Spain based Ayuso retains cycling title
Spira Tlhankane | Tuesday June 2, 2015 11:57
The Spanish based Seguros Bilbao cyclist began his quest for the title on Friday, with a prologue 4km time trial at the CBD in Gaborone. Ayuso recorded a time of 05:33, improving on his 2014 record.
Stage two of the race continued on Saturday morning with a 75km road race from Boatle to Mmankgodi. Ayuso broke clear in the final kilometre to claim the win, 13 seconds ahead of 37-year-old Jaco Ferreira. Dube Nkulumo came third with a time of 02:07:46.
The third stage of the race took the riders back to the Three Dikgosi Monument (CBD) in the afternoon and Ayuso proved yet again that he was the man to beat when he claimed the prize. The 22-year-old swept the race in a time of 52:07, followed by Ferreira.
Entering the last stage on Sunday, the rivalry between Ayuso and Ferreira was already established and the two were the favourites. The 109 km race started at 8am on Sunday and the riders took off from Grand Palm to Rasesa along the A1 road.
Upon arrival in Rasesa, they took two laps before heading back to Gaborone. Botswana Railways cyclist, Boipuso Masepe took the lead from the start and created a four minutes gap between him and the second pack. The 39 year-old-year’s task became more difficult on the return trip to Gaborone as the second pack kept breathing on his neck. It was not long before they caught with him at Mmamashia and he could not keep up the pace. At the finish point, it was Ayuso who eventually emerged victorious with a time of 02: 50: 56. Timothy Hammond scooped second prize while 19-year-old Bannabotlhe Moalafi came third with an impressive time of 02:51: 03. Ayuso also beat his time of 02:56:06 recorded in the same race last year and he won the overall prize for all the four races. In a post-race interview, Ayuso said stage two was difficult as he faced tough competition from other riders.
“My teammates helped me a lot and I could not have done this without them,” he said.The young rider who trains and cycles with one of the top cycling teams in the Basque region of Spain, said he held advantage over other riders because of the level of competition he faces in Spain. “The season has not ended in Spain and it is a high level competition, which is 10 times more than here,” he said. Ayuso said that he flew to Botswana solely to participate in the race and he will jet off to Spain to finish his season. Ayuso will return to Botswana in September.
In the women’s section, Anouk Van der Geest won first prize, bagging all races during the three stages. She made an improvement from last year’s third position. “Even though I won all the races, this year it was very challenging,” she said. The classic three day cycling race organised by Tsela Riders and sponsored by World Group Of Companies, will return again next year for the third installment.