Nico Bell soloed to victory in record time at the Cullinan2Tonteldoos that finished in Dullstroom today. Photo: Cullinan2Tonteldoos
Nico Bell rode to an impressive victory in the 260km Cullinan2Tonteldoos mountain and gravel bike race which finished at Dunkeld Estate in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, today.
The 37-year-old NanoTime pro soloed to victory in 8:55:16 – a new record time.
Former professional, Gawie Combrinck, placed second just more than 14 minutes off the pace. Jaco Ferreira was third.
“It was quite a hard race,” said Bell.
“Me and Gawie pretty much set the pace in the first 100km. When we reached the 133km spectator point we pulled in but Gawie got a flat wheel and had to plug it while I rolled out first after getting my bottles.
“I saw he was slightly behind me and sat up and he rode across to me. We rode together for about 10 to 15 kilometres.
As they reached a particularly steep climb, Bell noticed that Combrinck was taking strain and decided to forge ahead on his own.
“The gravel bike was good for the day, I think the rain the night before helped a lot so we had a lot more traction.
“The last few kilometres before Dullstroom had a lot of climbing, which made the last 70km quite hard. I had already done about 180km at that point so my legs had taken a bit of strain, but I just rode at my own pace.
“I’m glad to take the win for team NanoTime again.”
Results:
Men
| 1 | Nico Bell | 8:55:16 |
| 2 | Gawie Combrinck | 9:09:32 |
| 3 | Jaco Ferreira | 9:18:26 |
| 4 | Phillip Malan | 9:28:05 |
| 5 | Barend Burger | 9:32:06 |
| 6 | Andries Nigrini | 9:38:11 |
| 7 | Josef Bester | 9:38:25 |
| 8 | Fanie Venter | 9:42:04 |
| 9 | Gerrit de Vries | 9:51:17 |
| 10 | Thinus Redelinghuys | 10:00:23 |
