The stage was almost literally written for Tom Pidcock. A long drag leading into the first summit finish at the first Gravel Burn. The Q36.5 rider obliged and followed the script, escaping the race leaders to claim a summit finish win on Swaershoek Pass near Cradock in the Eastern Cape., his first at the new gravel stage race.
“It looked to me to be the easiest stage, with only one climb to do,” said Pidcock, “That’s why I thought I would have a go. But it was actually Alistair Brownlee’s idea. He persuaded me… Right at the end of the stage, he told me to go for it, so I did.
After ending his official race season witha heavy, gravel world championships and Il Lombardia double-header weekend, Pidcock had been taking a more leisurely approach at Gravel Burn through the opening stages. Some had suggested, apparently, that the two-time Olympic champion might have a go at actually racing while in South Africa.
“Everyone has been saying to me, ‘You should try to win a stage’. But the riding is tough. I have been suffering all year. I don’t want to suffer here!”
One rider who is suffering at Gravel Burn is Canada’s Andrew L’Esperance. The Forward Racing rider is pushing through intense gastrointestinal issues for a third straight day to finish the race. With Pidcock’s win on Stage 5, and his casual start to the event, the Brit moves one position ahead L’Esperance. They now sit 29th and 30th overall.
Behind, the race leaders seemed content to keep the pace under control. After making their way to the climb as a group, Matthew Beers, current leader lost a small margin to second-place rider, Simon Pellaud.
““I didn’t feel bad, but the heat definitely affected me today. Coming up to the climb, Simon attacked me there. I knew he would, so I just had to hold my own pace and not get overexcited. I lost about 24 seconds in the end. It sucks to lose the time, but it could have been worse.”
Heat and fatigue settle in for women’s leaders trade stage wins
If the men were slow approaching the climb, the women followed their cues. Five days into the first Gravel Burn, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio was happy to spend her first day in the…
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