Nico Bell set the perfect pace to secure victory in the 42km individual time-trial of the Mpumalanga Tour at Swadini resort today.
Bell, who finished ahead of teammate Matt Beers and Katusha-Alpecin’s Willie Smit, said the biggest challenge during stage two of the seven-day tour was to pace himself correctly.
“We have not really done high-intensity efforts this year,” said the NAD Pro rider.
Nico Bell, pictured during stage one, won the individual time-trial on stage two of the Mpumalanga Tour today. Photo: facebook.com/foreverresortsa/
They had been doing 20-minute intervals in training with 30 minutes the longest they had tackled. The key was to find the right balance.
“To try and pace yourself as hard as possible is the most difficult,” he said.
The Nelspruit local figured the best way to win the ITT was to try not to pedal flat-out on the downhill sections, thereby conserving energy for the uphills where it was easy to lose a lot of time if you weren’t careful.
“I pretty much just rode in a downhill tempo and tried to stay in an aero position so that when I hit the uphill drags I had more power and I was able to pedal harder.
“I also think I am more aerodynamic in the way I am built and then I also like riding with big gears. So, a time-trial definitely suited my capabilities.”
Regarding the route and weather conditions, Bell said the race was “very difficult” mainly because it was extremely hot.
“The average temperature was around 31 degrees. So the heat was a factor for everyone.”
He said on the way back, over the last 20km, there was a lot more climbing than in the first section.
“On a time-trial bike you obviously go a bit slower on the steep parts of the route and so the heat was definitely a big factor there.”
The 35-year-old also said he thought the team’s “super-fast” bikes had played a big role in their success.
With Beers leading the overall standings and defending the title from last year, Bell said the team’s goal for tomorrow’s 90.3km third stage would be to back Beers.
He added that since he was second on the GC he would try to stay in contention, but that the team’s main objective was to support Beers in the race.
Bell concluded by saying they enjoyed racing in the Mpumalanga Tour and that it was always great to support local races in their area.
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