10 March 2008
Robert Hunter put the exclamation mark on a successful week’s racing for Team Barloworld when he took line honours in the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour on Sunday to help his team repeat as Cycle Tour and Giro del Capo winners after Christian Pfannberger claimed the five-day stage race on Saturday.
The Cycle Tour, one of only nine prestigious UCI Golden Bike Series events, was ridden at a very fast pace in ideal conditions. The high average speed, though, meant that no one was able to launch an attack off the front of the peleton, which remained together for almost the entire race.
With the riders tightly packed, the push for the finish came in a little earlier than it might have happened had the weather conditions been tougher – about five kilometres from the finish.
Charging for the finish line
Barloworld, however, felt comfortable that they were in control of the race and this was proved true as the finishing line came into sight. With the sprinters charging towards the line, a Danish cyclist threw up an arm with about 200 metres to go – it wasn’t clear whether he mistakenly thought he had won or was protesting something – but it caused some confusion in the pack.
Barloworld’s Felix Cardenas and Chris Froome, however, responded well, powering past, with Hunter ideally positioned for the final surge which took him to victory.
Neotel’s Nolan Hoffman, the winner of the Pick ‘n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge, finished runner-up to Hunter, with MTN Energade’s experienced Malcolm Lange capturing third place.
Hunter’s winning time was two hours, 27 minutes and 30 seconds, a new record by more than five minutes over the previous mark he had set in his 2007 victory.
Interviewed on television after his win, South Africa’s leading road cycling star said: “The orders were to keep the race together for the final and that is what they did – hats off to my team. They rode their guts out today for me to get the result and glad for them that I managed to pull through in the end.”
Women’s winner
The women’s title went to MTN Energade’s Cherise Taylor who, at 18 years old, became the youngest ever winner of the race. Lynette Burger of Cyclelab Toyota finished second, with five-time champion Anriette Schoeman in third.
“I am very happy, and actually astonished,” Taylor said with a grin. “I cannot believe I did it, but I had an amazing team behind me.”
The leading women were grouped with the top men’s veterans, which led to Taylor, who won silver at the Junior Road World Championships last year, finishing in amongst a huge pack of cyclists.
However, she had no problem with the two categories being mixed together. She, in fact, welcomed the decision by the organisers to join the two categories, saying it was “the only way we (women) can improve.” Her winning time was two minutes, 52 minutes and 50 seconds.
The Cycle Tour is the largest individually timed cycle race in the world, with Sunday’s field totaling a massive 39 000 entrants.
Giro del Capo
The MTN Giro del Capo, which preceded the Cycle Tour, was won by Team Barloworld which signalled its intention from the 105-kilometre first stage when Christian Pfannberger took the win by 52 seconds over Robbie Hunter.
All six team members crossed the line within the top eight finishers and the top three places in the Points’ Race and the King of the Mountains belonged to Barloworld whose lead in the team competition was a substantial seven minutes and 12 seconds after the stage.
Stage two, covering 179.5 kilometres, was won by Michael Morkov of the Danish National Team. Pezula Racing’s David O’Loughlin took second, followed by Shaun Davel of Pro Mr Price WP.
It was a courageous win by Morkov, who was part of a seven-rider breakaway that raced clear after only 14 kilometres. His aggressive riding, apart from earning him the stage victory, also lifted him into the Powerade King of the Mountains jersey.
Deja vu
Stage three, a tough 174.5 kilometres that included the challenging Franschhoek and Du Toit’s Kloof Passes, provided a case of deja vu as Luke Roberts of Team Kuota-Senges edged out Barloworld’s Christian Pfannberger in a sprint for the line to take victory. In 2007, Roberts won the same stage, over the same course, in a similar manner.
Belgium National Team rider Dominique Cornu claimed the final place on the podium.
On the fourth stage, Cornu moved up two places to capture victory by 12 seconds over Barloworld’s Hugo Sabido and 15 seconds clear of Malaya van Ruitenbeek of Kuota-Senges.
Race leader Christian Pfannberger remained in close attendance, crossing the finishing line in fifth place, while Robbie Hunter led the way in the King of the Mountains’ competition. He raced at the front of the stage for a good distance before a puncture saw him tumble down to 52nd place.
Heading into the final stage on Saturday, an individual time trial up Signal Hill, Pfannberger enjoyed a lead of one minute and four seconds over second placed Johannes Kachelhoffer of House of Paints, with Jacques Janse van Rensburg of Neotel sharing third place with Barloworld’s Christopher Froome, one minute and eight seconds off the pace.
Final stage, overall results
The honours on the day went to Team MTN Energade’s David George, who proved himself the king of Signal Hill as he won the gruelling individual time trial for the third year in succession and the fifth time in total in a time of 12 minutes, 35.36 seconds.
Cornu finished second, just over seven seconds back, with Pfannberger in third, 12 seconds off the pace.
The Austrian national champion claimed the Giro title, after wearing the leader’s pink jersey from the opening stage, by a minute and 41 seconds from his Barloworld teammate Christopher Froome. Neotel’s Jacques Janse van Rensburg took third and won the white jersey awarded to the top under-23 rider.
Team Barloworld claimed a convincing win in the team classification by almost 13 minutes over MTN Energade, with Kuota-Senges some distance back in third place.
Robbie Hunter claimed the Powerade King of the Mountains title by just two points from Janse van Rensburg, while Pfannberger added victory in the Pickfords’ Points Sprint Race to his overall title.
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