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Success in road criteriums requires a mix of good technical skills — in particular, the ability to corner smoothly while holding the line on the road, as well as rapidly and sharply — and riding safely with a large group on a short circuit and exceptional “sprint” ability to attack other riders and repeatedly accelerate hard from corners.
Organizers like to give the riders a sight of the route before the commencement of a criterium so that that they are not caught unawares of the twists and turns of unfamiliar roads.
Category 3 and Ladies
The Burgundy ‘lap to check out the course’ was ridden so hard that we rolled up to the start snorting like thoroughbred racehorses. The calm before the storm so to say because the first few laps caught out many a rider who has enjoyed the comfort of the bunch in recent road events. The main protagonist of the fast pace was Elfrieda Wolfaardt who is one of our top lady track cyclists and the 47 year old Colin Parsons who until recently had been racing in Category 2.
Ladies
- Maroeskja Matthee
- Chante vd Merwe
- Nicola Gillomee
Category Three
- Collin Parsons Bellville
- Bjorn Pienaar (Cycle Teknix)
- Byron Brouwer (Kinetic)
Elimination – Category one
This event was ridden over a shortened course of 1 kilometre and many of the riders were caught up in a crash at the first corner when Theuns vd Bank lost a tubbie and was unable to control the ‘slide’ into the corner. This caused a number of riders to exit the race early on. Timothy Jenkinson of Team Giant kept a tight rein on the front of the bunch which was quickly whittled down to the strongest riders in the Cape.
Results
- Bernard Esterhuizen – Team Giant
- Clint Hendricks – RoadCover (winner of the Argus)
- Timothy Jenkinson – Team Giant
Category Two – 45 minutes plus a lap
The race started fast and then there was a bit of a lull which enabled Wynand Dippenaar – Kinetic CC ,Guy Le Ray Cook (Ind) and the eventual winner Brian Dodkins (Cycles Direct CC) to break away from the bunch. They built a lead of 30 seconds over the chasing bunch which they maintained to the end. Wynand Dippenaar is gearing up to represent the WP Schools at the CSA Youth Festival and is finding some great form shared the workload with Brian Dodkins and Guy Le Ray Cooke.The chasing bunch were unable to make any inroads into the lead. Brian Dodkins has been riding in support of the current Category Two point’s leader Robin Harris and this weekend it was his opportunity to race for line honours. This he did by outsprinting Wynand to the line.
Results
- Brian Dodkins (Cyles Direct)
- Wynand Dippenaar (Kinetic CC)
- Guy Le Ray Cook (Ind)
Category One – 1 hour plus 1 lap
There was a flurry of attacks early on in the race which resulted in a number of cyclists finding the pace just a bit too hot to handle. There were a number of attacks during the next half an hour of which none were able to stick. The defending Argus Cycle Tour champion Clint Hendricks took a flyer on the 2nd last lap but he was pegged back by the Lights by Linea rider Stefan Ihlenfeldt. Once the gap had been closed James Tennant of Light by Linea attacked with young Ian Lategan of Stellenbosch Pro Cycling on his wheel, they swept into the last corner at a furious speed with James holding onto first place from Ian in second and Max Sullivan rounding off the podium in third from a group of riders and a fast finishing bunch.
Results
- James Tennant (Lights by Linea)
- Ian Lategan (Stellbosch Pro Cycling)
- Max Sullivan (Stellenbosch Pro Cycling)