Taking wrong route fatal

– Five elite road runners were disqualified yesterday after they followed the wrong route at the penultimate leg of the Spar Women’s Grand Prix 10km series.

Shortly before the halfway mark, four athletes in the lead group followed a media vehicle which had to take a detour as it could not negotiate a portion of the course through a park.

Former series winner Irvette van Zyl was the only member of the front pack who followed the correct course, running the full length of the race, while the other four individuals ran significantly shorter and were later scratched from the results.

Lebogang Phalula was also disqualified for taking the wrong route at a late stage.

Van Zyl took the official victory in 34:26, finishing 21 seconds clear of Jenet Mbhele who crossed the line in second place.

While Xaba led the Grand Prix standings ahead of Molotsane going into the fifth leg of the series, the disqualifications were expected to have a major effect on the rankings, with the updated list due to be released later this week.