Monday, 20 January saw ProTouch Cycling kick-start their first hunt of the season with the return to La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon for race one of the tour.
Covering a distance of 150km across two countries, the peloton crossed the Ntem River after approximately 30km which marks the natural border between Gabon and Cameroon.
In a meandering and slightly hilly course, the team’s mission was to protect Reynard Butler for the final bunch sprint.
The mission was perfectly executed by the team but it was unfortunate that they got held up by some untimely punctures in the last few kilometres.
Despite these setbacks, Reynard and Jaydé Julius still managed to finish 18th and 24th respectively in the final sprint to conclude day one of the tour.
Stage two, which is the shortest stage of the tour, commenced on Tuesday, 21 January with HB Kruger in the first move and well protected by the rest of the team.
A few kilometres later there were a lot of attacks and the peloton came back together; from there on the stage became fast and surprising.
The peloton was divided into two big groups with around 40 riders in the front group and 45 riders in the second group.
Jaydé, HB, Rohan du Plooy and Calvin Beneke were part of this first move, with Calvin and Rohan working really hard for keep their leaders safe and well protected.
The late move saw a group of 17 riders sprinting for the stage win. HB finished off in a strong ninth position and Jaydé in 18th, only a few seconds behind him.
ProTouch displayed strong teamwork and great ambitions on the today, riding alongside World Tour and Continental Pro teams as well as the best national teams in Africa.
