Team BCX’s David Maree won the 136km opening stage of the Lowveld Tour, which took place in Limpopo today.
Maree completed the race in 3:18:41, beating Dylan Girdlestone and Jaco van Dyk into second and third respectively.
Team BCX’s David Maree (pictured) won the 136km opening stage of the Lowveld Tour, which took place in Limpopo today. Photo: Team BCX
Maree was a part of an early break comprising he, Ruben van der Merwe, James Barnes, Travis Barrett and Jaco van Dyk.
The escapees later extended their lead to over three minutes, before it dwindled slightly heading towards the halfway mark.
The break increased to 11 riders, as Girdlestone, Chris Jooste, Matt Beers, Bradley Potgieter, Casper Kruger and Orion Craigue joined the mix.
The bunch failed to catch up as the race wore on, while the break reduced in numbers as well. Maree managed to outlast his fellow escapees at the end. Girdlestone followed two seconds later.
View provisional results below.
Stage one
Elite men
1. David Maree (BCX) 3:18:41
2. Dylan Girdlestone (Office Gurus) +0:02
3. Jaco van Dyk (Luso) +0:03
4. Matt Beers (NAD Pro)
5. James Barnes (Cycle Power) +0:05
6. Chris Jooste (BCX)
7. Ruben van der Merwe (Vander Group) +0:12
8. Bradley Potgieter (Vander Group) +0:18
9. Casper Kruger (Luso) +0:45
10. Steven van Heerden (BCX) +1:04
11. Nico Bell (NAD Pro)
12. Andries Nigrini (Vander Group) +1:09
13. Joshua van Wyk (VWE Track Academy) +1:35
14. Jean-Pierre Lloyd
15. Damon Fouche (Vander Group)
16. Michael Pretorius (Velo)
17. Flava Venceslau
18. Sias Joubert (Vander Group)
19. Gawie Combrinck (NAD Pro)
20. Wessel Botha (NAD Pro)
Vets (30+/40+)
1. Alex Pavlov 3:29:20
2. Jaco Cronje
3. Johann Naude
4. Neil Tim +10:35
5. Marnus Potgieter
