycling Team) and another local Scott Blount (Leigh’s Cycle Centre) who finished second and third respectively.

“I tried to break up the team guys on the way up the uMdloti climb on the first lap, and we got it down to about 10 guys,” said Stedman. “And then on the last lap I did the same thing and only two guys could follow.

“In the end I managed to pull it off in the sprint, so I’m really happy with that. It was the first win on the road for me with my new Toyota Specialized team, which is cool, so I am very happy.”

Rheeders tried his best to keep the title he won last year in a group sprint, but admitted Stedman was the best on the day.

“I came to defend my title and I took second, so I can’t be too unhappy with that,” said the 2024 winner. “I just didn’t have the legs againt Travis in the sprint.”

In the women’s race, defending champion Van de Winkel admitted she was not as competitive this year, but was still able to notch her fourth victory in the road race.

While her win over Linda Potts and Durban North’s Kadence Ribbink was relatively easy, it was not without some late drama.

“I have not been training as much this year as in the past, and when some of the men’s elite riders went away on the first lap I thought it was a bit early, so I was not positioned right and ended up in the second group.

“It was a nice group and we paced hard and I was able to contribute with some pulls in the front, but when we came to the sprint there was a crash and I went into somebody who had fallen. I was the only woman in the group and I could have hung back, but I am too competitive and wanted to sprint the guys and so I got caught up in the crash,” she said.

Van de Winkel had to walk her damaged bike across the line with a bloodied arm and torn shirt and shorts.

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