Panorama tests riders’ skills
Barend Burger and Ian Pienaar of team Demacon-Europcar secured the overall win in this year's four-day MTN Panorama Tour at Casterbridge, White River.
The formidable young duo in the men’s section, who led the standings since stage one on Saturday, finished six minutes ahead of Franco Ferreira and Trevor Davies in a time of 09:40;08, which was essentially fast enough to take home the yellow jersey.
Ferreira and Davies of Complete Cyclist, in the sub-veteran section, were not in best form on the road during the first two stages but worked hard enough to secure a runners-up finish overall in a time of 09:46;15. The final stage – the 36km time trial – was an uphill battle for the teams still in the running for top honours in the general classification.
However, Burger and Pienaar held their nerve in an exciting finish despite coming in second behind Henry Uys and Mike Hewan.
Third on the overall standings were the competitive duo of Stephane Reyneke and Wesley Eslick representing Bestmed ASG Men, who consistently kept themselves closely behind the wheels of the winners from stage one.
The Garmin and Bells Cycling pair of Yolandi du Toit and Dalene van der Leek, who rode phenomenally in the heat, maintained their momentum to take home the winner’s jersey and gold medal in the women’s race.
Second in this section were An-li Kachelhoffer and Anli Smith.
John Wakefield and Anriette Schoeman were crowned champions in the mixed section for the second year in succession in an overall time of 10:06;34.
In the masters section, Jose Antunes and Leon Olivier were the best riders and champions in the over 50s, after claiming all the stages since day one. Their overall time was 10:03;59.
The 2014 edition of the MTN Panorama Tour, now in its ninth year, saw team MTN Qhubeka pro-continental superstars, Andreas Stauff, Tsgabu Grmay and John-Lee Augustyn also participating – this time as teammates for MTN Business clients.
Tight finish on day two of an uphill battle at the ninth MTN Panorama Tour
