After the tough first day, it was a shorter and faster stage on day two, with 80kms and 1192m of climbing. The route took us from White River to Brondal, along the revamped N4 and past the Airport, then back on a hilly run in to the finish at White River.
The route had a few steady climbs in the first 25kms and lots of fast flats and descents until the last 20kms, and then the tough last set of climbs would decide the stage results.
So with tired legs we set out from Casterbridge centre at 7am into a cool but clear morning. After the neutral zone the bunch accelerated into a fast but steady pace. The bunch stayed intact over the first few gradual climbs and was hitting speeds in excess of 70km/h while dodging potholes on the descents.
Once on the N4 a break of two riders rode clear and the bunch was not concerned with chasing them as they knew the last 20kms were very hard.
As we hit the last 20kms and a series of six sharp climbs, the pace shot up as attacks started off the front. The bunch started to break up under the pressure and soon teammates were looking around for each other. My teammate Michael and I were up with leaders until the last 10kms but dropped off the pace and ended up about 4.30 mins off the stage winners from Toyota CSA U/23 team.
It was a good stage and the rest of the team finished well a few minutes later.
From Left to Right: Mark Elferink, Emile Fouche, Iris Schreuder, Werner Venter
Andrew Reeves
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