![\"ccs-62657-0-40721600-1442343091.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-40721600-1442343091.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Reynard Butler, HB Kruger, Shaun-Nick Bester and Gustav Basson secured a gold medal when they clocked 29 minutes and 40 seconds in the 25km Team Time Trial at the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville, Congo, on Thursday 10 September. Photo: @Team_SA_Cycling<\/span>\n<\/div>\nKicking off the cycling events on Thursday 10 September was the Team Time Trial for the men and women\u2019s teams, with HB Kruger, Shaun-Nick Bester, Gustav Basson and Reynard Butler securing a gold medal for cycling when they clocked 29 minutes and 40 seconds along two laps of the 12.5km course. Algeria finished second, 24 seconds adrift, with Rwanda third. Out of the 18 teams that had entered, three never started, including Eritrea as their bicycles failed to arrive from Dubai.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was quite fast and flat but the road surface was tough and it\u2019s surprising that none of us got punctures,\u201d said Kruger. \u201cThe wind also picked up but we rode very well together as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s team completed the same distance and claimed a silver medal after Nigeria caused an upset. Lise Olivier, Heidi Dalton, Catherine Colyn and Zanele Tshoko finished four seconds off Nigeria\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a big surprise. The Nigerians came from nowhere to get this gold,\u201d said Olivier. \u201cWe were watching out for teams like Ethiopia, Eritrea and Namibia, but not Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Individual Time Trial on Friday 11 September yielded another two medals for the team, with Gustav Basson claiming a silver medal in the men\u2019s race and Lise Olivier a bronze medal in the women\u2019s race. Both men and women competed on the same 12.5km loop through the town.<\/p>\n
Basson\u2019s silver medal time was in 15:18.55, 3.93 seconds behind Eritrean gold medallist Meron Teshome Hagos (15:14.62). \u201cI could probably have gone a bit quicker,\u201d said the Potchefstroom local who trains under 1994 Olympian JP van Zyl. \u201cI was off for more than two months with a prostrate gland problem and have only been back in the saddle for four weeks now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivier, considered the veteran of the team at 32, was pleased with her result. \u201cIt is my first time trial in three years and only the second time I\u2019ve ridden this new bike. The first time was in the TTT. This wasn\u2019t our strongest side as our top girls are away in Europe but its always great to get another medal for the team and keep South African and women\u2019s cycling in the news.\u201d<\/p>\n