Tankwa Trek 2020: Bulls Heroes and Faces CST take the title

Cycling News: The Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek 2020 presented by Biogen saved the best for last. In terms of both distances and result, the Bulls Heroes and Faces CST take the title. The men's yellow jersey wearers further secured the First Ascent leader's jersey with third place for the day behind their support team and stage winners Cannondale Factory Racing. While the women's winners secured victory the hard way, the men's won the stage gracefully.

 

Tankwa Trek 2020: Faces CST win in women

Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill started the day 37 seconds behind night leaders Jennie Stenerhag and Nadine Rieder. So Team Faces CST had to go on the offensive early on. After picking up the pace in the first singletrack, they made the winning breakthrough on the famous Houdenbek slopes.

"We worked hard to get into the Houdenbek singletracks first," Lill explained. “Then we were able to control the pace and rely on our trail power and skill to pull away from the rest of the women's field. At the second waterhole, Darren [Lill] told us we had a 50 second lead. The next time we saw him, it was two minutes. But we just kept going because I remembered a flat tire in the last 10km of the stage, here, in 2018.”

CST's stage win - in a time of 3 hours, 25 minutes and 32 seconds - was enough to secure the overall win with a time of 2 minutes and 14 seconds. "Getting to win is really important," Lill continued. “He secures some UCI points for both of us, which will help us qualify for the Olympics. Part of the plan that Mariske [Strauss] and I pursued together was to work towards South Africa getting two Olympic places.

Jennie Stenerhag and Nadine Rieder had to settle for second place on the stage and the final overall standings. They would be dealing with premature punctures which ultimately cost them dearly on Stages 1 and 3. "Mariske and Candice were the strongest riders today," Stenerhag graciously allowed. "They are deserved winners."

Robyn de Groot and Adelheid Morath took third place on the stage, completing the final overall podium. "When we saw that we couldn't catch Faces CST or Fairtree, we eased up today," said De Groot. “The season is long and while we learned a lot from Biogen's introduced Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, we realized that our energy could be put to better use later in the year.

Tankwa Trek 2020: Bulls Heroes take overall victory

 

In the UCI men's race, as in the 3rd stage, there were two fights at the same time. The first was about the honor of the stage. These were dominantly claimed by Cannondale Factory Racing's Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini. The German-Brazilian combination conquered the route in a time of 3 hours and 26 seconds.

The second was for the overall title. The Bulls Youngsters again had a strong supporting role in this fight. Martin Frey and Simon Schneller were able to hold on to the wheels of Urs Huber and Simon Stiebjahn when the Bulls Heroes attacked. Working together, the quartet was never in danger of being caught after distancing themselves from the CST PostNL Bafang team of Sebastian Fini and David Nordemann.

"Two minutes is not a big advantage," admitted Huber. “So we decided to ride the last stage like it was any other. It's better to attack than defend. We managed to escape CST PostNL Bafang on a climb in the Houdenbek singletrack. The youngsters were able to keep up with us and really helped in the sections between the singletracks."

"It was great to cross the line with them," added Huber, reflecting on finishing alongside Stiebjahn, Schneller and Frey. “It was a fantastic moment for the whole team. It's great to start the season with a win and it will give us a lot of confidence for the upcoming races."

Third place on the stage - but ahead of Fini and Nordemann, who finished fifth - was enough to extend the Bulls Heroes' lead to 3 minutes and 32 seconds. CST PostNL Bafang retained their second place overall. Whilst Tristan de Lange, who survived a horrific crash on the final stage, completed the overall podium for DANSTE/Megatech alongside Alexander Miller.

 

Tankwa Trek 2020: The Results

Stage 4 | Men's:

1. Cannondale Factory Racing 1: Manuel Fumic & Henrique Avancini (03:00:26)
2. Team Bulls Youngsters: Martin Frey & Simon Schneller (3:02:38 | +02:12)
3. Team Bulls Heroes: Urs Huber & Simon Stiebjahn (3:02:39 | +02:13)

Stage 4 | Ladies:

1. Faces CST: Mariske Strauss & Candice Lill (3:25:32)
2. Fairtree: Jennie Stenerhag & Nadine Rieder (3:28:15 | +02:43)
3. dormakaba blue: Robyn de Groot & Adelheid Morath (3:34:21 | +08:49)

Overall standings after the fourth stage | Men's

1. Team Bulls Heroes: Urs Huber & Simon Stiebjahn (11:03:13)
2. CST PostNL Bafang: Sebastian Fini & David Nordemann (11:06:45 | +03:32)
3. DANSTE/Megatech: Tristan de Lange & Alexander Miller (11:08:39 | +05:26)
4. PYGA EuroSteel: Philip Buys & Matthys Beukes (11:17:05 | +13:52)
5. Devonbosch Stellenbosch: Frans Claes & Soren Nissen (11:20:22 | +17:09)

Overall standings after the fourth stage | ladies

1. Faces CST: Mariske Strauss & Candice Lill (12:47:44)
2. Fairtree: Jennie Stenerhag & Nadine Rieder (12:49:50 | +02:14)
3. dormakaba blue: Robyn de Groot & Adelheid Morath (12:56:29 | +08:45)
4. Devonbosch Vertice GTR: Ariane Lüthi & Lia Schrievers (13:20:09 | +33:25)
5. GB Cycling Team: Annie Last & Isla Short (13:26:14 | +39:30)

 

More information about the race at https://tankwatrek.co.za