Johannesburg - Jacques Janse van Rensburg dominated the 2015 South African Road Championships men's road race to finish just under two minutes ahead of the chasing bunch in hot conditions in Mbombela on Saturday.
For Daryl Impey it was a case of being the perennial runner-up as he finished the race in second place.
The South African Time Trial champion was disappointed by the tactics taken by the peloton, however, he was still satisfied as he looked towards the international season.
It was a first elite national championship title for Janse van Rensburg but with a debut.
“It is such a great feeling to win the elite title,” Janse van Rensburg said.
“After Louis (Meintjes) won it last year and with our (MTN-Qhubeka) Tour de France entry we really wanted to keep it amongst the team and I am glad that we managed to do that.”
Having claimed both the junior and the Under-23 national titles, Janse van Rensburg was glad to add the elite title to his name.
Janse van Rensburg felt he rode a technically and tactically sound race that unfolded like he would have wanted it to.
Impay said he was frustrated by the tactics of some of the bigger teams that were part of the bunch.
“There was very little movement in the group and I was hoping that there might be a couple guys who were willing to come with me and no one wanted to put in a chase which was quite disappointing but it was a great ride from Jacques and he deserved it today,” he said.
The Under-23 men also took to the road in their race on Saturday and it was Jayde Julius who managed to hold off Stefan de Bod and a number of other riders to claim the national crown.
Sapa