McCleod tops in road race

IAN McCleod of South Africa won the Elite Men’s road race at the African Cycling Championships yesterday when he beat compatriot Jay Thompson in a sprint to the line.

McCleod completed the 147,4-km event in a time of 3 hours, 52 minutes and 8 seconds to win the gold medal, just ahead of Thompson who clocked the same time.Namibia’s Erik Hoffmann rode a superb race to claim the bronze medal in a time of 3:53:47.The South Africans took a grip on the race from the start as Burries Stander and a team mate launched an early break from the pack.Namibia’s under-23 cyclist Petrus Lotto went with them and at the halfway stage they had built up a lead of more than a minute on the leading group which included Hoffmann, Saadoune Abdelati of Morocco and five more South Africans.The South Africans tried to shake Hoffmann off with breakaways and team tactics but he stuck to them and with about 10 km remaining he went to the front with Thomson and McCleod, passing a tiring Lotto.Thomson and McLeod managed to shake Hoffmann off in the final stages but he held on to win the bronze medal. Lotto also had a superb race and went on to win the gold medal in the Men’s U23 category. He displayed great determination and strength to ride with the leaders over 9 of the 11 laps and eventually finished eighth overall in a time of 3:59:17.South Africa’s Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg won the silver medal, finishing ninth overall in 4:00:10, while Adrien Niyonshuti of Rwanda won the bronze medal, finishing 10th overall in 4:08:49.Only 32 cyclists of the 64 starters managed to complete the race. South Africa dominated the women’s race over 53,6 km, winning all three podium spots. Lynette Burger won the gold medal in a time of 1:41:27, beating compatriots Cherise Taylor and Lizanne Naude in a sprint to the line.- www.namibiasport.com.na