Clint won’t give up title without a fight
After flaunting their form this week, defending champion Clint Hendricks is confident the RoadCover cycling team will put up another strong fight at the Cape Town Cycle Tour tomorrow.
With team-mate Kent Main winning the five-stage Tour of Good Hope in the Western Cape, securing the general classification yesterday, Hendricks said the RoadCover squad would be ready to tackle the 109km one-day contest around the Mother City.
“I think we did extremely well this week,” Hendricks said.
“Last year I won the sprint jersey at this tour, but our goal was different this year. We wanted to win the general classification, and we achieved that, so the team has shown we’re in nice shape.”
While Hendricks said he had focussed on improving his speed, he remained confident of staying in touch with the peloton in the mid-stages, having worked hard over the climbs last year before holding on to clinch a late sprint.
“Last year I was lighter than I am now because I’ve been trying to work on my top-end speed, but it hasn’t really affected my climbing ability,” he said.
“I have an idea of how hard they’ll go up Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie, so I know what I need to do to stay with them.”
Other contenders this weekend include recent Herald Continental Cycle Tour winner Nolan Hoffman (BCX), aiming for his third win in four years at the Cape Town Cycle Tour, and in-former Under-23 rider Stefan de Bod (Dimension Data Continental).
The elite women’s race, starting separately to the men’s event this year, is expected to be contested between the likes of mountain bike rider Candice Lill (Dormakaba), who won the Tour of Good Hope, defending champion An-Li Kacholhoffer (BestMed ASG), who was third at the five-day contest this week, and Anriette Schoeman who won the recent Herald Continental race.