Willeit, Gaze in cycle race double

Cherise Willeit made an emphatic return to road racing by claiming her fourth Cape Town Cycle Tour title on Sunday.

Willeit, of Investec-Songo-Specialised, who only recently started training in earnest again, took the bunch sprint ahead of 2018 defending champion Kim le Court (Team Demacon MaxWax Racing) and Tiffany Keep (Titan).

New Zealander Sam Gaze completed the double for Investec-Songo-Specialised by timing his sprint in the men’s race to perfection.

Gaze denied Jason Oosthuizen (TEG Pro Racing) and Clint Hendricks (Pro Touch Continental) on the line, in a time of 02:39:42.

After a successful experiment in 2018, the elite and U23 women once again had their own start in Fish Hoek and Willeit crossed the line in a time of 02:16:11, after their 78km race.

“I absolutely cannot believe it,” an elated Willeit said shortly after the finish.

“It’s just such a special victory for me today, in front of my husband and kids.”

A strong south-easterly wind made for highly tactical racing from early on and the mountain bikers took the fight to the more favoured road teams of Sandton City/Cycle Nation and Demacon MaxWax Racing.

“Dormakaba and Summit Fin went hard right from the start,” Willeit said, explaining how a group of about 30, made up of a mix of mountain bikers and the main road teams, managed to get away at Smitswinkel.

Men’s winner, Gaze, praised the opposition.

“Clint is an incredibly fast sprinter and there were a few other fast boys in there, so to be able to pull it off was really good,” he said.

Gaze – who finished runner up in 2018 – was part of a group of 10 riders who got away after Simon’s Town.

He called it an “honest race”, thanks to the strong southeaster winds and the depth of the racing field.