Tour Durban crowns new champions
There were more than 3 000 entrants from riding communities across Durban who took part in ‘Durban’s Favourite Weekend of Cycling’.
JOSH Rheeders claimed his first-ever victory at this year’s aQuellé Tour Durban men’s cycle race title in Durban on Sunday, with Upper Highway star cyclist Joanna van de Winkel claiming the women’s title.
Van de Winkel (Sandton City Cycle Nation cycling team) collected four trophies after Sunday’s road race as she made up for the disappointment of finishing second in Saturday’s 40km mountain bike race.
“I was quite disappointed after the mountain bike. I thought I had won on Saturday, but when we went off track, I did not know where I was when I joined again. So that was a bit disappointing, but today made up for it,” Van de Winkel said.
Rheeders from the Luso ACDC Pro Cycling team was a dominant force in the lead group and timed his finishing sprint to perfection to come out of a big group of riders to claim his first Tour Durban win.
“I am very happy with this win. It was very tactical today. There was one team with six riders, and they were kind of messing us around all race. I was in a move on the last lap, and then it all came back together, so I then sat in until the sprint, and I took it from a long way out as we hit the descent. With the tailwind, I was able to carry it to the finish,” he said.
Fast-paced action in MTB race
In Saturday’s aQuellé Tour Durban 40km MTB race powered by Cycle Lab, Tyronne White showed his prowess on the bike, claiming the top spot.
The 40km race, which started and finished near Cornubia Mall, was dominated by White and riders he coaches, and he led home a DriveTrain Academy clean-sweep of the top four positions.
The women’s race was also a triumph for DriveTrain, with young Madison Bateson, who rode the 40km for the first time after winning the 20km last year, produced the shock of the day. She edged out last year’s winner, Joanna Van De Winkel.
“It is such a nice race,” said White after crossing the line. “It is a hard race and a bit of a different kind of race because you are hard on the pedals the whole way. My average power for the ride is really high.”
In the trail run at the same venue, Ewoud Grobler and Nokukhanya Meyiwa proved too strong for their rivals in the 20km event, and they wrote a small piece of history by winning the first event aQuellé Tour Durban Trail titles.
About 3 000 entries from the huge riding communities in the greater Durban area – from Ballito and uMhlanga in the north, to the Berea, Bluff and South Coast riders in the south, to the Pinetown and Kloof in the West – took part in the ‘Durban’s Favourite Weekend of Cycling’.
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