Nolan Hoffman has described his Tour de Windhoek victory in Namibia on Sunday as one of the highlights of his career.
Riding for BCX, Hoffman finished first with a final general classification time of 6:58:02. His teammates David Maree and Steven van Heerden placed second and third respectively – all within the space of a minute.
“As a sprinter it is unheard of to win an overall tour,” Hoffman told In the Bunch. “We had a really strong team display in the first stage where we used the wind to perfection.”
Hoffman soloed to victory in that stage, beating Maree by 27 seconds into second with ProTouch’s Reynard Butler third, a further 18 seconds back.
Nolan Hoffman, pictured here at the Tour of Good Hope this year, has described his Tour de Windhoek victory in Namibia on Sunday as one of the highlights of his career. Photo: Rob Ward
The Cape Town Cycle Tour winner said the tour was “basically won” on the opening day. “That pretty much laid the foundation for us,” Hoffman said.
“As a team we really had a strong ride; we managed to outnumber the competition in the front group and we attacked our breakaway companions.
“Most of the GC contenders were in the peloton. It was good to take advantage of the numerical advantage we had in the breakaway and make it count.
“Ultimately that was the dream scenario for us,” he added.
The nature of the tour, he said, did not allow for any of his competition to make up time in the following stages.
“All the stages were short and intense, so guys weren’t really able to catch up once you created a gap,” Hoffman said, adding that the team time-trial later on the first day was also always going to be decisive.
Following the first stage Hoffman and his team just had to ensure they maintained at least a one-minute lead over their closest rival, Butler, who was lying third before the TTT.
“We had to make sure we just had to defend the lead we created. Fortunately David, Steven and I are renowned pursuit riders. We were all three selected to represent the South African team pursuit squad at the Commonwealth Games [this year].
“So a flat, fast and short time-trial like that definitely suited us and we knew we only had to stay within a minute of ProTouch. They had also already lost about eight minutes on the team classification.
“It’s much easier to defend a race lead than to chase in an attempt to close a gap and we were always in control [throughout the tour].” Ultimately BCX won the TTT, beating ProTouch into second by 38 seconds.
For the rest of the tour, the only other challenge that Hoffman identified was a major climb during the fifth and final stage which he likened to the early climb up to Pinetown in the Tour Durban.
“That was quite a hard stage. That climb was quite hard in parts,” Hoffman said.
“But we knew we only had to follow Reynard and Calvin [Beneke, who was fifth overall]. By then I already held about a 50-second lead over Reynard, who was the closest rival.
“It was so hard out on the race track that Steven was then able to move past Reynard.
“There was a lot of attacking in the finish and I only had to keep about 20 seconds over my own teammate [Maree]. That was actually a luxury to have; to race your teammate for the win and not the competition.”
Butler ended up finishing fourth overall, 44 seconds behind Hoffman.
Hoffman will next turn his focus to the Amashova Durban Classic taking place on October 21, where he aims to defend his title.
