Pritzen took the win ahead of Willie Smit (Burgos-BH), with a well-timed attack in the final stretch of the 178km race. It was an impressive all-round team performance, with Nicholas Dlamini claiming the bronze medal for Team Qhubeka ASSOS (www.TeamQhubeka.com).
Pritzen's road race title comes after he already claimed the u23 time trial title on Friday. With the elite and U23 categories being combined for the road race, today's victory meant the 21-year-old from Benoni will proudly be able to show off the national jersey in all UCI events this year, as he joins Team Qhubeka in Europe for the remainder of the season.
Marc Pritzen- Rider
“It was a really awesome day today, we had quite a bit of wind, which played a big factor. The race didn’t go as planned, but we are very happy with how it panned out, with me claiming the win and Nicholas Dlamini also finishing on the podium. It was an unreal feeling crossing the finishing line today, and I would just like to thank Team Qhubeka ASSOS for all the support.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Team Qhubeka ASSOS.
Media Contact:
Jean Smyth (Head of Communications)
Email: jean@ryder.co.za
Mobile: +27 63 4701 1710 or +31 625 739 033
About Team Qhubeka ASSOS:
Team Qhubeka ASSOS (www.TeamQhubeka.com) is a purpose-led, high-performance team, fighting to win on the world's biggest stage, to inspire hope and create opportunity. Founded in 2007, Team Qhubeka ASSOS (formerly NTT Pro Cycling) became the first-ever African cycling team to gain a UCI WorldTour license, in 2016.
We achieved our first major win in 2013 when Gerald Ciolek won Milan-San Remo, one of the five Monuments of cycling. We have competed in six Tour de France’s and notched up 7 stage wins, with Mark Cavendish wearing the coveted Yellow Jersey at the 2016 Tour de France.
We are a multicultural, diverse team with bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy. There are 19 nationalities represented across our World Tour and continental feeder team rosters. Our focus on developing African cycling has resulted in more than 55 riders from the African continent be given the opportunity to race on the world stage, since the team's inception.
We race to help people to move forward with bicycles through our relationship with Qhubeka Charity. Through our work with Qhubeka, we have contributed to the distribution of over 30 000 bicycles in communities in South Africa.
About Qhubeka:
Qhubeka (www.Qhubeka.org) is a charity that moves people forward with bicycles. People earn bicycles through our programmes, improving their access to schools, clinics and jobs.
A bicycle is a tool that helps people to travel faster and further, and to carry more. In the face of extreme and persistent poverty, bicycles can change lives by helping to address socioeconomic challenges at the most basic level – helping people to get where they need to go.
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