South Africa’s Morné van Niekerk recovered well after a challenging day to win the Route d’Or du Poitou at Civray, Vienne, in France yesterday.
The Christian Magimel rider, who finished the 132km route in 3:97:32, said he had competed in a race the day before and arrived at his apartment only a few hours before having to leave again.
“It was difficult and my manager told me I won’t feel well for the first two hours so it was just important to not lose during that time.
“I had a tough race the day before and didn’t ride tactically very clever, so I made a point to race a lot smarter.”
South Africa’s Morné van Niekerk, who rides for French team Christian Magimel, won the Route d’Or du Poitou in Civray, Vienne, yesterday. Photo: Alexia Tintinger
He said near the end of yesterday’s route he was in a good position, following good wheels and had support from his team.
“I stuck to my strategy of taking it easy during the first couple of kilometres and guarding everything for the finale, but I eventually went a lot earlier than planned. That was just how it played out.
“I saw an opportunity and felt I had good legs and could give it a go solo for the final 30km. That’s also what made the win even more beautiful.”
He added that the most crucial point was the small climb in the circuit when there was 30 to 40km remaining.
“I went up there, had good pace and pushed it a little bit after speaking to my teammate and finding out that he felt good. When we went to the top it was only him that was able to follow me.
“I told him to counter and I followed the group, because there was a former European time-trial champion and French champ in it, so I knew if I stuck with them and he made a big effort to turn to my teammate then I could launch another counter to win.”
The 22-year-old, who won the Tour de l’Agglomération Saint-Avold Synergie earlier this year, said it was always nice to claim a victory.
“I went into the race with a plan to win as this time of year is critical for me and has been what I’ve built up to this season, which is doing well between May and September.
“It was just a great feeling passing the line first and knowing that you’ve won.”
He said he was especially happy with his performance because the day before he was disappointed in how he raced.
“It was great to bounce back like that. It just shows that the form is good and my preparation and training is working.
“Also to do it against professionals and regional champions was nice. It wasn’t the biggest field, but it was a class field nonetheless.”
Video: DirectVelo
