ProTouch take on Portugal with determination
Stage 3 of the Volta AO Alentejo – Volta A Portugal saw Gustav finish in sixth place on Friday, March 18.
March 16 marked the start of the Volta AO Alentejo – Volta A Portugal for ProTouch Continental Cycling’s six-man line-up.
The team included Gustav Basson, Kent Main, Tiano da Silva, Callum Ormiston, Rohan du Plooy and Samuel Mugisha representing Africa along with fellow continental riders Chris Jnr Jooste and BAI Sicasal Petro de Luanda.
The pressure was on from the start with an early KOM in the stage with all teams interested in getting into the breakaway.
ProTouch’s U/23 rider Tiano got into an early break and managed to seize some points, coming third in the KOM.
As the Honeydew-based outfit went over the first KOM, there was lull in pace and Tiano was able to take the opportunity to slip away.
In the break-away, Tiano was joined by four other riders who fought it out for the rest of the points.
A classic sprint stage was on the cards where many teams were working on the front of the pack till the final sprint for the line.
Gustav finished as ProTouch’s top-placed rider with all of his teammates finishing in the bunch.
Stage 3 of the Volta AO Alentejo – Volta A Portugal saw Gustav finish in sixth place on Friday, March 18.
“Today was tailwind so was fast all day; we had a few hiccups here and there but the entire team really did a great job to stay in front and towards the finish did a tremendous job in our lead out,” said Gustav.
Kent managed a top the individual time trial (ITT) in the penultimate stage of the tour, and moved into 11th position on General Classification (GC), 0.58” off the leader, ahead of the final stage.
