Daryl Impey of Orica-Greenedge won his fourth SA time trial crown as he swept to victory on the 42.7km course around Mbombela Stadium yesterday.
Impey, the first local rider to have worn the Tour de France yellow jersey, clocked 53min 27sec to see off MTN Qhubeka, the first SA-registered team to win an invitation to the showpiece in France.
Qhubeka's Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, the winner in 2012, and teammate Louis Meintjies, finished second and third.
"The course was well suited to me," said Impey, who was almost two minutes quicker than Van Rensburg. "I could see that I took some time out of my competitors early on, so I just put in everything I had to stay in front."
In the women's 34km time trial, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio of Bigla fended off Cherise Stander of RECM to clinch her third straight SA title.
The men's and women's road races are scheduled for tomorrow.
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