Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) of Switzerland finally achieved what he’d been threatening to do since race registration on Saturday, winning Stage 3 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn with a well-timed counter-attack on the finish line at Blaauwater Farm on Tuesday. French rider Hugo Drechou (Numéro31.cc / Pinarello) was second, just a few seconds behind Pellaud, with South African Travis Stedman (Team Toyota Specialized) rounding out the podium places.
Overall leader Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road Toyota) was fourth on the day and maintains a one-minute lead over Pellaud in the general classification after three stages. Lukas Baum (Orbea x Leatt Speed Company) is third in the GC.
After a few early attacks from a handful of riders, Pellaud labelled the Pro Men’s race as something of a ‘drag race’ for much of the first half of the stage, with riders keeping a close eye on each other. “Everyone in the bunch was together, waiting for something to happen,” said the Stage 3 winner. “I think we were all waiting for the big challenge of the day for the racing to start, and that’s exactly what happened on the climb.”
The Pro Men’s field started their day with a short neutral ride out of the historic and today exuberant – thanks to the local school marimba band – Graaff-Reinet, before turning on to the gravel roads.
Almost immediately, Austrian rider Lukas Pöstlberger (Rose Racing Circle) attacked. South Africa’s Tristan Nortje went with the Austrian, but a dropped chain for Nortje meant that Pöstlberger was all alone at the front of the race; the bunch sat a minute behind and showed little interest in chasing down the one-man breakaway.
The effort of a solo ride into a headwind soon took its toll. First, Nortje caught Pöstlberger on the way up to the first major climb of the day, with the chasers eventually dropping the early Austrian pacesetter. After the climb, a group of 12 riders dominated the proceedings, with Marco Joubert (Imbuko ChemChamp Specialized) spending some time out front, as well as the USA’s Chad Haga (FELT Racing) with Joubert and Haga taking turns to attack.
“By now the bunch was broken up, and I saw that Lukas (Baum) was struggling,” said Pellaud. “I said to Matt (Beers), let’s go, but he didn’t come with me. I think he was battling after two days of hard riding.” From the 80km mark, the lead had whittled down to eight riders.
With a few kilometres to go, the lead group found themselves jostling for position before a gradual climb and a short drop to the finish. The pace steadied as riders collected their resolve in an effort to power up for one final push. Frenchman Drechou was the first to launch, but mistimed his attack on the final summit. Pellaud was able to breach across to Drechou and surge ahead to claim a hard-earned, tactically astute stage win.
“Normally, I am way too aggressive and impulsive,” said Pellaud. “But today I tried to control myself a bit more to keep some gas for the final attack. Yesterday, the end of the stage was way too technical for me, but I knew today would be a good final for me if I just stayed patient.”
Third on the day and the first South African to cross the line, Travis Stedman, echoed Pellaud’s statements. “All the action came on the first climb. It was really steep, and there were a few attacks; the bunch would come back together and split on the descents. By the end of the stage, there were about 10 of us all together. Simon attacked – too early, I thought – but he timed it perfectly in the end, and I maybe should have gone with him too, but I was waiting and then left it too late. It was a good day of racing, but hard on the body. The corrugated trail and sand made it a real challenge.”
Pro Men Stage 3 Results
1 Simon Pellaud – Tudor Pro Cycling – 2:43:35
2 Hugo Drechou – Numéro31.cc / Pinarello – +3
3 Travis Stedman – Team Toyota Specialized – +3
4 Matthew Beers – Specialized Off-Road – Toyota – +8
5 Tristan Nortje – Imbuko ChemChamp – +8
Pro Men General Classification after Stage 3
1 Matthew Beers – Specialized Off-Road – Toyota – 8:33:20
2 Simon Pellaud – Tudor Pro Cycling – +55
3 Lukas Baum – Orbea x Leatt Speed Company – +1:49
4 Hugo Drechou – Numéro31.cc / Pinarello – +3:54
5 Tristan Nortje – Imbuko ChemChamp – +4:31
For full stage and General Classification results, click here.
