Team BCX’s Clint Hendricks claimed the yellow jersey after the opening stage of the Tour de Limpopo, which finished in Tzaneen today.
The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist collected points during the stage that saw him top the general classification heading into day two.
The 96.6km stage, which started at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, was won by ProTouch Sports’s Gustav Basson, who finished in 2:12:51. Hendricks crossed the line in 2:12:52, with ACDC Luso’s Calvin Beneke third.
Limpopo Tourism Agency CEO Sonto Ndlovu congratulates Team BCX’s Clint Hendricks, who claimed the yellow jersey after stage one of the Tour de Limpopo that finished in Tzaneen today. Photo: HaydsBrown
The finish came down to a sprint as the peloton closed the gap between themselves and the breakaway group.
“We wanted to get the yellow and we did, so we ticked the first box,” said Hendricks, who was also awarded the sprinter’s green jersey.
The first sprint hotspot was at the 26.6km mark, with Hendricks taking the most points.
“It was a brilliant lead-out from the boys. It’s our routine; it’s what we do. To come away winning that was special.”
“I’m pretty happy with second on the line. I would’ve liked to have won the stage but you can’t win them all. We’re looking forward to what’s coming up next and to recover now. We’ll take it day by day.”
The stage winner said the plan was to get a rider into the break and then for it hopefully to come down to a sprint.
“On the descent a few guys got away and I just hopped on the wheel and then we had a gap over the peloton,” said Basson.
“A few guys came across in the last two kilometres. We still had a gap on the peloton and we had to sprint. Then Jayde [Julius] also came across and we rode as a unit and managed to pull off a win.”
Basson’s teammate James Fourie won the King of the Mountains category as well as the red jersey for the most aggressive rider.
Stage two of the four-day stage race covers 175km and starts and finishes in Tzaneen.
