Overnight race leader Kristian House has moved to within one stage of winning the Cell C Tour of South Africa. The Briton successfully limited the gains by his most dangerous rivals on a day when Darren Lill soloed to a fine victory.
DCM rider Lill attacked inside the final 20 kilometres of racing and tore clear, eventually reaching the finish eighteen seconds in front of Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) and a further two ahead of Jaco Venter (Veranda's Willems – Accent), Daryl Impey (MTN Qhubeka), Perrig Quemeneur (Team Europcar) and Thomas Degand (Veranda's Willems – Accent). It was the first win by a South African rider in their home tour.
“My teammate Ian McLeod did a great job in keeping the pace high,” the national champion said afterwards. “I saw everyone was tired when we got to the final climb and I was still good, so I decided to jump.” It was a move that payed off well.
House finished 31 seconds behind Lill, dropping some time to his competitors but nevertheless remaining comfortably ahead.
He is two minutes nine seconds clear of Rabie, while Impey, Quemeneur and Degand are now two minutes eleven seconds behind. They are closing in gradually but with just one 104 kilometre stage remaining, things are looking promising for House. However he and his Rapha-Condor team know that nothing is certain, and that they must get through tomorrow before the celebrations begin.
“Tomorrow is all about staying out of trouble. Fingers crossed, I’ll be on the podium,” he said. But it’s certain he’ll go to bed tonight thinking about first place, not second or third.
Today’s 140 kilometre race from Hermanus to Old Helshoogte Pass including four categorised climbs and would prove to be a very tough day’s racing. The biggest of these came 90 kilometres after the start and once onto the slopes of Franschoek Pass, former Tour de Langkawi winner and past national champion David George (306 Life) surged clear. He crossed the top of the mountain with a 50 second advantage. However, his efforts to stay clear were ultimately foiled and he was caught twenty kilometres from the line.
A stream of attacks followed, including one by Chris Jennings (Burgos 2016). He was brought back and then Lill surged, opening a gap. The national champion was chased by Jaco Venter (Veranda’s Willems-Accent) but fended off those efforts. Venter was caught and had to settle for third on the stage, with Rabie netting second.
The 2.2 ranked race will conclude tomorrow with a 104 kilometre race in Paarl. House’s Rapha Condor manager John Herety gambled today, but it paid off. “We played a dangerous game today, relying on the South African teams to chase each other,” he said. “But it worked out exactly as we planned.”
(Thanks to Xylon Van Eyck for his contribution to this report)
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Tour of South Africa (2.2), Feb 19-26:
Stage 6, Feb 25: Hermanus to Old Helshoogte Pass:
1, Darren Lill (DCM) 140 kilometres in 3 hours 18 mins 26 secs
2, Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) at 18 secs
3, Jacobus Venter (Veranda's Willems - Accent) at 20 secs
4, Daryl Impey (MTN Qhubeka
5, Perrig Quemeneur (Team Europcar)
6, Thomas Degand (Veranda's Willems - Accent)
7, David George (360 Life) at 24 secs
8, Milan Kadlec (Czech Republic)
9, Adil Jelloul (Morocco) at 27 secs
10, Louis Meintjes (Toyota CSA)
11, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León)
12, Remco Broers (Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de)
13, William Dugan (Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis)
14, Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (UCI African Team)
15, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) at 31 secs
Intermediate sprint (Franschoek, 105km):
1, David George (360 Life) 5 pts
2, Jacobus Venter (Veranda's Willems - Accent) 3
3, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 1
KOM prime 1:
1, Johann Van Zyl (Toyota CSA) 10 pts
2, Neil MacDonald (Team Bonitas) 8
3, Clinton Barrow (DCM) 6
KOM prime 2:
1, Johann Van Zyl (Toyota CSA) 8 pts
2, Neil MacDonald (Team Bonitas) 6
3, Clinton Barrow (DCM) 5
KOM prime 3 (Franschoek Pass):
1, David George (360 Life) 12 pts
2, David Charles Brown (TT Raiko Argon 18) 10
3, Dennis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka) 8
KOM prime 4 (Old Helshoogte Pass):
1, Darren Lill (DCM) 10 pts
2, Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) 8
3, Jacobus Venter (Veranda's Willems - Accent) 6
Teams:
1, Veranda's Willems – Accent, 9 hours 56 mins 49 secs
2, UCI African Team, at 8 secs
3, Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis, at 10 secs
4, Team Europcar, at 1 min 18 secs
5, Burgos 2016 - Castilla Y León, at 1 min 30 secs
6, Toyota CSA, at 1 min 38 secs
General classification after stage 6:
1, Kristian House (Rapha Condor – Sharp) 19 hours 11 mins 15 secs
2, Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) at 2 mins 9 secs
3, Daryl Impey (MTN Qhubeka) at 2 mins 11 secs
4, Perrig Quemeneur (Team Europcar)
5, Thomas Degand (Veranda's Willems - Accent)
6, David George (360 Life) at 2 mins 15 secs
7, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León) at 2 mins 18 secs
8, Jonathan Tiernan-Lock (Rapha Condor - Sharp) at 2 mins 28 secs
9, Darren Lill (DCM) at 2 mins 29 secs
10, Milan Kadlec (Czech Republic) at 2 mins 57 secs
11, William Dugan (Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis) at 3 mins 0 secs
12, Kévin Reza (Team Europcar) at 3 mins 3 secs
13, Christopher Jennings (Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León) at 3 mins 7 secs
14, Dennis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka) at 3 mins 41 secs
15, Remco Broers (Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de) at 4 mins 12 secs
Points classification:
1, Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) 21 pts
2, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 20
3, Darren Lill (DCM) 16
4, Yohann Gene (Team Europcar) 15
5, Daryl Impey (MTN Qhubeka) 15
6, Tyler Day (Team Bonitas) 13
Mountains classification:
1, Daryl Impey (MTN Qhubeka) 67 pts
2, Jonathan Tiernan-Lock (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 51
3, David George (360 Life) 31
4, Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) 28
5, Johann Van Zyl (Toyota CSA) 18
6, Neil MacDonald (Team Bonitas) 14
African classification:
1, Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) 19 hours 13 mins 24 secs
2, Daryl Impey (MTN Qhubeka) at 2 secs
3, David George (360 Life) at 6 secs
Young rider classification:
1, Christopher Jennings (Burgos 2016 - Castilla y Leon) 19 hours 14 mins 22 secs
2, Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (UCI African Team) at 2 mins 6 secs
3, Misnga Okbatsion (UCI African Team) at 12 mins 13 secs
Team classification:
1, Team Europcar, 57 hours 42 mins 3 secs
2, Veranda's Willems – Accent, at 1 min 29 secs
3, Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis, at 3 mins 8 secs
4, DCM, at 6 mins 14 secs
5, Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de, at 7 mins 5 secs
6, MTN Qhubeka, at 10 mins 22 secs
