Joanna van de Winkel won the 947 Ride Joburg 10 years ago – and came tantalisingly close to repeating her success when she finished second in Johannesburg on Sunday.
An unlucky glitch with her bicycle’s chain right near the end put paid to her chances, as defending champion Carla Oberholzer won the sprint by a tenth of a second.
“Coming second is always a bit disappointing. It would’ve been nice to win it again on my 10-year anniversary.
“We did win the women’s team prize for Cycle Nation Sandton City though.”
Cycle Nation Sandton City won the women’s team prize at the 947 Ride Joburg in Johannesburg on Sunday. Photo: Supplied
Van de Winkel said last year the finish of the 94.7km race was unfamiliar to her, but this year she knew what to expect.
“I had planned to start the sprint halfway up the hill to the final circle and be into the circle first.
“I always seem to find myself in the front coming into the finish. Paris [Edwards] attacked from the back right from the bottom of the hill and I was forced to react to chase it down, leading Carla out.
“As she kicked past me, my chain came off and I had to freewheel a few turns to get it back on before I started my sprint. So obviously I was disappointed I hadn’t been able to give it my full effort.
“There always seems to be something I do wrong in the sprint, but that’s racing and even at my age I’m still learning,” said the 37-year-old.
Oberholzer finished just ahead of Van de Winkel, with Edwards taking third, a further tenth of a second back.
Looking ahead, Van de Winkel said she hadn’t finalised her plans for next year.
“My six-year-old goes into Grade 1 [next year] and I’m busy changing jobs at work, so there are a lot of other uncertainties at the moment.
“I love cycling and would love to contribute more to the sport. I have had an awesome year and I loved the five-week Europe trip and the opportunity to race at Worlds.
“Unfortunately with the drama going on at Cycling South Africa, I doubt there will be support for another such trip next year and to self-fund and self-organise comes at a sacrifice to my family and job. So I am not making any decisions at this stage.”
