Beers powers to another Cycle Tour title
Matthew Beers Mpumalanga Cycle Tour won his second successive title at the Fourth edition of the seven-stage race.
Beers, who rides for NAD Pro, is the second back-to-back champion of the Tour. The feat was first achieved by Willie Smit in 2016 and 2017. He had to fight off a strong challenge from Smit to secure his own piece of history and the double. The cyclist was pleased by his good showing at the Tour and hoped the victory would stand him in good stead for the rest of the cycling season.
The Cape Town-born cyclist rode superbly to finish third and repel a strong challenge from Smit on Stage 7 from eManzana to Forever Loskopdam, which ultimately secured him the big prize.
Smit, who has since found stardom in Europe after his exploits in the Tour, competed in this year's Tour as a training block and got off to the best possible start by winning Stage 1 and ended his sojourn on a high by winning Stage 7.
"I want to congratulate Matthew Beers on winning the Tour and I hope he will be back next year to make it a hat-trick of wins," said Culture, Sport and Recreation MEC Thandi Shongwe.
Complete Results:
Yellow Jersey: 1. Matthew Beers 2. Willie Smit 3. Wessel Botha
Green Jersey: 1. Rohan du Plooy 2. Willie Smit 3. Chris Jooste
Polka Dot Jersey: 1. Travis Barrett 2. Alexander Worsdale 3. Matthew Beers
White Jersey: Wessel Botha