Hoffman rides his way to victory

THIS year saw Nolan Hoffman sprint his way to his fifth consecutive victory and his seventh overall title at the Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic in a time of two hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds.

The ladies race also saw a familiar face take the podium with Carla Oberholzer claiming her second consecutive win in the 106km race, despite some very tough, windy conditions on the ‘road of champions’ route between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.

“It’s a proud moment for me going into the history books as having the most Amashova wins under my belt. The Tsogo Sun Amashova has iconic status – it’s a big win and one of the big three on the racing calendar. Really big pressure for our BCX team every year with expectations for us to win this particular race. I was very proud of the team who stepped up and we took the race today by winning from a breakaway,” said Hoffman.

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Giving her take on the race and the conditions, Oberholzer said, “It was really great to take another win today for me. My team rode an absolutely phenomenal race tactically and we had some great teamwork out on the road. I love the Tsogo Sun Amashova – it’s probably my favourite event on the calendar. The route is great along with the road closure – you always feel safe”.

CEO and sports event organiser for the Gran Fondo World Tour, Dani Buyo said, “The addition of the Amashova as the final leg of the Gran Fondo World Tour’s 10 events was a great success. The race logistics and organisation have been near to perfect and I am confident that our riders despite the challenging weather conditions have enjoyed a world-class race experience. Congrats to our overall winners in the men’s and ladies’ Gran Fondo World Tour series, Jonas and Louise.”

Tsogo Sun Amashova Race Director, Annie Batchelder added that overall they were delighted with the race. It’s been a tough one – the wind really made it even more challenging for social and competitive riders on the famous Comrades route.

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“This new premier distance expanded the race’s profile and attracted additional overseas riders as well as several new elite riders who ordinarily would not have entered. We’ve had about 11 000 entrants to this year’s race which is similar to last year’s figures and our numbers on the international riders participating has increased, which is likely related to our association with the Gran Fondo World Tour. This is an area where we’d like to grow the race in the future.”

The number of charities using the Amashova as a fund-raising platform has grown exponentially in recent years and include CHOC, #MadeforMore and Hero777.

For more information on the Tsogo Sun Amashova, visit www.shova.co.za.

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