PRESS RELEASE: DSV POUNCE TO POACH YELLOW ON SWARTBERG
Low hanging clouds hung heavily over the Swartberg Mountains at the start of the fifth stage of the Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek presented by Biogen.
The beast that is the Swartberg Pass was veiled in swirling mists and brooding storm clouds. But would soon be revealed to break wills but also bestow legendary status upon those whom stand victorious atop the pinnacle of this, the Queen stage.
The tension in the lead peloton was palpable throughout the early parts of the stage as teams felt each other out with probing attacks. After the ascent of the Swartberg Pass had to be called off last year due to inclement conditions, riders were keen to exact their revenge on the beast this year. With just 8 seconds separating the two leading teams the stakes had never been higher.
Photo Credit: www.zcmc.co.za
Imbuko Giant were the first to put the hammer down and had already opened up a substantial gap on the chasing pack by the bottom of the pass.
Further down the long, winding 11km ascent the fight for the yellow jerseys was intensifying. Team Asrin were the first of the big players to crack but pulled their way back as the pace slowed slightly in anticipation of the big attacks that were sure to come near the summit. DSV Pro Cycling, sensing weakness in KMC, banged on the pedals and set a pace that was difficult to follow. KMC simply did not have the legs to follow and DSV emerged out of the mist atop the snowy summit as the new race leaders.
“In the bigger picture, the race for yellow was all that counted today. We had a tactical plan and knew that we had to save our legs for the climb at the end. We managed to execute that and pull a lead on KMC,” explained Heyns.
Withaar and Liebenberg, Absolute Motion, managed to stick with DSV Pro Cycling to the end and ultimately ended up beating them to the line to wrap up second place on the day. DSV now hold a 1:24 lead over KMC going into tomorrow’s final stage. Team Asrin managed to do enough damage limitation to remain in third place.