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dramatic fashion as he tugged and showed off the Matie colours of his jersey. But even before Viljoen crossed the finish line, an official appeal had been lodged for the disqualification of the Matie rider. After conferring with race commisaire Eddie Kulsen, Pedal Power officials denied Viljoen his victory by disqualifying him. "I didn't see it myself as I was escorting the leading bunch, but officials on the route saw Viljoen holding onto a vehicle in order to catch up to the frontrunners, after being left behind with a flat tyre," Kulsen said after the race. Having heard that the Matie rider was in the wrong the riders in the leading bunch didn't trouble themselves with chasing after Viljoen as he went all out for the finish with some 10km to go. "We are in contact with the support vehicles and knew that he would be disqualified. So when he started sprinting for the finish line we just let him go," the official winner, Chris Willemse junior, said. Willemse and runner-up Konrad Wentzel of team Richard Kane, were locked in a sprint for victory at the front of the bunch. He however edged out Wentzel crossing the line a split second earlier in a time of 2:57:42. Konrad Siebrits was third. Willemse praised his CVT/CSC team mates for the effort. "The guys did well, seeing as we were only four in the final leading bunch. There was some aggressive attacking all through the race, but we managed to get about five or six of our riders up front," said Willemse. A group of eight riders pulled away from the rest of the field some 20km before Helshoogte. Wesley Cole, Jason Berry, Graig Butland and Willemse were doing their part for CVT/CSC, while two riders of both teams, GT and Richard Kane, were also in the mix. Mechanical failure to the bike of Cole, winner of last year's event, put a spoke in the wheels of the CVT team. "Wesley's bike broke down just before Helshoogte. As he is the sprinter in the team, he was the one to take it to the line," explained Willemse. "Jason Berry is the second fastest, but he wasn't feeling well after the rigorous climb of Helshoogte and it was decided that I should sprint for the finish. "We were the underdogs in the climb, but we decided to play the waiting game and take it further from there." Willemse added. "The two riders from Richard Kane tried to box me in as we approached the finish, but I got the perfect wheel and line to take the win. I'm very happy with the team's performance." Martin Malan of Paarl Cycling Club won the junior category. Jennie Stenerhag was the first woman to finish, followed by Liza Serfontein and Cathy Carstens. In die 55km mountain bike event Linus van Onselen reigned supreme, followed by Paarlite Jacques Rossouw second and Geddan Ruddock third. In the women's event Hannele Steyn-Kotze once again took the honours, followed by Joritha Prins and Lindsey Chicken. |
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