SA’s top cyclists do battle in Lowveld mountains

The Clover Lowveld Tour which ended on Sunday again saw cyclists of all age groups navigating the hills amid beautiful scenery. The quaint town of Graskop played host to this fifth five-day cycle tour.

Things got underway on Wednesday, when the elite men and u/23’s did a 155,2km-circle route starting in Graskop to Ohrigstad and Pilgrim’s Rest before finishing back in Graskop. JC Nel won the stage and would ultimately be the overall winner with a time of 16:10.06 over the 567,2km tour.

Here the strong suit of Jayde Julius emerged when he won the king of the mountain. He would go on to finish overall third (16:19.05). This put him a place behind Willie Smit (16:12.23), the best young rider of the first stage.

The next day saw riders complete a 27km time trial. Nel won in the elite category and Andrew Stockwell and Chad Short were the fastest veterans over 30 and 40 respectively, and Jandrich Kotze was the fastest junior.

Friday’s stage three saw the elite men complete a 156km-tour from Graskop to Sabie over Longtom and Brondal. Julius won the stage and sprint while Rourke Croeser was the king of the mountain.

The cyclists in the other categories went from Graskop to Hazyview and Sabie in a 108,5km loop. Jaco Ferreira was the fastest veteran over 30 with Joshua Abbott the junior winner.

The cyclists faced two stages on Saturday: a 7,3km Kowyn’s Pass hill climb followed by six laps totalling 127km for the elite men. Smith, Julius and James Fourie finished first to third on the day.
The tour ended with a 96km-trip starting in Graskop on Sunday. Riders rode up to Blyderivier before returning.

It was terribly windy resulting in a slower-than-expected race. Herman Fouché (2:46.46) finished first, followed by Calvin Beneke and Smith in third.

Among the female riders, Lise Olivier was the overall winner completing the total 347,5km in 11:10.14. She was followed by Dalene van der Leek (11:14.42) and Yolandi du Toit (11:21.16).

View more pictures here.