CAPE TOWN - Travis Barrett won his maiden Cape Town Cycle Tour title after prevailing in the final sprint to the line, while Cherise Willeit won the women's race for the fifth time.
The 20-year-old OfficeGuru rider Barrett beat Team Enza’s Clint Hendricks (second) and ProTouch’s Jayde Julius (third) to claim an emotional win.
“We knew we had to make it hard up Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie to get rid of the fast guys,” said Barrett after the race.
“There were still some really fast sprinters here at the end though, so I knew if I wanted to win I had to race really smart.”
Travis Barret celebrates after sprinting to victory in the 2020 Cape Town Cycle Tour. Clint Hendricks was second and Jade Julius finished third. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
Barrett heaped praise on his teammates for the victory, as they set him up with a good tactical ride, before he launched into a sprint about 200m from the finishing line.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/ctcycletour?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ctcycletourwinner @Trav_Barrett pic.twitter.com/3xITUbaZ5p
— Cape Town Cycle Tour (@CTCycleTour)
“It was probably the longest 200m of my life. I opened up my sprint just at the right time. I started fading a little bit just towards the end, I could feel Clint coming along on my right-hand side, but the finish was just close enough to hold it off.
“I still can’t believe it. It’s something I think every rider dreams of. A few months ago I set myself a goal of wanting to win a big Classic in South Africa and I thought if I could do it at the Cape Town Cycle Tour then that would be great.”
Cherise Willeit won her fifth Cape Town Cycle Tour 2020 title. Frances Janse van Rensburg was second and and Hayley Preen finished in third place. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
Meanwhile, Customized Cycling's Willeit successfully defended her title to claim her fifth win in the world's biggest timed cycle race.
“It feels amazing. I’ve come into this race the most unknown I’ve ever gone into a race. It’s been quite an interesting week, I had a bit of a stomach bug,” said Willeit.
“There were lots of attacks, very very intense. It was very tactical and a super long finish. There was a straight on headwind. I think I kicked like five times in the last 500m. My legs were cramping at the end. Like every Cycle Tour, it was a very special one.”
National U23 road and time-trial champion Frances Janse van Rensburg of Positive Sports Solutions was second, while Gumtree/Racebike’s Hayley Preen finished completed the podium.
