Winning is a habit for local cyclist Deno

Local cyclist Deno van Heerden took top spot in the Telkom 94.7 Cycling Challenge in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Van Heerden, who owns Performance BikeFit in Ballito and races for BMS Cycling, has made winning a habit.

This year alone he has won his category in the Amashova Classic, Midmar Notts, Toti 69er and the World Champs in Perth Australia, not to mention holding the KZN TT Title, SA TT title and being named the KZN cyclist of the year.

Now he can add the Telkom 94.7 Classic to his list of accomplishments.

Van Heerden told The Courier that conditions were ideal during the Telkom 94.7 Classic, though having to race at altitude can sometimes feel like “trying to suck in air through a straw.”

The race started at a good pace, with two cyclists making a break-away after only 5km and holding their lead for most of the day.

“A two man break away was always going to be a tall order to stay away in such good and fast racing conditions,” Van Heerden said.

With about 14km to go Van Heerden and the rest of the pack reeled the two break-away cyclists in.

“This was followed by some big efforts and attacks which definitely softened the legs of most the riders just before entering Steyn City.”

“With 8km to go the bunch had truly strung out now, and it was definitely going to come down to the last two energy sapping climbs.”

In the last 6km Van Heerden and four others managed to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the cyclists.

“The pace on the climbs was intense,” he said.

With about 500m to go before the finish line another cyclist broke from the group, with Van Heerden short on his tail and gunning for the lead.

“When I saw that 200m sign flash past us I thought he had it, but I managed to catch him and take the lead with only 30m left.”

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.