The Mpumalanga Cycle Tour, a seven-stage road cycle race that traverses Mpumalanga, will conclude at Loskop Dam, A Forever Resort, today.

Stage 1

Willie Smit, the 26-year-old Swiss-based Katusha-Alpecin rider won the first stage of this year’s race, which started on Friday.

Stage 2

Team NAD rider Nico Bell set the perfect pace to secure victory in the 42-kilometre individual time trial at Swadini, A Forever Resort on Saturday.

Stage 3

Sunday saw OfficeGuru rider Travis Barrett take the spoils in Blyde Canyon. He completed this 90,3-kilometre stage in a time of 2:31,32.

Stage 4

On Monday, day four of the race, Bell sprinted to another victory on stage four, which finished at Mbombela Stadium. He completed the stage in 3:40,03, winning in a bunch sprint finish. ProTouch’s Jayde Julius placed second, with NAD Pro’s Wessel Botha third. Fourth place went to Luso AC/DC’s Calvin Beneke, with OfficeGuru’s Marc Pritzen completing the top five.

Stage 5

ProTouch’s Rohan du Plooy, soloed to victory on stage five of the Mpumalanga Tour, which started and ended in White River on Tuesday.
Du Plooy, who only joined the Continental team at the end of last year, completed the stage in 3:29,31.
Pritzen finished second some three minutes later, while Smit came third.

Stage 6

On the second last day of the race, which took riders from Mbombela Stadium to Badplaas, Chris Jooste sprinted to victory on stage six of the tour. The Luso AC/DC rider crossed the finish line after 2:18,33, with OfficeGuru’s Alexander Worsdale second.

The stage was shortened from 97 to 82 kilometres for safety reasons. A vehicle accident resulted in diesel and oil being spilled on the route.
The official start was at the bottom of Hilltop with the first King of the Mountains (KOM) cancelled.

The results of stage 7 is not yet known.

These were top 10 riders after the first six stages
1. Matt Beers (NAD Pro) 15:16:58
2. Willie Smit (Katusha-Alpecin) 15:19:01
3. Wessel Botha (NAD Pro) 15:20:45
4. Dylan Girdlestone (OfficeGuru) 15:21:08
5. Marc Pritzen (OfficeGuru) 15:21:33
6. Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 15:23:58
7. Alexander Worsdale (OfficeGuru) 15:30:37
8. Chris Jooste (Luso AC/DC) 15:32:07
9. Gawie Combrinck (NAD Pro) 15:32:35
10. Devin Shortt (Luso AC/DC) 15:34:28

Results obtained from In The Bunch