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The 2024 Cape Town Cycle Tour took place in the Mother City on Sunday morning.

Around 30,000 cyclists from all across the world took part; in addition to a thousand traffic cones, 230 traffic officials, 40 metro police and 182 members of the SA Police Service to ensure the Peninsula was locked down as tight as a mouse’s butt for the largest timed bike race in the world.

Kent Main and Tiffany Keep were worthy winners of the 46th edition of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, noted the Cape Town Cycle Tour.

“Main slipped off the front of a select group, inside the final five kilometres and time trialled to the line. While in the women’s race Keep edged out S’annara Grove with a bike throw on the line to claim victory by a tyre’s width after a fiercely contested sprint,” the press release stated.

 

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Apparently, the men’s race started at a frenetic pace, with Jaco van Dyk making the first attempted breakaway.

After the Honeycomb Pro Cycling rider got caught, a pack of six swiftly surged ahead. Theuns Van Der Bank led the charge down the Blue Route, supported by Brad Scott, Dan Loubser, and Luke Moir, widening the gap. Despite having a teammate in the breakaway, Honeycomb acknowledged the threat posed by the leaders and rallied to reel them back in.

Then, around Scarborough, Loubser and Moir, were the sole survivors at the front until they were eventually overtaken before the final major ascent by a chasing pack consisting of Alan Hatherly, Kent Main, Marc Pritzen, Jaedon Terlouw, Charlie Aldridge, Jaco Venter, and Alex Miller. After the catch, the pace surged, and Loubser and Terlouw struggled on the steep sections of Suikerbossie. This formed a leading group comprising Hatherly, Main, Pritzen, Terlouw, Aldridge, Venter, Miller, and Moir, contending for victory.

A strategic duel unfolded over the ensuing kilometres until Main stealthily broke away from the pack.

“Kent gained a slight lead, and I anticipated Charlie to pursue him on behalf of Alan,” recounted Namibian Road Race Champion Miller. “But initially, no one made the effort, allowing him to build a significant advantage over us.”

Only within the final 400 metres after charging for Greenpoint, could Main relax and soak up the emotions. With a double-armed salute, followed by a gesticulation to his new sponsors, RKC Collective, he crossed the line.

“I’ve got goosebumps,” Main grinned. “It’s amazing! It was an amazing race. It was super hard right from the beginning but I think how tough it was actually worked in our favour. It’s amazing to have won it!”

In the women’s race the early headwinds and lack of teams made for a tactical first half to the 78-kilometre route.

The top contenders kept a close eye on each other, opting to wait patiently. Normally, Smitswinkel would cause the pack to split, but the strong headwind kept the peloton together as they crested the initial climb. They then descended swiftly, benefiting from the tailwind as they passed Cape Point National Park, Scarborough, and Misty Cliffs in unison. It wasn’t until they approached Chapmans Peak Drive that the group started to break apart, with Juanita Mackenzie launching a solo attack.

Around Hout Bay, the leading six – Vera Looser, Jo van de Winkel, Catherine Colyn, and S’annara Grove at the front with Carla Oberholzer and Tiffany Keep – had time to compose themselves before fireworks on Suikerbossie.

Van de Winkel was the first to attack climbing out of Hout Bay, but Keep blew past her within 500 metres of the summit with Grove, Oberholzer and Looser in tow. Van de Winkel dug deep to hold Looser’s wheel but was not able to do so.

Once Keep, Grove, Oberholzer and Looser reached Beach Road in Sea Point it was clear that the race would be determined by a sprint.

Grove was the first to kick, jumping clear by a handful of metres and then trying to hold her power through the agonising final 50 metres, but then Keep came ranging up on her outside. The pair threw for the line in unison and Keep edged it by the narrowest of margins. Looser and Oberholzer thundered across the line heart-beats later, with only a few seconds separating the top four.

The next five minutes were anxious ones for Keep and Grove as they awaited the official decision. When it came Keep was elated and Grove disappointed. “We didn’t know who got it,” Keep confessed. “It was super, super close. S’annara [Grove] jumped me with about 100 metres to go and I had to work quite hard to get back to her wheel. So, ja, I’m really, very, happy with that!”

Keep’s victory makes her the first new Cape Town Cycle Tour elite women’s winner since 2018 and only the third woman to claim the women’s old race title.

Nice one. I’m sure you all had some ice packs waiting at home on the couch.

[source:capetowncycletour]