Most Amashova wins under his belt
NOLAN HOFFMAN sprinted his way to a fifth consecutive victory and his seventh overall title at the Amashova Durban Classic in a time of 2hr 22min 10sec yesterday. The ladies race also saw a familiar face take the podium with Carla Oberholzer claiming her second consecutive win in the 106km race, despite some very tough, windy conditions on the “road of champions” route between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
“It’s a proud moment for me going into the history books as having the most Amashova wins under my belt. The Amashova has iconic status – it’s a big win and one of the big three on the racing calendar,” Hoffman, pictured, said. “Really big pressure for our BCX team every year with expectations for us to win this particular race. I was very proud of the team who stepped up and we took the race today by winning from a breakaway.”
Giving her take on the race and conditions, Oberholzer said: “It was really great to take another win today. My team rode an absolutely phenomenal race tactically and we had some great teamwork out on the road. At the halfway mark of the race there was a split in the bunch and towards the end it was down to four of us with a sprint to the finish. I love the Amashova – it’s probably my favourite event on the calendar. The route is great along with the road closure – you always feel safe”.
While celebrations at the race finish were in full swing, the atmosphere along the route was just as festive as spectators kept an eye out for the new crop of elite riders competing in the Gran Fondo World Tour and the inaugural 160km race. The competition was palpable as cyclists vied for their spots on the podium. “The addition of the Amashova as the final leg of the Gran Fondo World Tour’s 10 events was a great success. The race logistics and organisation have been near to perfect and I am confident that our riders despite the challenging weather conditions have enjoyed a world-class race experience. Congrats to our overall winners in the men’s and ladies’ Gran Fondo World Tour series, Jonas and Louise,” chief executive and sports event organiser for the Gran Fondo World Tour, Dani Buyo said.
Amashova race director, Annie Batchelder added: “This new premier distance expanded the race’s profile and attracted additional overseas riders as well as several new elite riders who ordinarily would not have entered. We’ve had about 11000 entrants to this year’s race which is similar to last year’s figures and our numbers on the international riders participating has also increased. This is an area where we’d like to grow the race in the future,” Batchelder said.
As the riders battled it out for a place in the top 10, the “spirit of shova” came alive once more with the presence of hundreds of riders competing in the race to support a worthy cause. The amount of charities using the Amashova as a fundraising platform has grown exponentially in recent years and worthwhile charities such as CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation), #MadeforMore and Hero777 were present in their endeavours. Last year’s tandem race winners, Bryan Cusack and Brennan Anderson, took on the gruelling 24hour 600km ride from Secunda to Durban using the Amashova as the last leg of their feat to assist the Cows with their ongoing support for CHOC. A year following his life changing surgery, heart and lung transplant patient Matthew Legemaate completed his first 35km race to raise awareness about organ donors through his Hero777 foundation.