Farrarmere resident wins Ride for Sight

Benonian Joshua van Wyk was the winner of the 33rd Dischem Ride for Sight elite men’s event held on February 20 at Boksburg Stadium.

The renowned velodrome expert and multiple SA champion won the tightly contested 116km race in a sprint finish to claim the victory in 02:34:31.

“With 3km left I thought I was out of the race as I was so far behind. I then put in one really big effort and I moved to the front. Down the hill the guys were really flying. Willie Smit attacked and he opened up a big gap and I thought the race was done.

“Luckily, the group organised itself before the corner. I was in a good position and I slingshotted into the straight and things worked out for me,” he said.

The race was really fast and compact with a few riders occasionally pulling away from the peloton. But they couldn’t mount a real challenge as the rest of the group picked up the pace to catch up.

The former Hoërskool Hans Moore learner and Farrarmere resident explained that his strategy was to stay with the group and only attack at the end.

“I didn’t have a team for this race. I decided to do my own thing. Teams have a lot of politics and I didn’t want that stress.

“For this race, I sat with the bunch and preserved as much energy as I can. I am a sprinter and I back myself. So I didn’t have to break away from the group.”

Van Wyk was followed in second place by Gustav Basson while the third wheel went to David Maree.

The elite junior title was won by Jacques Marais from Pretoria. The 18-year old said he was impressed with his performance.

Also Read: Love your eyes, ride for sight

“It was very hard. In the first 20km, I think we averaged 20km per hour and there was no one who got a significant gap because the race was fast and everyone wanted to get in the break.

“I was just trying to follow wheels and stay with the best guys in the front to stay away from crashes which often happen at the back.

“Luckily at the run in I was in a good position. I kept it through the corners and held on in the sprint to take number one for the juniors,” he said.

The women’s prize went to SA champion Carla Oberholzer who came into this race in red hot form after clinching a bronze medal at the recent national road championships.

The race was without incidents as 11.7km in, several cyclists crashed onto each other at the back of the group. On the R557 a cyclist fell on the side of the road and with 5km to the finish line, one cyclist hit a cone which resulted in a crash.

Event a success

The race, which is a seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, attracted a total of 2 480 cyclists.

The event, organised by volunteers under the leadership of Retina South Africa, aims to fight retinal blindness and all proceeds go to projects to find treatment for the disease.

“This was a superbly presented race with very few casualties and a good field of almost 2500. The prestige of this event means that it is rapidly emerging as one of the country’s most important single day bike races.

“Retina South Africa is the beneficiary of this event which funds research and upliftment projects in the fight against retinal blindness. Over the last 33 years, the event has raised over R10-million and ensured South African patients will have access to emerging treatments,” said race secretary and Retina SA’s head of science Claudette Medefindt.

She added that this year they were hoping to raise around R250 000, which will go into the Retinal Research Project at the University of Cape Town.

Full results are available at www.racetrack.co.za.

Also Read: It’s Ride for Sight time in Ekurhuleni