James Tennent from Team Giant Durbanville clinched the 8th Stellenbosch Cycle Tour title this morning in superb weather conditions, finishing the 95km route in just 02:15:25 and edging out second place Jos le Roux (Team Lights by Linea) by half a tyre width.
Sprint finish between James Tennent (left) and Jos le Roux (right) for the men’s elite title.
In a sprint finish, Le Roux held off stiff competition from Nolan Hoffman (Team Abantu) who secured third place to complete the men’s elite podium at the 2014 race.
Team Africa Silks Bestmed’s Anriette Schoeman won her first Stellenbosch Cycle Tour title after pipping Maroesjka Matthee (Team Craft Racing) at the post to finish in an impressive time of 02:25:05. 2013’s winner, Team Cape Brewing Company’s Jennie Stenerhag, missed out on securing her seventh win by finishing third to take bronze.
2014 Stellenbosch Cycle Tour women’s elite winners (l-r) Maroesjka Matthee (2nd), Anriette Schoeman (1st) and Jennie Stenerhag (3rd).
With almost 7 000 riders lining up in a wind-less Stellenbosch this year, the race (formerly known as Die Burger Cycle Tour) provided the winners with a tough field of top local cyclists including Evan Carstens (Team Giant Durbanville) and Stefan Ihlenfeldt (Team Lights by Linea), as well as international pro cyclists from Team Bulls, Simon Stiebjahn and Stefan Sahm.
Tennent was ecstatic to secure the top spot and end off his year on a high note. “Today was perfect racing weather. We were all together going up the New Helshoogte Pass so it was great to sit in the bunch with my teammates. I broke away about 6km from the finish, and with things quite evenly matched and me not being the greatest sprinter, I wasn’t sure I would get the win. I am very happy with my result today.”
Commenting on securing her first victory at this event, Schoeman says, “This race is always so well-organised and runs smoothly. Everything came together for me today – the fantastic conditions and the climbs. There were quite a few ladies in the bunch and luckily things worked out in my favour. It has been a long season, but I love racing in Cape Town and this is definitely one of my favourite events.”
The 2014 Stellenbosch Cycle Tour, presented by Liberty – Own your life Rewards, saw a significant change to the route with the inclusion of the New Helshoogte Pass to replace the currently unsuitable Old Helshoogte Pass, reducing the race distance marginally from 97km to 95km.
Liberty – Own your life Rewards, the value added services and rewards business for the Liberty Group, came on board as a sponsor of the event for the first time this year. Katy Caldis, Head of Product and Marketing for Liberty – Own your life Rewards, who also tackled the 95km route, says: “This event is iconically beautiful and the decision to rebrand this year is certainly the right step to putting it on the global map. Cycling speaks to our target market who are healthy lifestyle individuals, and we continually strive to give greater value to our clients. We are proud to support events that our clients both enjoy, and in which they take part.”
95km Race Results:
Elite Men
1st: James Tennent (Team Giant Durbanville) (02:15:25)
2nd: Jos le Roux (Team Lights by Linea) (02:15:25)
3rd: Nolan Hoffman (Team Abantu) (02:15:42)
Elite Ladies
1st: Anriette Schoeman (Team Africa Skills Bestmed) (02:25:05)
2nd: Maroesjka Matthee (Team Craft Racing) (02:25:05)
3rd: Jennie Stenerhag (Team Cape Brewing Company) (02:25:05)
2014 Stellenbosch Cycle Tour men’s elite winners (l-r) Jos le Roux (2nd), James Tennent (1st) and Nolan Hoffman (3rd).
Eish that Giant is FAST !!!!