Le Court and Jooste claim Cape Town Cycle Tour titles

TufoBMC rider Chris Jooste showed his class to outsprint Andries Nigrini (TEG), Jaedon Terlouw (Honeycomb) and Daniel Loubser (Cycling Friends) to claim the Cape Town Cycle Tour title on Sunday.

Jooste was in sublime form as he claimed the title in an emphatic 2hr 36 min 14 sec. “This is the pinnacle of the sport in SA,” Jooste said. “I’m thrilled with the win.”

Jooste said he knew there was a rare chance for the breakaway to stay away when they managed to open a gap into a headwind.

“With such strong riders in the break, things fell into place. I knew that if we kept up the speed and our confidence, victory would be ours.”

The men’s elite racing category over the 109km coastal route around the Cape Peninsula produced intense and exciting moments. The weather on the day was ideal for racing, with sunny conditions and a light south-easterly breeze. The mint conditions made for a few characteristic early attacks, but all the big teams worked to bring it all back together.

Up the deceptively tough Smitswinkel climb, five riders got off the front and forged the break. The five stayed together until Hout Bay when Nick James (DMS) dropped back.

“That’s when the realisation kicked in that we were going to go to the finish, and a podium was a potential,” said Nigrini, who finished second.

The breakaway didn’t always seem to work together consistently, with the youthful Loubser doing the bulk of the work.

Cape Town native and fourth-place finisher Loubser expressed his elation at completing the race unscathed, stating: “I am overjoyed to have had a smooth ride and crossed the finish line in one piece.”

The chasing bunch got organised up Chapman’s Peak. They were closely watched by team Honeycomb, represented by Terlouw up front.

In the women’s race, double defending champion Kim le Court, of Mauritius, completed a hat-trick of wins.

The Efficient Infiniti Insure rider had to work harder for her fourth title than any of the others, though, after Candice Lill broke up a select group who had entered the finale together with an audacious attack in the final kilometre.

Le Court and her fellow sprinters reeled Lill in before the winner outsprinted Vera Looser, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Hayley Preen, and Cherise Willeit to take the 2023 title.

“Lill’s kick forced her rivals to open up their sprints earlier than they would have liked. It was a bit tense, to be honest,” Le Court reflected.

Le Court’s victory is her fourth in the Cape Town Cycle Tour, moving her to joint four alongside Anke Erlank on the all-time standings.

Leading results:

Men: 1 Chris Jooste (TufoBMC) 02:36:14; 2 Andries Nigrini (TEG); 3 Jaedon Terlouw (Honeycomb); 4 Daniel Loubser (Cycling Friends); 5 Gert Heyns (Valley Electrical).

Women: 1 Kim le Court (Efficient Infiniti Insure) 2:13:20; 2 Vera Looser (Lapierre-Elysator); 3 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance Soudal QuickStep); 4 Hayley Preen (Freewheel Cycology); 5 Cherise Willeit (Sandton City Cycle Nation).

www.capetowncycletour.com