ProTouch rider secures second place in Stage 2
ProTouch Cycling had Clint Hendricks and Kent Main in the final split, racing for the line
Stage two of the Tour de Limpopo proved to be a fast one, as there were more traffic officers and blue lights. The pace of the traffic vehicles was fast, as was the pace of the race with the first 48km being downhill.
The race started badly, with an unfortunate accident that saw Craigue Orion from the CyclePower Team hit the deck, taking a large number of other riders down in the process, including the Green jersey (Jason Oosthuizen) and Yellow jersey (Gustav Basson).
At this point, Gustav was under pressure as Dimension Data Continental kept the pace high up the KOM at 56,6km and this resulted in a number of riders being put into hardship.
Gustav was unable to apply his usual high speed and he lost contact with the front of the race, resulting in 14 strong riders contesting for the sprint finish.
ProTouch Cycling had Clint Hendricks and Kent Main in the final split, racing for the line. Clint secured an impressive second place on the finish behind Dimension Data’s Connor Brown and with this result opening the team’s UCI points account for this tour.
The team rode well on the day, all contributing to the overall success, once again showing the importance of teamwork.
Jaydè Julius made a huge sacrifice to his GC hopes in not pacing to bring riders – including Gustav – back into contention for the finish.
Tomorrow’s Stage 3 is from Tzaneen to the top of the Agatha climb over a distance of 103km. Team ProTouch will continue its quest to register a first place finish.
