Hunter wins Cape Argus

2007-03-11 12:14

Cape Town - Barloworld and South Africa's premier rider Robert Hunter waited for the biggest stage on the South African cycling calendar to show off his legs as he powered to a clinical and well planned win in the 109km long Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle tour on Sunday in Cape Town.

This, too, doubled as the sixth and final stage of the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Giro del Capo and the 30th anniversary of the race.

Hunter's win in time of (2hrs:32min:36sec) not only proved his superiority but brought the curtain down on a clean sweep week for Barloworld who took hold of the week long Giro on the second day of the event.

In second place was last year's Sunday stage winner Weisenhof-Felt's Steffen Radochia (2hrs:32min:36sec) with Regiostrom Senges' Malaya Van Ruitenbeek taking the final podium spot while MTN Microsoft's Malcolm Lange and Davitamon-Win for Life-Long Vlaanders Jurgen Oelandts finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The only other South African to join Hunter and Lange in the top 10 was MTN Microsoft's Daryl Impey who finished in a credible seventh place.

As much as the week belonged to Barloworld, it was their complete dominance on Sunday that showcased their class as they led most of the attacks mainly through Hugo Sabido and Felix Cardenas.

Sabido and Cardenas had initially taken the initiative early on in the race but were overshadowed towards the end by an overzealous bunch of riders who threatened to steal the limelight from the South African glamour team.

But the race was won on the final kilometre on the Beach Road straight where Sabido, Cardenas and Fabrizio Guidi gained the head of the bunch and led Hunter out for his first win in his first attempt.

"It was a fantastic day and the guys did everything right. When your guys dominate like this it is hard to disappoint them by not winning.

"It almost got away from us towards the end but we have strength in numbers. Thank goodness I did not come second," Hunter said.

Hunter's win further complimented the hard kilometres Barloworld had made during the week with Alex Efimkin being the declared the Giro del Capo

champion while Cardenas finished second in the general classification with three time winner David George coming in third place.

"This is an important win. The race was good and the scenery beautiful throughout the week. I'm happy for the win but we also have a very strong and organised team," said Efimkin.

Sabido and former South African road champion Ryan Cox made up the top five. Sabido claimed the Powerade King of the Mountain jersey with the gutsy prologue winner Impey staking claim to the Pickford's points jersey.

Konica Minolta's Chris Froome retained the MTN Young African rider jersey, which he had worn all week and Barloworld were rewarded for their efforts with the team prize which, too, had belonged to them all week.

In the women's race Duravit Anke Erlank Moore came first with 17-year-old Konica Minolta's Cherissa Taylor coming in second and Proline's Marissa van der Merwe completing the top three riders.

- SAPA