Bradley Potgieter and Lise Olivier clinch aQuellé Tour Durban

Bradley Potgieter added the aQuellé Tour Durban title to the impressive catalogue of victories by the on-form RoadCover team as he edged out Telkom Pro Cycling’s Herman Maree on the line, while seasoned pro Lise Olivier added her name to the women’s trophy for a second time after her Time Freight eTeam totally dominated the women’s race.

Bradley Potgieter (left, RoadCover) wins the 2016 aQuellé Tour Durban on Sunday from David Maree (Telkom Pro Cycling) and Herman Fouché (Darkhorse AutoDen). Anthony Grote/ Gameplan Media

The core of the Europcar team that took Ryan Gibbons to victory last year, the RoadCover outfit sported Cape Town Cycle Tour winner Clint Hendricks, who proved to be something for a marked man. The team used this distraction well, and sent Potgieter away in a key breakaway on the closing leg back down the M4 coastal freeway to the finish at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

In what proved to be an intriguing arm-wrestle between the strong Telkom Pro Cycling outfit and RoadCover in tough windy conditions, the Telkom strategy to contain the race at a steady rolling pace to prevent any breakaways seemed to be working in the first half of the race.

“We let that happen over the climb (to Pinetown) and we made sure we had most of our guys there,” said Potgieter.

“When we linked onto the M4 highway to Ballito we made the call to make the racing harder because Telkom were happy to just ride consistently.

Telkom Pro Cycling controlling the ascent into Pinetown in the early stages of the 2016 aQuellé Tour Durban on Sunday. Anthony Grote/ Gameplan Media

“That smooth easy riding doesn’t suit our team,” he added. “We like hard racing!”

“We got a few of our guys to start attacking and counter attacking until the pressure got to them and the split happened in the bunch. I just slipped into the move,” said Potgieter.

He was taken to the line by team mate Gustav Basson who made sure he had space to attack.

“I was quite confident in my legs. I took it early out wide on the right to avoid the mess and took it to the line,” said a delighted Potgieter.

“The communication in our team is key. We are all friends off the bike and friends on the bike, and that just sets the tone.

“We are all there to dig a hole for ourselves if we need to, to bury ourselves for another rider. That self sacrifice is just awesome,” he added.

Telkom Pro sprinter David Maree finished second with Herman Fouché (Darkhorse AutoDen) third, just ahead of Under 23 speedster Rohan du Plooy.

Mountain biker Brendon Davids excelled to finish right in the mix at the end sprint, crossing the line seventh. Ryan Harris (Genasys) took the junior laurels.

In the women’s race Olivier rounded off a thoroughly dominant showing by the Time Freight eTeam to win a three way sprint for the title.

Their five strong outfit attacked from the get-go and used the push up to Pinetown to whittle the women’s peleton down to six riders, with Olivier winning the Queen of the Mountain hot-spot.

Eventual race winner Lise Olivier (right, Time Freight eTeam) settled into the front peleton in the women’s race of the 2016 aQuellé Tour Durban on Sunday. Anthony Grote/ Gameplan Media

From the turn at top of the M4 at uMdloti the concerted attacks and counter-attacks started, which saw Olivier and Juanita Venter break away alone at the front.

“Vera (Adrian) then miraculously managed to bridge the gap and so we were three working together. As it always does when it gets tactical at the end a few others managed to join the front group so there were five coming into the finish,” said Olivier.

“The finish was a proper team effort and we managed to get first and second,” said a satisfied Olivier, who could reflect on a great outcome for a team, that is made up of riders of varying experience and strengths.

“Everyone gets a job on the day and we have different objectives for each rider – to expect a new rider to attack in the first ten kays is unreasonable. We have a really good mix that is working well for us at the moment

“In a women’s team to get a mix that really works well together is quite special,” said Olivier. “We are honestly a tight knit group and we are ready to sacrifice for each other and it doesn’t matter who crosses the line first.”

She said the high standard of racing in the women’s division was pleasing given the loss of some riders to other events on the same weekend, and professional commitments to European teams.

“It is one of my favourite races,” she added. “It is properly organised and the full road closure is something that we really enjoy, and we keep coming back to this race. KZN is one of our favorite places to come and race,” she added.
The second hotspot was won by Vera Adrian, who finished second overall to make it a Time Freight eTeam one-two, with Brittany Petersen clinching her first major road race podium scooping third ahead of Juanita Venter.

The men’s race leaders cross the uMdloti lagoon in the 2016 aQuellé Tour Durban on Sunday. Anthony Grote/ Gameplan Media

The 55km cyclocross race which included off road sectors was won by Marco Joubert (Kargo Pro) from Joshua Nelson and talented junior Cayde Muldoon, with Hayley Smith getting the better of Kargo Pro team mate Frankie du Toit in the women’s race.

The three races that make up the aQuellé Tour Durban were supported by huge fields, eager to enjoy the sunny Autumn weather. The 45km Fun Ride attracted a record field as enthusiastic social riders soaked up the out-and-back loop from the Moses Mabhida Stadium to the uMdloti and back.

The Domino Foundation that is the ultimate beneficiary of the race fielded several teams of riders, joined by public supporters and cheered on by the team of volunteers manning their second station.