Defending champion Willie Smit showed that he was getting back to his best when he won the second stage of the Bestmed Jock Tour in Nelspruit‚ Mpumalanga‚ on Saturday.
Team NAD’s Nico Bell‚ who was part of a three-man break that went clear on Long Tom Pass‚ finished second to take the yellow jersey off the shoulders of ProTouch’s JC Nel.
The 23-year-old Smit‚ who placed third in the opening day individual time-trial‚ said he was pleased with his comeback after suffering serious injuries in a crash in France in April.
The RoadCover professional‚ who hails from Nelspruit‚ won the mountainous 140km stage in 3:53:24. Bell‚ also from Nelspruit‚ was awarded the same time.
Smit’s team-mate Mornay van Heerden‚ who set up the winning move‚ crossed the line in 3:53:42 to finish third on the day.
Bell leads the overall standings on 4:48:32 and will take a seven-second lead over Smit into the final stage. Van Heerden lies third on 4:49:33.
The stage started and finished in Nelspruit‚ taking in the ascents of Spitskop and Long Tom Pass as it wound its way through White River and Sabie.
The third and final stage of the tour‚ which is presented by Rudy Project‚ is over 138km and features 3‚100m of vertical ascent.
The elite women competed in Saturday’s Bestmed Jock Classique‚ with Demacon’s Heidi Dalton ending on the top step of the podium after three tough stages totalling 154km.
Her winning time of 4:56:09 saw her take a close victory over Valencia’s Samantha Sanders (4:56:12)‚ with her team-mate Carla Oberholzer (4:56:13) completing the podium.
Smit shows form to win second stage of Jock Tour
Defending champion Willie Smit showed that he was getting back to his best when he won the second stage of the Bestmed Jock Tour in Nelspruit‚ Mpumalanga‚ on Saturday.
Team NAD’s Nico Bell‚ who was part of a three-man break that went clear on Long Tom Pass‚ finished second to take the yellow jersey off the shoulders of ProTouch’s JC Nel.
The 23-year-old Smit‚ who placed third in the opening day individual time-trial‚ said he was pleased with his comeback after suffering serious injuries in a crash in France in April.
The RoadCover professional‚ who hails from Nelspruit‚ won the mountainous 140km stage in 3:53:24. Bell‚ also from Nelspruit‚ was awarded the same time.
Smit’s team-mate Mornay van Heerden‚ who set up the winning move‚ crossed the line in 3:53:42 to finish third on the day.
Bell leads the overall standings on 4:48:32 and will take a seven-second lead over Smit into the final stage. Van Heerden lies third on 4:49:33.
The stage started and finished in Nelspruit‚ taking in the ascents of Spitskop and Long Tom Pass as it wound its way through White River and Sabie.
The third and final stage of the tour‚ which is presented by Rudy Project‚ is over 138km and features 3‚100m of vertical ascent.
The elite women competed in Saturday’s Bestmed Jock Classique‚ with Demacon’s Heidi Dalton ending on the top step of the podium after three tough stages totalling 154km.
Her winning time of 4:56:09 saw her take a close victory over Valencia’s Samantha Sanders (4:56:12)‚ with her team-mate Carla Oberholzer (4:56:13) completing the podium.
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