Team Medscheme’s Arran Brown takes win in Cape Argus Tour
Gale force winds wreak havoc in Cape Town

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Team Medscheme’s Arran Brown battled gale force winds to take the win in this year’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour.
Harsh conditions led to a record number of non-starters, with some 15,000 people deciding against a 110km trip over exposed mountains and rolling countryside.
The exposed flyover in
This year’s tour formed the final stage of the Giro del Capo, a four-stage UCI pro race, and it was the riders taking part in that event who led the Cape Argus bunch, with Brown taking the win from last year’s victor Robbie Hunter (Team Barloworld). The group sprint rolled in with an impressive time of 02:46:32.
London-based Jerone Walters achieved an impressive second place in the men’s invitational group at the Argus, putting him in 138th position overall, with 03:03:35, not far behind the pro peloton.
Much of the British interest surrounded the new HotChillee Challenge women’s team, who garnered a huge amount of media interest. The squad’s Tanja Slater, a former professional GB triathlete and cyclist with the Raleigh Lifeforce team, came home ninth in the women’s elite group, with a time of 03:12:10.
“Racing in the breathtaking surroundings of Cape Point was incredible, and certainly made the race less painful,” said Slater, who rides for Science in Sport back in the
Former
The team’s youngest member, Alice Monger-Godfrey, was blown off her bike at the start with team-mate Emma Davies, as well as suffering two punctures. Although the 19-year-old finished, her timing chip became dislodged during her crash and her time wasn’t recorded; a reflection of some of the challenges the riders had to go through on the day.
“I’ve ridden this cycle tour for eight years previously and I’ve never witnessed such adverse conditions,” said Sven Thiele, owner of the HotChillee Challenge Team, who rode on a tandem with London-Paris Cycle Tour rider David Kirkby. “The sun was shining for most of the trip and
The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour is now in its 31st year and claims to be the world’s biggest timed cycle event, with up to 40,000 participants. The next event is on 14 March 2010.
For full results from this year’s race, click here.