Butler shows no love in strong field to win Dis-Chem Ride for Sight
Reynard Butler of Team Telkom showed no love for his competitors when he won this year's 28th annual Ride for Sight cycle event which was held in Boksburg on Valentine’s Day.
Butler won the 116km event, which carries with it the prestigious Ernest Hunt Trophy, in a time of 02:53:55.
He was closely followed by his teammate, Nolan Hoffman, the defending Cape Town Cycle Tour champ. In third place was Tyler Day, the 2015 winner.
Boksburg’s formidable Herman Fouche settled for fourth spot.
A superb field of almost 5 000 cyclists braved the searingly hot conditions to raise funds to restore the gift of sight to thousands of South Africans affected by genetic retinal conditions.
The race, which is a seeding event for the Cape Town Cycle tour, attracted some of the country’s top cyclists, despite the clash with the South African road championships being held in KwaZulu-Natal.
In a post-race interview, the 26-year-old Butler expressed his delight at being crowned this year’s champion.
“It’s always a good race to attend,” said the East London native.
“Nolan [Hoffman] and myself have been practising our lead out and sprint; we knew it would come down to the sprint and we’re familiar with the route, so we know things like where the wind is strong.”
With a strong leading pack in the race featuring Hoffman, Day, Fouche and Dennis van Niekerk, the Advertiser asked Butler how his nerves played into it, to which he responded: “You always feel nervous to a certain degree in every race, things like your fitness cross your mind but you always have to trust in your abilities.”
This year’s race was a fairly slow one, with the leading pack averaging 37km/h – 3km less than the normal 40km/h average.
Butler’s finishing time of 02:53:55 was significantly slower than last year’s winning time of 02:41:35.
In the women’s Elite race, Boksburg’s defending champion, Lynette Burger, maintained her dominance, crossing the line first in a time of 03:19:17 – which was also slower than her last year’s winning time of 03:08:37.
Other results:
The first woman veteran home (35+): Yasmina Nagdee in a time of 03:28:02.
The men’s veterans category winners were:
30 – 39: Steven Holm (02:58:01);
40 – 49: Jacques Fullard (a previous event winner) 02:59:28
50+: Bruce Viljoen (03:06:16)
The first junior home was Joshua Lubbe in a time of 03:01:12, followed by Brendan Havenga and Jason Abbott.
Casper Moodie and Bryce Hennessy finished in first place in the men’s tandem event.
The searing heat forced the race organisers to bring the cut off time forward by one hour.
In the 62km Vita-thion cycle event the overall race winner was William Oosthuizen. The first u-14 junior male to cross the finish line was Luhandre Ludik, in a time of 01:55:10.
The first u-14 junior female to cross the finish line was Elizabeth Lubbe, in a time of 02:19:26.
The first u-16 junior male to cross the finish line was Henri Coetzer, in a time of 01:55:06. – @SabeloBoksburg
