BREAKING: Josh Rheeders wins aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race

Josh Rheeders claimed the victory when he won a big group sprint at the aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race title in Durban on Sunday, but the big star of the event was women’s winner Joanna van de Winkel.

Van de Winkel collected four trophies after Sunday’s road race as she made up for the disappointment of finishing second in Saturday’s 40km mountain bike race.

Josh Rheeders wins aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race, Joanna van de Winkel dominates women’s race

Not only did the Sandton City Cycle Nation rider just beat her team mate, Lisa Bone, into second position overall in the women’s race, but she also edged her into the runner up position in the CMH Nissan King of the Mountain competition and the CMH Renault Sprint, and they were both integral members of the winning squad in the Gooderson Leisure Team Competition.

For good measure, Van de Winkel also finished just outside the top ten overall as she defended her road race title, with Bone just a couple of positions further back.

“It was lovely to race today with my teammate Lisa from Joburg,” said Van de Winkel soon after crossing the line. “And we both finished in the front bunch.”

Taking charge

The diminutive Van de Winkel was often near the front of the leading bunch and never let the leading men dominate the action.

“It is always good to stay out of trouble and be near the front, and to feel you are part of the racing and contribute to the attacks and moves in the front – and to show the guys that women are also strong,” she added with a smile.

“It was so much fun riding with the men. Just the speed – we averaged over 40 kays an hour – and you have to keep your attention the whole time because there is always something going on.

“I was quite disappointed after the mountain bike. I thought I had won on Saturday, but when we went off track, I did not know where I was when I joined again. So that was a bit disappointing, but today made up for it.”

aQuellé Tour Durban cycle race goes down to the wire

Rheeders from the Luso ACDC Pro Cycling Team, was a dominant force in the lead group. He got into what looked to be the race-winning break on the final lap, but despite being caught by the chasing bunch, he still timed his finishing sprint to perfection to come out of the group to claim his first Tour Durban win.

“I am very happy with this win,” said Rheeders. “It was very tactical today. There was one team with six riders and they were kind of messing us around all race.

“I was in a move on the last lap and then it all came back together, so I then sat in until the sprint and I took it from a long way out as we hit the descent. With the tailwind, I was able to carry it to the finish.”

In the CMH Renault Sprint competition, Marius Coutaud won and was second in the final two sprints to claim the title over Michael Rowland, with Thabiso Rengane third. The CMH Nissan King of the Mountain competition was won by Durban local Brent Yelland whose first, second and third positions at the respective KOM points earned him a comfortable win over Marius Coutaud with Rowland third.

The Gooderson Leisure Team Competition proved to be incredibly tight, with the two leading teams both having four riders in the lead bunch, which meant there was just one second between overall and mixed winners Sandton City Cycle Nation and the runners up Bio Plus.

Results

110km Men
1 Josh Rheeders 2:39:10.041
2 Grant Van Der Walt 2:39:10.736
3 Thabiso Rengane 2:39:11.109
4 Matome Machaba 2:39:11.441
5 Shane Daniel 2:39:11.612
6 Lorenzo Lotz 2:39:11.793
7 Brian Brummer 2:39:11.930
8 Warren Moolman 2:39:12.049
9 Oliver Williams 2:39:12.112
10 Wesley Phipson 2:39:12.259

Women
1 Joanna Van De Winkel 2:39:12.947
2 Lisa Bone 2:39:14.230
3 Ainsli De Beer 2:51:12.770
4 Kristy Herridge 2:51:13.513
5 Rene Cornelius 2:51:17.449

CMH Nissan King of the Mountain
Men
1 Brent Yelland (40, 38, 39) 117
2 Marius Coutaud (36, 37, 37) 110
3 Michael Rowland (37, 36, 36) 109
4 Josh Rheeders (27, 39, 40) 106
5 Matome Machaba (39, 22, 38) 99

Women
1 Joanna Van De Winkel (24, 26, 30) 80
2 Lisa Bone (11, 24, 31) 66

CMH Renault Sprint
Men
1 Marius Coutaud (31, 40, 39) 110
2 Michael Rowland (37, 36, 34) 107
3 Thabiso Rengane (36, 33, 36) 105
4 Daniyal Matthews (38, 37, 24) 99
5 Matome Machaba (28, 32, 33) 93

Women
1 Joanna Van De Winkel (33, 25, 37) 95
2 Lisa Bone (11, 38, 38) 87

Gooderson Leisure Team Competition
1 Sandton City Cycle Nation (Brian Brummer; Joanna Van De Winkel; Martin Hillermann; Michael Rowland & Lisa Bone) 10:36:53 (1st Mixed)
2 Bio Plus (Grant Van Der Walt; Lorenzo Lotz; Brandon Waugh; Donovan van Gelder & Nathan Foster) 10:36:54
3 Bio Burn (Jason Lowe; Angus Mcfarlane; Bonfas Mbuso Mhlongo; Cedric Olivier & Peter Comrie) 02:44:45
4 Burg Wheelers Cruzers (Willem De Wet; Michael Adey; Danie Van Huyssteen; Dave Bure & Sean Stanton) 11:24:59