Daryl Impey (MTN/Qhubeka) won the 40km individual time trial at the South African Road Championship in Port Elizabeth in 52 minutes and one second. Jay Thomson (Bissell) was second and Darren Lill (DCM) third.
There is a certain amount of irony in the South African time trial result: All three riders had contracts to ride for Pegasus Sport in 2011, before it failed to secure a ProTeam licence.
Impey makes no secret that this setback is definitely one of his main driving forces at the moment. "The only goal I set myself for this year is to prove that I am good enough to compete in international races in Europe. Therefore winning the time trial was really important to me.
"I am certain that Jay (Thomson) and Darren (Lill) are driven by the same thing."
"I think we proved today that there is no substitute for international racing experience. When you race in Europe you quickly realize that there is no place to hide during a race. You have to race flat out."
"Winning the time trial is also my way of thanking MTN Qhubeka for helping me out on such short notice. I owe it to them to get the results."
"I also want to thank my family, fiancée and friends who have encouraged me not to let go of my cycling dream. This gold medal is just as much theirs."
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According to Impey, he started his time trial quite conservatively as the last time he competed in a "race of truth" was quite a few years back.
"I almost forgot what it takes to race a time trial therefore I reckoned it would be better to have something left in my tank for the second half of the race."
By winning the gold Impey proved that he is definitely one of South Africa's top time trial riders.
In 2003 and 2004, he was the under 23 South African time trial champion. In 2003, he was also the under 23 road champion. Two years ago, he finished as runner-up in the elite road race.
Women
Cherise Taylor won the elite women's national time trial in a time of 45:50. Ashleigh Moolman finished second 1 minute and 10 seconds back. Cashandra Slingerland was third, just over two minutes behind Taylor.
