IN perfect spring weather, the Bestmed Cycle4CANSA MTB and road race took place from August 25 and 26.
It was not just celebrations for the cyclists, but Bestmed Cycle4CANSA classic celebrated its 21st-anniversary edition of this popular event.
The road race had a photo finish as 35 cyclists broke from the main racing group of 135 some 5km from the finishing point at Sun City on Sunday. The close affair in the Elite 103km was won by Reynard Butler (ProTouch) when he managed to reach the finishing line in 2:15:57, beating Nolan Hoffman, who races for the BCX team from Johannesburg, who won the race in 2017 and the Race for Victory and Ryan Harris (Office Gurus) in the final sprint.
“It is always good to get this win in the bag especially knowing how eager the other guys were, such as Nolan who was targeting his third win,” said Butler.
“I’m very happy with how the day went and how my body reacted on the day.“In terms of sprinting, my confidence has grown as I’ve got good results and then backed them up with others. I’m starting to believe in myself more with each and every sprint.”
Butler and the team will now turn their attention to the Tour de Maurice, a six-stage race taking place in Mauritius from September 10 to 15.
Kim le Court (Team Demacon) from Mauritius won the Elite women’s race and ended just ahead of Sanet Coetzee (Team Clover) in the final dash in 2:52:26. Carla Oberholzer, in a time of 2:52:27, came in on third position.
The MTB Bestmed Cycle4CANSA saw Bradley Potgieter won the 50km men’s event in 1:54:06, beating Craig Uria (1:54:24) and Richard Damant (1:55:00) into second and third respectively.
Danielle Strydom led the women’s event home in 2:16:59. She was followed by Faye Darby (2:29:22) and Nicolene Marais (2:31:40).
The 25km men’s race was won by Willie van Eck in 58:11 with Justin Vosloo (58:11) and Dieter Koen (1:00:35) rounding out the podium.
Caitlin Thompson finished first in the women’s event in 1:17:21. Natalie Strydom (1:19:59) came in second with Monique du Plessis (1:25:03) in third.
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