Defending champion Gustav Basson won the opening Tour de Limpopo stage in Polokwane today.
The TEG rider enjoyed the 172km stage that featured long, straight roads.
“It’s nice to have the longer races here in South Africa. The tactics are a bit different when there are more kilometres.”
He said that Dylan Girdlestone and Marc Pritzen, both of OfficeGuru, wanted to go for the sprint to the finish line from far out.
“I don’t think they recognised the road when we came towards the finish and it was a bit too late for them. Our team turned right when we saw the line and then it was basically just full gas for the rest of the way.”
Alexander Konychev (Dimension Data Continental) finished second, with Marc Pritzen (OfficeGuru) third.
Stage two will consist of a 96.6km route from Polokwane to Tzaneen.
The live stream of each of the 2019 Tour de Limpopo stages can be watched here.
View more results below.
Gustav Basson won stage one of the Tour de Limpopo in Polokwane today. Photo: Tour de Limpopo/Andrew McFadden
Stage one results
1. Gustav Basson (TEG) 3:57:10
2. Alexander Konychev (Dimension Data Continental) 3:57:10
3. Marc Pritzen (OfficeGuru) 3:57:10
4. Jason Oosthuizen (TEG) 3:57:10
5. Jayde Julius (ProTouch) 3:57:11
6. James Jobber (VLS) 3:57:11
7. Connor Brown (Dimension Data Continental) 3:57:12
8. Dylan Girdlestone (OfficeGuru) 3:57:12
9. Kent Main (ProTouch) 3:57:13
10. Samuele Battistella (Dimension Data Continental) 3:57:15
General classification
1. Gustav Basson (TEG)
2. Alexander Konychev (Dimension Data Continental)
3. Marc Pritzen (OfficeGuru)
4. Jason Oosthuizen (TEG) 3:57:10
5. Jayde Julius (ProTouch) 3:57:11
6. James Jobber (VLS) 3:57:11
7. Connor Brown (Dimension Data Continental) 3:57:12
8. Dylan Girdlestone (OfficeGuru) 3:57:12
9. Kent Main (ProTouch) 3:57:13
10. Samuele Battistella (Dimension Data Continental) 3:57:15
