Nolan Hoffman is hoping to defend his title at the 106km Amashova Durban Classic on Sunday and in so doing secure a record seventh victory at the event.
Last year Hoffman won his sixth Amashova, equalling the record set by Malcolm Lange, one of South Africa’s most successful cyclists.
The BCX rider also recorded his fifth consecutive Amashova win last year.
Team BCX’s Nolan Hoffman, pictured here at last year’s Amashova Durban Classic, is hoping to defend his title at the 106km race and in so doing secure a record seventh victory. Photo: Roy Esterhuysen
It is a race that holds sentimental value for the 33-year-old and he is hoping to keep the victories coming in a bid to surpass Lange’s tally.
He described it as “one of my favourite races”.
“This is an event, in my view, that has shaped me as a cyclist,” Hoffman told In the Bunch today.
“It is a race that I like a lot and I will be heading into this year’s event almost like I’m tackling it for the first time.
“I will be going there with that same sort of excitement and anticipation. I’m really looking forward to the race.”
Hoffman said he always tried to head into a race in the “best shape possible” and that was a box he felt he had already ticked.
“I know where my limits are and I know exactly how to tackle this route,” he said.
“Knowing all of that, I am 120 per cent confident that I can pull off another win.”
BCX would have their full team on duty at the Amashova for the first time since the beginning of an injury-plagued year, Hoffman said.
The team will comprise Hoffman, Brandon Downes, Chris Jooste, David Maree, Marc Pritzen and Steven van Heerden.
Missing will be Clint Hendricks as he is no longer part of the set-up, having joined the German-based Bike Aid at the end of last month.
Hoffman identified ProTouch’s Reynard Butler as the biggest threat ahead of the race.
“If it comes down to a sprint he will be very dangerous. He’s beaten me a few times in the second part of the season, one being at the Cycle4Cansa.
“I’m a bit cautious of him,” he said, adding that Ryan Harris of officeguru racing and Tyler Day of Barzani Pro would also pose threats.
“In bunch sprints you can never really discount anyone.”
The race starts in Pietermaritzburg and finishes in Durban. Hoffman identified the Inchanga climb in the Valley of 1 000 Hills at 46km in as the most decisive point on the route.
“That’s the game changer. That’s where the race gets won or lost,” he said, echoing Harris’s sentiments yesterday.
