Clint Hendricks takes third for ProTouch at Cape Town Cycle Tour

With a strong contingent taking part in the world’s largest individually timed cycle race, ProTouch Cycling’s Clint Hendricks proved he was the cream of the ProTouch crop by finishing third overall in the Cape Town Cycle Tour.

The start gun for the 42nd Cape Town Cycle Tour went off just after 6am, with the professionals setting off in hopes of a positive start in the search for the coveted title of the best elite men’s rider. A positive start was soon off the cards for a lot of top riders however, when just 500m into the race, the first crash of the race occurred which saw ProTouch stalwart Jaydé Julius damage his saddle and eventually have to swap bikes with teammate Mitch Eliot as they went through Simon’s Town.

The crash led to the splitting of the race into three groups, which included a lead breakaway of about 11 riders, followed by two groups containing the majority of the favourites from ProTouch, TEG ProCycling, Office Guru U/23, and Enza DNS Sports. Enza’s contingent included defending champion, Ruimsig-based Nolan Hoffman, who seemed to struggle to make his mark in his title defence.

The two groups fought back hard, burning tons of energy, finally catching the chasing peloton in Simon’s Town at about the same time that Jaydé swapped bikes with Mitch. There was yet another breakaway, with the new group including three ProTouch riders – 2016 champion Clint Hendricks, Jaydé, and newly signed Calvin Beneke.

The breakaway group managed to keep away from the trailing riders this time, and produced a very close finish as New Zealander Sam Gaze edged Jason Oosthuizen over the line, with Clint coming in at third, Jaydé in fourth despite his bike change, and Calvin in sixth. They weren’t the only ProTouch riders to excel however, as the Wanderers Club U/23 team’s Ryan Terry finished 12th, as the second-placed U/23 cyclist. This team is managed by ProTouch.

In the junior category, Tiano Da Silva continued his stellar form as he finished first among the juniors, while teammate Dian Janjetich finished as the 8th junior.You can catch highlights of the race, including the epic final sprint here:

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