Rod Gilley once again proved age is nothing but a number as he won his starting group at the annual 100 kilometre Cycle Road Race.
This is the fifth consecutive time Gilley has won his starting group with his time being 4 minutes ahead of the second placed rider.
Earlier this month the cyclist participated in the event which is commonly known as the Fast One.
It is one of the fastest races in South Africa. More than 4000 cyclists participated in the race which started at the Meyerton Motor Racing Circuit and proceeding towards the Three Rivers before turning East towards Heidelberg then approaching the Rietvlei Nature Reserve.
Gilley was in the A-seeded group which departed early.
“The group started in perfect weather conditions with no sign of rain. However, due top the sky being cloudless it was obvious the cool conditions would become hot. After 9.30am the temperatures had climbed into the high 30 degrees Celsius.
Gilley’s initial small break-away group soon began to thin out, leaving seven cyclists. The group was met with very difficult conditions as the road had many potholes and cracks due to no maintenance since last year. This made the cyclists stay on high alert.
“As the race progressed and the temperatures continued to climb, our small group kept on diminishing until I found myself riding solo,” he said.
The 70-year-old defied his age and increased his speed over the final 14-kilometres of the race and finished in a time of 2.35.20.
This time was within a few seconds of his time from last year.
“Fortunately this body does not appear to be regressing as my time was almost identical to last year in the exact same course,” he said.
In his group aged 60-70-years-old there were 230 finishers.
“Not only did I finish but I did so while recording a time which thousands of cyclists between 20 and 59-years-old who were competing would have wished they were capable of achieving,” he said.
Want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us an SMS/ WhatsApp message with your name and cellphone number to 079 414 6709.
Familiarise yourself with our WhatsApp service disclaimer.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
