MTN-Qhubeka's Reinardt Janse van Rensburg won this past weekend's Dome2Dome over 98km in convincing fashion in a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds. He was joined on the winner's podium by Hanco Kachelhoffer (Bonitas) and William Bush (Toyota CSA U23).
Photo: Michelle Cound
It was a new route this year, starting at the top of Sterkfontein heading out past Tarlton, up past Maropeng, a lap of the Cradle and back to the top of Sterkfontein. The race started with the usual attacks with riders from all the teams trying to get into the break, but none successful. The first move that got some daylight was a brave solo effort by MTN-Qhubeka's Bradley Potgieter. Soon after Nolan Hoffmann (Tasol-GT) attacked and select group of seven riders jumped across and joined Bradley.
"It looked dangerous, but Bonitas had only one rider (Waylon Woolcock) in the break and they wanted more, so Hanco and I managed to ride across on one of the first hilly sections in the Cradle. This became a 10 man break and it was clear that this would be the decisive break of the day," said Janse Van Rensburg.
MTN-Qhubeka was represented in the break by Potgieter, Janse van Rensburg and Arran Brown. Other riders present were Kachelhoffer and Woolcock (Bonitas), Pieter Seyffert and JC Jooste (Matlosana), William Bush (Toyota CSA), Nolan Hoffmann (Tasol-GT) and Peter-Lee Jefferies (Smart Shake).
"We were in a strong position and most of the other riders looked at us to do most of the pace making. Bradley and Arran were excellent in keeping the pace high, making sure that the break would stay away and so I could save myself," “Brad was excellent in keeping the pace constantly high while Arran helped pace and followed all the attacks from Pieter Seyffert and Waylon Woolcock and kept things together for me” said Janse van Rensburg.
The final climb suited Janse van Rensburg to a tee, as he can climb and sprint. With about a minute on the chasing bunch, Brown again upped the pace all the way from the bottom of the final climb and left Janse van Rensburg with 800m to go. "I was surprised that the attacks didn't come earlier from the two Bonitas riders, Hanco and Waylon Woolcock, who are both good climbers."
Woolcock made his move with 800m to go. "As Arran pulled off I held Waylon’s wheel and kicked with just 300m to go. That caught Hanco off guard. I got a gap and he couldn't close it."
MTN-Qhubeka had five riders in the top 10 with Brown (6th), Dennis van Niekerk (8th), Dylan Girdleston (9th) and Martin Wesemann (10th).
"I really owe this victory to my team-mates who were excellent in keeping me fresh all the way to the final 800m," added Janse van Rensburg.
Dome 2 Dome Top 10:
1st Reinardt Janse van Rensburg - Team MTN Qhubeka 2:11:33
2nd Hanco Kachelhoffer - Team Bonitas @”
3rd William Bush – Toyota CSA @8s
4th Waylon Woolcock - Team Bonitas @27s
5th Pieter Seyffert - Team Matlosana @30s
6th Arran brown - Team MTN Qhubeka @36s
7th Jason Bakke – Team Bonitas @59s
8th Dennis van Niekerk - Team MTN Qhubeka @”
9th Dylan Girdlestone - Team MTN Qhubeka @”
10th Martin Wessemann - Team MTN Qhubeka @1’12
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