{"id":18282,"date":"2016-04-23T14:40:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T13:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2016\/04\/23\/rabie-kruger-snatch-joberg2c-lead-r4643\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T08:22:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T08:22:12","slug":"rabie-kruger-snatch-joberg2c-lead-r4643","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/rabie-kruger-snatch-joberg2c-lead-r4643\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabie, Kruger snatch joBerg2c lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first yellow jersey of this year\u2019s Old Mutual joBerg2c went to Johann Rabie and HB Kruger after they outmanoeuvred Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell at the finish line in Reitz to win the second stage today.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-88299500-1461422324.jpg\"<\/a>Telkom\u2019s Johann Rabie (left) and HB Kruger win the second stage of the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c between Frankfort and Reitz today. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/span><\/p>\n

The Telkom duo finished the windy 93km stage from Frankfort in the Free State in 3:16:41.<\/p>\n

After yesterday\u2019s neutral stage in which the entire field received the same time, Rabie and Kruger now top the general classification on an aggregate time of 7:30:32.<\/p>\n

This gives them a two-second buffer on NAD Pro\u2019s Combrinck and Bell, who clocked 3:16:43.<\/p>\n

Thule-Pyga-TIB\u2019s Andrew Hill and Tyronne White recorded 3:23:52 to secure third on the day and overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the neutral zone we came to the railway section and we knew it was quite an important point to be in front,\u201d said Rabie, who is targeting a third title in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that stretch, Gawie and Nico paced quite hard and some of the riders started dropping off,\u201d said the 29-year-old from Malmesbury in the Western Cape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I looked back I saw a few teams were in difficulty so I also pushed the pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the surges, Rabie said the elastic snapped and they, along with Combrinck and Bell, were able to gap the field at around the 30km mark.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-14634800-1461422348.jpg\"<\/a>NAD Pro\u2019s Nico Bell leads Telkom\u2019s Johann Rabie and HB Kruger during the second stage of the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c between Frankfort and Reitz today. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there we worked well together. We knew today was a fast but easier stage, so we didn\u2019t want to expend too much energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rode a hard but comfortable tempo to maintain the gap on the chasers.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Rabie said they were confident that they would have the advantage should it come down to a sprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt pretty good. We can see that Gawie and Nico are going to be our biggest competition \u2013 as we expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the next two teams seemed to be slightly off their game but warned that all was not lost for them.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-03249700-1461422335.jpg\"<\/a>NAD Pro\u2019s Nico Bell drives the leading pack on the second stage of the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c between Frankfort and Reitz today. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can puncture or crash and make or lose 10 minutes very quickly, so it certainly doesn\u2019t mean that they are out of contention. But, yes, so far so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combrinck, who won the last two editions alongside Rabie, said the start of the stage was tough due to the crosswinds and bumpy terrain.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohann made it very hard until we got away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga was not overly concerned after missing out on the stage win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we would probably come second in the sprint. It is only the first day of proper racing, so the race is not won and lost today.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said they would not be sitting back and wait for the leaders to dictate proceedings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to race and will be looking for opportunities. There is lots of hard racing to come and hopefully we can get a gap somewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe usually get better as the race progresses and I think there are a few stages that suit us well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valencia-Lanham-Love\u2019s Grant Usher and Amy McDougall drew first blood in the competitive mixed category.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-17914500-1461422318.jpg\"<\/a>Valencia-Lanham-Love\u2019s Amy McDougall (left) and Grant Usher win the second stage of the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c between Frankfort and Reitz today. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/span><\/p>\n

The pair from Johannesburg won the stage in 3:30:58 with former women\u2019s champion Catherine Williamson (Britain) and teammate Johan Labuschagne second in 3:31:06.<\/p>\n

Topeak-Ergon\u2019s international combination of Yuki Ikeda (Japan) and Sonya Looney (United States) completed the podium in 3:42:33.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys who can surf the bunch had a massive advantage on a day like today,\u201d said Usher, who placed second in the inaugural Munga.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stage was wide open and you were exposed in the wind, so if you missed a group or fell out the back you lost a lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usher said the start was fast with the men\u2019s teams pushing up front.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took it relatively conservatively initially and then managed to catch Darren and Candice who were falling off the back of a group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a long hard slog for us to get up there, but definitely worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said their strategy was not to have one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to disappoint ourselves. We wanted to see how today went. It is such early days; one couldn\u2019t spend too many pennies today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usher said he was hesitant to call their gains a \u201creal lead\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it will allow us to follow Johan and Catherine tomorrow and it means we won\u2019t have to initiate anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on past experience, Rabie said he had a good idea how tomorrow\u2019s 122km stage between Reitz and Sterkfontein Dam on the KwaZulu-Natal border would play out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sort of know it is going to start getting really hard on those sections before Mount Paul. The split usually happens there and if you get a gap you can drive it over and into the finish.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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