{"id":20745,"date":"2013-06-27T23:10:05","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T21:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/smit-completes-hat-trick-at-national-tour\/"},"modified":"2013-06-27T23:10:05","modified_gmt":"2013-06-27T21:10:05","slug":"smit-completes-hat-trick-at-national-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/smit-completes-hat-trick-at-national-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Smit completes hat-trick at national tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t \"Willie<\/a><\/p>\n

Willie Smit (left) leads the four-man breakaway group during the third stage of the Bestmed USSA student cycle tour in Port Elizabeth on Thursday. Photo: Coetzee Gouws\/Full Stop Communications<\/p>\n

The University of Pretoria<\/a>\u2018s Willie Smit completed a hat-trick of stage wins to retain the yellow jersey on day two of the Bestmed USSA cycle tour in in a cold and rainy Port Elizabeth on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Smit added the 120km queen stage \u2013 and the day\u2019s sprint prime \u2013 to his tally after claiming the 83km opening road stage and 15km individual time-trial at the national student championships on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Team Bonitas pro went clear of a four-man lead group in the closing kilometres to take a convincing win in 3:17:51 for an overall time of 5:46:53.<\/p>\n

Hans-Werner Heuer of Stellenbosch University<\/a> claimed the runner-up spot in 3:19:32. He was chased to the line by Shukuma-NMMU\u2019s Marinus Prinsloo, who finished five seconds back.<\/p>\n

Heuer and Prinsloo occupy the same positions in the general classification with aggregate times of 5:50:54 and 5:51:11 respectively.<\/p>\n

Prinsloo also put on a powerhouse climbing display to take both King of the Mountain hotspots.<\/p>\n

The host institution, which last won the event in 2008, now leads the team classification.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a team, we\u2019re very happy today,\u201d said Prinsloo.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main goal for the tour is to get a podium in the team classification. The individual positions are a bonus for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overnight leader Smit started conservatively in the wet conditions as his team paced hard upfront.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do a lot of work seeing as I have the yellow jersey \u2013 all I had to do was defend it. My team did a brilliant job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, 40km into the race, the first of two demanding laps started.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The four-man breakaway group on the third stage of the Bestmed USSA student cycle tour in Port Elizabeth on Thursday consisted of, from left, Adriaan Louw (CPUT), Marinus Prinsloo (Shukuma-NMMU), Hans-Werner Heuer (Maties) and Willie Smit (Tuks). Photo: Coetzee Gouws\/Full Stop Communications<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them to make it as hard as possible on the second lap when we hit the big 5K Hill climb and there was a small break that went on the climb. I think it was about 70km into the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

This effectively split the race into the lead group of four riders, which also included Adriaan Louw of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology<\/a>, and a chasing bunch of 12.<\/p>\n

As the freezing conditions and fatigue began to take their toll on the leaders, Smit, a second-year law student, launched his final attack on Marine Drive 15km from the finish at the NMMU South Campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a good time to ride away, so I did. When it\u2019s this cold you have to eat and drink enough; today\u2019s race was as much about nutrition as it was fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s race, the University of Cape Town<\/a>\u2018s Sarah Chemaly made a daring solo breakaway to win the 90km stage in 3:07:10 and move into the overall lead (5:24:57).<\/p>\n

Tuks\u2019s Elmarie de Wet took second on the day in 3:16:10, four seconds ahead of Ashleigh Blackwell from Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n

Overnight leader Kelley Hess of UCT drops to second in the general classification (5:32:30), while Blackwell rounds out the overall podium (5:33:15).<\/p>\n

The three-day tour wraps up on Friday with a 2.4km hill climb in the morning followed by a criterium in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Visit www.nmmu.ac.za<\/p>\n

Related articles<\/h6>\n