The 11th edition of the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge delivered the expected drama when Neotels Nolan Hoffman crossed the line first.
The 11th edition of the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge delivered the expected drama when Neotels Nolan Hoffman crossed the line first.
But he was immediately relegated to 10th position after being motor-paced back to the main bunch following a puncture with 5km to go.
This left the way to victory open for 23-year-old Boksburg-based professional Herman Fouche (Konica Minolta), who was squeezed out in a photo finish, clocking 2:13:57 for the gruelling 95km circuit of Johannesburg, raced in windy overcast conditions.
"It's not nice to win this way. It has happened to me before but that is racing," he explained.
He was followed by Darryl Impi (MTN/Microsoft) and French-based South African Ian McLoud (Francias Dex Jeux), who has only been in the country for a month.
The first spot off the podium was taken by Christoff van Heerden (Konica Minolta) and Hanco Kaggelhoffer (Harmony), who were both given the same time.
The women's race was as thrilling as the men's bunch sprint, but the number of entrants was considerably smaller.
Former winner Anriette Schoeman made it a one-two for the Proline team when she timed her sprint to perfection with a brilliant lead out from Marissa van der Merwe to sneak ahead by a bike length, clocking 2:43:47.
But hot favourite to win the race Cherise Taylor's inexperience showed when she started her sprint too early and in the end had to settle for third place. - Sapa
Drama in cycle challenge
The 11th edition of the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge delivered the expected drama when Neotels Nolan Hoffman crossed the line first.
The 11th edition of the Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge delivered the expected drama when Neotels Nolan Hoffman crossed the line first.
But he was immediately relegated to 10th position after being motor-paced back to the main bunch following a puncture with 5km to go.
This left the way to victory open for 23-year-old Boksburg-based professional Herman Fouche (Konica Minolta), who was squeezed out in a photo finish, clocking 2:13:57 for the gruelling 95km circuit of Johannesburg, raced in windy overcast conditions.
"It's not nice to win this way. It has happened to me before but that is racing," he explained.
He was followed by Darryl Impi (MTN/Microsoft) and French-based South African Ian McLoud (Francias Dex Jeux), who has only been in the country for a month.
The first spot off the podium was taken by Christoff van Heerden (Konica Minolta) and Hanco Kaggelhoffer (Harmony), who were both given the same time.
The women's race was as thrilling as the men's bunch sprint, but the number of entrants was considerably smaller.
Former winner Anriette Schoeman made it a one-two for the Proline team when she timed her sprint to perfection with a brilliant lead out from Marissa van der Merwe to sneak ahead by a bike length, clocking 2:43:47.
But hot favourite to win the race Cherise Taylor's inexperience showed when she started her sprint too early and in the end had to settle for third place. - Sapa