“This is my first victory outside Africa,” he beamed after the race. Janse van Rensburg won two stages of the Tour de Maroc earlier year, as well as the first stage of the Tour of Rwanda last year. “I'm very happy. I was feeling really good all day, I was in the break yesterday and I was a bit jetlagged. I had a good night's rest and felt brilliant."
The six percent gradient of the final kilometre took many riders by surprise. Janse van Rensburg, who describes himself as “more of a sprinter” than a climber, gave thanks to his teammates for getting him from 40th into the top 10 riders ahead of the final stint.
"Once I got over the second climb of the day near the town of Maude I knew the stage was going to come down to a bunch sprint,” he said. “It was a matter of staying alert."
Janse van Rensburg believes his success is due largely to cohesive riding by the MTN-Qhubeka team. "For the past couple of weeks in South Africa we've been riding so well together,” he said. “It's 100 percent commitment."
He finished the previous stage in sixth place and while stage one winner Rhys Pollock (Drapac) retained the yellow jersey as the Tour leader, Janse van Rensburg is now lying fourth in the General Classification and second of the Young Riders.
MTN-Qhubeka Team Principal Doug Ryder was thrilled with the win. “It’s a massive result,” he said. “The team phoned me at 5am this morning. I was out riding on my bike and I nearly crashed. It’s an amazing win for us – our biggest international result of the year and Reinardt’s biggest career win thus far. Two weeks ago he came 17th at the U23 World Championships. He really is world class and he’s on top form.”
Ryder notes that the team has been racing well together in South Africa and that his advice to the riders was to continue racing in this manner in Australia – not to be intimidated by the international teams competing alongside them.
“It took the whole team to get Reinardt into the top 10 ahead of the final kilometre and he won it quite easily, and the rider who came in second, Baden Cooke, has won stages of the Tour de France before.”
Ryder believes this result is a culmination of hard work over the last few years. “The coaching and the investment we’ve made are starting to pay off,” he says. “I guess if you keep knocking on the door, it will open. The perseverance from the team and the investment that MTN has provided are paying dividends.”
The result comes hot on the heels of the team’s announcement that Trek Bicycle has come onboard as the official bike supplier of the MTN-Qhubeka team.
With a string of wins behind them and Janse van Rensburg’s latest efforts thrusting the team into the international spotlight, the future looks bright for Africa’s premier professional cycling team.
