Pritzen pedals to top of podium yet again
Marc Pritzen had to compete against road rival Jason Oosthuizen one again, but this time the local lad was first across the finish line.
Local cyclist Marc Pritzen proved yet again why he’s the u-23 South African road champion on Friday after he won the gruelling Takealot Tour of Good Hope.
Pritzen probably saw little of the beautiful Cape Winelands during the five-stage race, as he managed to speed through the 490km in nine hours, 57 minutes and 15 seconds.
The former Hoërskool Kempton Park learner made sure he finished strong in the last stage of the race, tackling the uphill 66.7km outside Paarl in 1:43:03. Seconds behind him during this stage was Krugersdorp’s Jason Oosthuizen, who managed a time of 1:43:39.
This was not the first time the two racers made for a nail-biting finish. On February 23, Oosthuizen managed to beat Pritzen by centimetres in the Berge & Dale Cycling Road Race. Both cyclists were credited with a time of 2:29:09.
Pritzen also managed to walk away in second place in the King of the Mountain category, behind HB Kruger.
“I cannot thank my teammates enough because we are a fairly young outfit and the way they controlled the stages was fantastic,” Pritzen, a rider for OfficeGuru, said about his win.
He and his team had little time to waste after the race as they had to saddle up for the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
