Pro Touch professional, Reynard Butler, claimed the first road classic title of the new season with a victory at the 21st Bestmed Cycle4CANSA Championship.
The race took place at Sun City’s Lost City and saw more than 5 000 cyclist pitching up to participate in this annual cycling festival. All proceeds from the event were donated to the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa).
Reynard managed to surprise the defending champion, Nolan Hoffman (BCX) on the finish line, shortly after Nolan thought he had done enough to claim the victory. As Nolan lifted his hands from the handlebars, 10m from the finish line, Reynard sped past him and snatched the victory at the death, with only a few millimetres separating the two riders.
“It was a bit sketchy in the final 50 metres, but I saw the gap and went around Nolan. He drifted a bit but there was nothing in it. My team was exemplary today and closed every gap down quickly to control it for the sprint. A lot of our team members raced in Europe during the past two months and they’ve come back with good form. It really was a good day for the team and the guys did everything right to put me in a position to secure the victory. I can’t be happier,” said the 29-year-old Reynard.
Instead of finishing outside on the main road, the bunch had to negotiate a flowing right turn into the Sun City complex 400m before the finish line, resulting in a safer and more manageable environment in the finishing straight.
“It was important to get into the last turn among the top few riders to be in with a chance for the sprint. We really focused on our lead-out this week, and on creating cohesion in the team again,” Reynard said.
“The guys executed the plan perfectly and Reynard went for the victory at the exactly the right time. The new finish worked very well inside the Sun City complex and the event will do well to retain this for the future,” said the Pro Touch team manager, Tony Harding.
Jaydé Julius and Calvin Beneke, who were also part of the Pro Touch team, came in fourth and fifth respectively.The 21st anniversary edition also saw hundreds of cancer survivors taking part in what was the biggest field the event has seen for the past five years.
Complete results, including category results, are available on https://www.racetec.co.za.
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