Seasoned Team ENZA/PBC rider David Maree rode to one of the most illustrious victories of his career at the Bestmed Tshwane Classic on Sunday – with a broken finger.

Defending champion Dylan Girdlestone from the Office Guru team attacked with two kilometres to go and only Maree followed him, but nobody else followed. So, climax of the race was therefore a battle between these two riders.

“I was amazed that nobody reacted. I knew I had to go. I went hard to get to him and thankfully bridged the gap. With 500 metres to go I wacked it and managed to get the jump on Dylan. I was amazed that I managed to stay away,” said Maree afterwards.

Maree rode in solo with 10 metres separating him from Girdlestone.

Two weeks ago, Maree crashed and broke his finger. He had surgery on the finger a week ago, but his only light-hearted response after Sunday’s race was that he fortunately does not need fingers to pedal.

Nick James rounded off the men’s podium with Travis Barret coming in fourth and Jason Oosthuizen fifth.

In the women’s race Kim le Court got the jump on the field in the final 300 metres, claiming a well-deserved win for Demacon. Her teammate and defending champion, Carla Oberholzer, came in second with Jo van der Winkel in third.

In a wonderful gesture the pro teams announced at the prize giving function that they are donating their prize money to the event charities.

On the day after South Africa’s rugby players made the country proud, South Africa’s recreational and professional cyclists didn’t disappoint either on Sunday with the streets of Pretoria being closed for the day to host the city’s signature mass participation ride.

The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Steven Mokgalapa, also got in on the act. He took part in the 20km route option and engaged with cyclists for almost two hours at the start line.

“This is such a wonderful occasion for Tshwane, and we are committed to growing this event as our big cycling day. We will ensure that the Bestmed Tshwane Classic remains an annual event on the city’s calendar and that it receives the city’s full support,” said Mokgalapa.

In the heat of the action the elite men took the wrong split at the bottom of the Tom Jenkins climb, where the 50km route option continued straight, and bypassed the climb, but it didn’t damp the excitement of the day’s festivities.

“We would like to thank the city for helping us to create this wonderful day for cyclists. This event has been an amazing journey and we have worked tirelessly with the Tshwane Metro to try and ensure a controlled riding environment in the city and in Centurion,” said event organiser Mauritz Meyer.

Meyer also said the route control in the city has again improved from last year and they are happy that the route tweaks enabled this.

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