The northern route up Swartberg Pass from Prince Albert, where Stage 4 of the Garden Route Giro started, is steeper in places than the southern side. Regardless of the gradient or the distance, Cronje Beukes and Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst were once again the strongest climbers in the race. The story of their stage victories on Thursday, 16 April, was not told in their entirety by dominance on the biggest ascent of the race, however. Beukes rode bravely, choosing to go solo when waiting for the group would have been the safer option, while Trouwborst stopped to replace a battery in her electronic shifter, but still put time into the nearest challengers, Lisa Bone and Vera Looser.<\/p>\n
Marco Joubert (leading) relied upon the strength of Ignatius du Preez (centre) to help pace the flatter sections of the Swartberg Pass climb. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/em><\/p>\n The second Swartberg Pass ascent of the event dominated the fourth stage of the inaugural Garden Route Giro. Having climbed from the south on Stage 3, Stage 4 began with the northern route to\u00a0Die Top<\/em>, as the summit is known, before descending into the Klein Karoo and hugging the foothills of the Swartberg while racing east to De Rust. In total, the stage featured 87-kilometres of gravel and tar, with 1\u00a0650 metres of climbing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the summit of the Swartberg Pass to the De Rust finish line was a 55-kilometre drag. Prestage expectations were for a cautious ascent and for the top contenders to regroup, but what regrouping there was would come as a result of a Neutralized Zone. First, Ignatius du Preez outsprinted Herman Fourie to add to his intermediate Sprint Jersey lead, then on the lower slopes of Swartberg Pass, Beukes attacked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The previous day, the race leader had waited until three kilometres from the summit to make his move, but on Stage 4, his kick drew him clear with 10 kilometres to climb. This allowed him to build a two-minute lead on Wessel Botha and three minutes on Marco Joubert. Manuel Pliem, Keegan Tullis, Dan Loubser, and Du Preez followed Joubert onto the descent and helped him reduce the deficit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Botha set a new fastest time on the\u00a0Swartberg Pass Descent on Strava<\/a>\u00a0and got within 15 seconds of Beukes by the time they were forced to stop at the Neutralized Zone. Roads Company of South Africa instituted a stop-and-go to protect construction workers clearing a rock slide from the road, which enforced a 10-kilometre neutralization of the stage. Beukes and Botha were forced back together by the stop, and they then rode the Neutralized Zone together, discussing the tactics for the finale. After waiting for Joubert\u2019s group, which had swollen to include Keagan Bontekoning, as well as Pliem, Loubser, Tullis, and Du Preez, Beukes clocked out of the Neutralized Zone as the group approached.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI decided to risk it there. I\u2019d studied the weather forecast and the route, so I thought I\u2019d have a tailwind and that the course would suit a solo rider,\u201d Beukes noted. \u201cOnce I\u2019d committed, I had to go all-in, and at the finish line it was a nervous wait because I didn\u2019t know how much longer they waited before resuming their race.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the De Rust finish line, Beukes watched Joubert outsprint Botha, then the trio waited as the times were calculated and triple checked. After an agonising wait, Beukes was announced as the stage winner by just two seconds. Botha was second and Joubert third. The result means that Beukes now leads Joubert by four minutes and 23 seconds. While Botha gained one minute and 10 seconds on Joubert. Keegan Tullis remains fourth and Keagan Bontekoning fifth on the overall standings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the women\u2019s race, the early Sprint points, seven kilometres into the course, went to Vera Looser ahead of Lisa Bone and Trouwborst. But the Sprint was no indication of form ahead of the Swartberg Pass climb. For the second time in two days, Trouwborst flew up the mountain. On Stage 3, she had taken the\u00a0Strava Queen of the Mountain crown<\/a>\u00a0from Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. On Stage 4, it was Katie Lenard who found herself dethroned by one minute and 58 seconds over the 11.8-kilometre\u00a0segment<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At\u00a0Die Top,<\/em>\u00a0her nearest rival was Catherine Kruger, two minutes back, while Bone and Looser were a further two minutes back. On the descent, the race leader ceded a few seconds of her advantage to Looser and Bone, while Kruger suffered a minor crash and lost her position to the fast-descending chasers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just when it seemed inevitable that Trouwborst would march to an insurmountable overall lead with a barnstorming stage victory, her Garmin warned her that her shifter\u2019s battery was running low. \u201cI had a spare battery with me, so I thought I should rather change it in the Neutralized Zone than risk it until the finish,\u201d Trouwborst said. The finicky job took her a few minutes, in which time Looser and Bone cruised by.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sensing an opportunity, the women in third and second on the general classification pushed on as soon as they reached the end of the Neutralized Zone. Utilising the strength of several powerful age category male riders, they worked with a group to maximise their potential gains. Yet, as had been the case in the men\u2019s race, the race leader was able to match the firepower of a group. Trouwborst found an ally in Jan Withaar, who had stopped to fix a mechanical earlier in the stage, and worked with the South African to gain time on the group up the road.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Coming into De Rust, Looser outsprinted Bone to take what she hoped would be a first-stage victory of the race. But such was Trouwborst\u2019s dominance that when she crossed the finish line, her stage-winning margin was four minutes and 5 seconds. Looser had to settle for second, while Bone ceded two extra seconds to the day\u2019s victor. As a result, Trouwborst holds a six-minute and 21-second advantage over Bone heading into the Queen Stage. Looser is third, with Cherise Willeit and Kruger in fourth and fifth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On paper, Stage 5 looks to be the toughest of the race. It features a 126-kilometre route from the remote start venue of Hoek Plaas, near De Rust, to Knysna, and includes 2\u00a0040 metres of climbing.\u00a0 Prince Alfred\u2019s Pass, South Africa\u2019s longest gravel pass, provides both the biggest climbs and the best views of the Queen Stage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To follow the action, as it unfolds on Stage 5, like the\u00a0Garden Route Giro<\/a>\u00a0Facebook page and follow\u00a0@gardenroutegiro<\/a>\u00a0on Instagram. Cycling fans can also tune in for daily highlights on the\u00a0Dryland Event Management<\/a>\u00a0YouTube channel and read the daily news releases on their favourite cycling platform.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n