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|  | | MTN OFM Classic |
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| 2009/11/17 - The MTN OFM proved to be a very tactical affair. The event's route around Bloemfontein had a few testing climbs in the first ten kilometers. A break formed after the climbs however, and contained riders from most teams with Team Neotel having the advantage with 2 riders. The group contained Nolan Hoffman, Benjamin Stauder (both Neotel), Jacques Greef (Lindsay Saker), Dave Brown (Toyota Supercycling), Juan Van Heerden (MTN Energade), Neil Macdonald (Team Medscheme) and Michael Pepper (House of Paint). Stauder took long turns on the front, to ensure that Neotel's sprinter saved as much energy as possible for the final sprint assuming the breakaway was not caught. They built a lead of 3 mins over the bunch.
With Arran Brown (Medscheme) in the lead of the Alpha Pharm Series, and Nolan Hoffman was one of his closest rivals a long way up the road, all the pressure was on Team Medscheme. Neil Macdonald had to sacrifice his chance of a result and play 'policeman' in the break. Macdonald tried every opportunity of disrupting the co-ordination of the breakaway by launching attacks. Meanwhile, Medscheme (only leaving their sprinters to have a "free ride"), with help from Konica Minolta who also missed the break, started the chase.
The gap reduced slowly. After 75km's of chasing, the breakaway was reeled in.
The final kilometers were relatively flat, but a strong cross wind caused all sorts of trouble as riders looked for shelter from the wind. This time the telling attacks coming from MTN who had been sitting on patiently watching the battle between the Neotel dominated breakaway and the spirited chase from Medscheme. Nolan, despite spending most of his ride in the break, managed to follow the telling MTN attack with team mate Johan Rabie. Fresh Medscheme sprinters Brown and Lange joined this group.
Within the last kilometre, MTN's Jay Thomson led out a strong surge to counter Team Medscheme's lead out. It worked for him and his team mate, Christoff van Heerden. Lange tried to get past van Heerden in the final meters, but he had to apply the brakes as he was "switched" by Van Heerden in the last 50 metres. Van Heerden crossed the line in first position, but the judges decided that he had ridden dangerously and was disqualified, leaving his team mate, Thomson to take the win. Second place went to young Tyler Day of Team Matlosana, and Arran Brown took third, Lange ended up fourth, tfollowed by the two Neotel riders, Hoffman and Rabie.
The points standing in the series changed slightly, with Brown increasing his lead over Hoffman and Hoffman moving into 2nd place overall. The Neotel team almost pulled over a coup in getting Nolan up the road to try and score well ahead of Brown, it did not work out. Hoffman's attack was contained and he rode well in the crosswinds after his earlier efforts and still able to contest the sprint.
All of the races that form part of the series are controlled by the teams and riders with a stake in the standings, making it very difficult for opportunists to get a surprise in and produce a win. The next few weeks will be exciting as the final races unfold. | |
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