Today could be race decider
WITH just two days of racing remaining, the last of which is a fast open blast to the finish, today’s eighth stage of the Old Mutual joBerg2C is looking likely to be the race decider.
On yesterday’s stage from Underberg to Donnybrook, the frontrunners in the main categories were able to keep themselves ahead, despite both the overall race leaders, Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell, and the leading mixed team of Catherine Williamson and Johan Labuschagne losing out on stage wins to their main opposition.
Combrinck and Bell of Team NAD were beaten in the final sprint to the line by the Team Telkom duo of Johan Rabie and HB Kruger after dominating the action for almost the entire 82km ride.
With a five-minute lead it is unlikely the NAD duo will be under too much pressure, but as HB Kruger said after winning the stage yesterday: “This is mountain biking and you can take nothing for granted.”
Advantage
In the mixed race yesterday, Williamson and Labuschagne saw their massive 15-minute advantage halved by a hard-charging Candice Neethling and Darren Lill.
Neethling and Lill beat Grant Usher and Amy McDougal (third in the overall standings) by more than seven minutes and were 7:42 ahead of the race leaders when they crossed the line.
The gap between the Williamson and Labuschagne pairing and Neethling and Lill duo now stands at 7:40.
“It may seem strange to say, but we are in quite a nice position,” said Neethling after crossing the line.
“We have nothing to lose so we can go out as hard as we can and almost ride until we blow.
“There is no point hanging back and waiting. We have to take time out of them so we must just go hard from the start.”
Today’s 99km stage is a distinct race of three sections. The first 38km is one of the best sections of mountain biking in the country with riders dropping down a steep single track descent into the Umkomaas Valley.
This is followed by a long, gruelling and at times gnarly 27km climb out of the same valley, which will give teams the opportunity to push hard and make some serious time.
The final 30km is fast and flowing, and teams will struggle to make up time.
With today’s stage a fast and open ride into Scottburgh, the race could well be decided on the climb out of the Umkomaas Valley, particularly in the mixed event.
Williamson was limping after a crash on Wednesday, and although she refused to admit the chunk of time they lost yesterday was due to a heavily strapped right knee, it was obvious she was in some discomfort and the climb out the Umkomaas Valley could see the insult of losing their lead being added to her injury. LONDON: British Cycling was rummaging around for the puncture repair kit after technical director Shane Sutton’s resignation yesterday left the track powerhouse deflating like a shredded inner tube on the road to Rio.
Less than 100 days before the start of the Olympic Games, the team that enjoyed medal bonanzas in Beijing and London is reeling from Sutton’s departure, a key cog in Britain’s rise to cycling superpower, over allegations of discrimination, sexism and bullying.
Straight-talking Australian Sutton, who became a father figure to Britain’s first Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, was suspended earlier in the week after British Cycling announced an independent review of its performance programmes in the wake of mounting disquiet over the 58-year-old’s leadership.
Jess Varnish, the rider who sparked the current meltdown when she claimed Sutton told her “to go and have a baby” after being dropped from the squad, said at the heart of British Cycling’s slick exterior was a “culture of fear”.
Other have come out in support of the 25-year-old, including Olympic champions Victoria Pendleton and Nicole Cooke.
Miserable
“I know exactly how miserable they made me,” former sprint queen Pendleton, told British media this week.
Paralympic cyclist Darren Kenny said Sutton, 58, described para-cyclists as “gimps” and “wobblies” – terms often used in good humour by Paralympic athletes among themselves.
Others within the team, including Rio road race medal hope Geraint Thomas, have leapt to Sutton’s defence while the likes of Wiggins and Mark Cavendish remain fiercely loyal to the coach who helped transform their careers.
Olympic champion Laura Trott, too, describes her dealings with Sutton as “wholly positive”.
Divisions and splits in the camp are hardly ideal preparation for a team already under pressure to try and emulate the success of Beijing and London where they easily topped the cycling medals table, winning eight golds each.
To add to the toxic mix, media reports yesterday said expensive British Cycling kit, including race bikes worth thousands of pounds, was being sold online for profit.
UK Sport, which has funded British Cycling to the tune of £30 million (R630 million) in the four-year Rio cycle, ordered an urgent investigation into the claims.
Yet, at last month’s UCI track championships in London, everything was looking rosy and there were ominous signs that the British team was moving through the gears just in time for Rio.
Olympic champions Trott and Jason Kenny blasted to gold in the omnium and sprint respectively. – Reuters