Nico Bell of NAD Pro pushes the pace as the leaders head towards the second waterpoint on the fifth stage of the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c between Winterton and Nottingham Road. Photo: Full Stop Communications.
Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell bounced back to win the fifth stage of the Old Mutual joBerg2c at Nottingham Road in KwaZulu-Natal that passed through on Tuesday. The NAD Pro pair won the 122km stage between Emseni, outside Winterton, and Nottingham Road in 3:54:34.
They were followed by Telkom’s Johann Rabie and HB Kruger in 3:54:35, with Thule-Pyga-TIB’s Andrew Hill and Tyronne White completing the podium in 3:58:42. Rabie and Kruger still top the general classification with a total time of 18:59:42, followed by Combrinck and Bell in 19:03:23 and Hill and White in 19:22:27.
“The day was actually quite relaxed,” said the 30-year-old Combrinck, who lives in Nelspruit. “Nobody really wanted to take the initiative early on with the headwind. “We attacked at Giant’s Castle leading up to the second waterpoint but couldn’t get rid of the Telkom guys. From there we set the pace for much of the day and in the end it came down to a sprint. “It was a case of entering the single-track leading into the finish first so that we could at least get a stage win out of the day.”
Catherine Williamson (front) and Johan Labuschagne in action on stage five of the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c between Winterton and Nottingham Road. Photo: Full Stop Communications.
Bell, who is also from Nelspruit, said it was quite tough over the last 40km where they tried to get away.
“They basically just had to follow our wheels and it came down to who entered the single-track first.”
Combrinck said tomorrow’s new stage six, which will take riders over 98km to Glencairn Farm on the Sani Pass road, promises to be quite a tough one and they would try to attack if and when they could.
“Despite the climbing, I think tomorrow will be quite a fast stage and I’m looking forward to it.”
Having lost the overall lead yesterday after three flat tyres, Johan Labuschagne and Catherine Williamson bounced back to win the Lanham-Love Attorneys mixed section and move back to the top of the general classification.
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