AGA CYCLE CHALLENGE

On Sunday I traveled to the North West Province to participate in the AGA Cycle Challenge. It was hosted at the Oppenheimer Sports Complex in Vaal Reefs, Orkney. This year the event formed part of the Alpha Pharm Series, attracting cyclists from all across the country.
The route was very flat, taking us through the Vaal river mining area of AngloGold Ashanti.
The wind played the biggest role on the day, gusting at a strong 25 to 35km/h. This caused the bunch to string out in ‘gutters’, reducing the numbers in the main group as the kilometers rolled by.
The Elite ladies started alongside the veteran men from all age categories, making the race very fast.
The ladies bunch mainly consisted of Team Nashua (with 4 riders), Jenny Stennerhag (Alpha Pharm) and me (Konica Minolta). In the first quarter of the event, Robyn de Groot put in a good attack and managed to open up a decent gap. She was soon joined by a pair of veteran riders who bridged across to her.
Nobody thought that this attempt would last in the strong wind, but they surprised us all and stayed away until the finish. Robyn de Groot (Team Nashua) took 1st place, winning her 2nd big race in a row.
In the sprint for the line, I sat in 2nd place, behind a veteran rider going into the final corner. It was a headwind to the line and he sat up 400m to go. As I was left in front I decided to start sprinting early. It was still a long way to the finish line and the headwind proved too much for me.
Anriette Schoeman (Team Nashua) and Jenny Stennerhag ( Alpha Pharm) passed me, crossing the finish line in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Race Results
1st Robyn de Groot (Team Nashua)
2nd Anriette Schoeman(Team Nashua)
3rd Jenny Stennerhag( Alpha Pharm)
4th Carla van den Merwe (Team Nashua)
5th Jade Roberts (Team Nashua)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)