Brad Morgan
19 November 2007
Johannesburg presented a face seldom seen on Sunday as the city's normally busy highways were closed to traffic, save for the competitors in the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge, the second largest individually timed cycle race in the world.
Over 25 000 riders, from professionals to some brave souls who had taken up a late challenge to complete the race, took part in cool weather with some wind, which tested the competitors.
Up front, a battle between South Africa's top pro teams raged, but further back in the field Team Barloworld, with Tour de France stage winners Robbie Hunter and Mauricio Soler among their number, rode with a large group of people who had laid out money to cycle with them, to raise money for the Homeless Talk Crèche in Joubert Park.
Merckx impressed
The man regarded as the greatest cyclist of all time, Eddy Merckx, was also to be found along the route. A five-time winner of both the
Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, the Belgian legend, was taking part in the race for the first time and afterwards declared himself very impressed by the seamless and smooth organisation in South Africa's busiest and biggest city.
The pro race featured a last outing for Daryl Impey in the blue and yellow colours of MTN-Microsoft and SA-based Kenyan Chris Froome in the white of Konica-Minolta before the duo makes the move to Team Barloworld.
The darlings of the 2007 Your de France, Barloworld will be out to make a huge impression in the World's View Challenge in Pietermaritzburg in February when they'll be up against some of the world's top teams, including Team Liquigas, who finished second on the elite UCI Pro Tour this past season.
Attacks
As the Cycle Challenge unfolded along Joburg's highways and streets, it featured the teams trying to pick their opposition apart by launching a series of attacks, aimed at stringing the peleton
out.
Ultimately, it was pretty much a certainty that it would come down to a sprint finish, but the attacks worked particularly well for Konica-Minolta who had the most representatives in the 10-man leading pack as the race reached its climax.
However, Neotel's Nolan Hoffman, a sprint ace and a man in form, was still among the leaders and represented the biggest danger to both Konica-Minolta and MTN-Microsoft.
Sprint for victory
Impey jumped out into a slight lead with the end in sight, but mistimed his sprint and admitted afterwards that he had hit the gas a little too early. His miscalculation benefited Hoffman and Herman Fouche of Konica-Minolta, who both edged in front of Impey just before the finish line.
A photo finish was needed to separate the pair; it showed Hoffman fractionally in front of Fouche, but drama followed shortly afterwards when the Neotel ace was relegated to the back of the lead group.
About 10 kilometres from the finish, Hoffman had suffered a puncture and had to stop to change a wheel. He was then adjudged to have used the slipstream of a team support vehicle to get back in touch with the leaders again.
Fouche declared winner
His misfortune was Fouche's gain as the Konica-Minolta man claimed victory over the tough 95-kilometre route. His time was 2:13:57, a little less than four minutes off the record set in 2005 by Darren Lill but, given the windy conditions, it was a great effort.
Ian McLeod, a former winner of the race, who has spent the last two years racing for French outfit Francais de Jeux, followed Fouche and Impey over the finish line to capture final place on the podium.
Fouche's victory made it was a second win for Konica-Minolta in succession, following Martin Velits' success in 2006.
Women's race
The women's race also came down to an exciting sprint for victory.
In the lead-up to the race, Konica-Minolta's Cherise Taylor had drawn a huge amount of interest after she won silver in the road race at the Junior World Championships in August. It was the best ever result by a South African at world championship level.
Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, after she worked herself into a good position at the front of the field, she, like Daryl Impey in the men's race, started her sprint too early. Taylor had been practicing the finish during the week preceding the Cycle Challenge, but on race day she got it wrong.
Capitalised on error
The very experienced Anriette Schoeman of Proline, a former winner but third in 2007, capitalised on her rival's error and chased down Taylor to claim victory ahead of Marissa van der Merwe, with Taylor having to settle for third.
Afterwards, the teenager said she was tired after a long season, but paid tribute to Schoeman's Proline team, saying they rode aggressively, which put pressure on her team, Konica-Minolta. Inexperience, she admitted, might have played a role in her misjudged sprint.
Schoeman, who was out of action for quite some time earlier in the year after being struck by a taxi while training, reckoned she had benefited from not racing abroad in 2007.
Mountain Bike Challenge
Sunday's action was preceded by the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Mountain Bike Challenge, presented by Energade, on Saturday. The 40-kilometre event drew 3 000 off-road enthusiasts, including lots of top talent.
JP Pearton captured victory and appeared to enjoy the heavy conditions, although he reckoned it had been a difficult and testing challenge.
Overnight rain had ensured it would be a mud-splattered event; the heavy downpour also led organisers to change the race's route due to the Jukskei River's level having risen considerably.
Following Pearton across the line was his Mazda Merida teammate Francois Theron, with the amazing Andrew McLean, who contested the road race on Sunday, in third spot. At 43 years of age the presenter of the SuperCycling show on SuperSport television still has the ability to mix it up with the younger generation.
Samantha Oosthuizen of Cbist scored a convincing win the women's race, with Amoryn Saaiman finishing second ahead of Beatrice Hogan.
Children's Challenge
Another successful aspect of the Cycle Challenge was the Children's Challenge, presented by Spur Steak Ranches. It drew 4 000 youngsters, a number that would be viewed as considerable for any cycling race, let alone for a children's event.
Put the numbers of the different races together and they reveal that 32 000 people took part in the 2007 Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge.
To top everything off, the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge Expo, which opened on Thursday at the Sandton Convention Centre, drew over 60 000 visitors.
A
healthy state
Those numbers reflect the very healthy state of cycling in South Africa. The sport is attracting ever-increasing interest and with participation on the up more talent is being unearthed.
With Team Barloworld shining at the Tour de France, Greg Minnaar tearing it up all around the world in downhill mountain bike races, and young stars like Cherise Taylor making their marks, the South African cycling's ascent continues.
Thanks to events like the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge, the sport has an appeal that is attractive to all ages.
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