Gene jets to stage win

Yohann Gene (Team Europcar) outsprinted his 11 breakaway companions to win stage three in Summer Strand. The 29-year-old Frenchman bested Johann Rabie (Team Bonitas) and Gregory Habeaux (Veranda's Willems-Accent) to take his third win of the season.

Race leader Kristian House (Rapha Condor-Sharp) finished fifth on the day in the lead group and remains in the overall lead. Tony Hurel (Team Europcar) holds second overall while Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León) lies in third, both 2:22 behind House.

Port Elizabeth lived up to its name as the windy city when it hosted Stage 3 of the Cell C Tour of South Africa. Following Monday’s rest day, the stage started in earnest at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, before finishing 171km later, on Marine Drive along the beachfront.

A breakaway formed immediately after the start, including Arran Brown (MTN-Qhubeka), Johan van Zyl (Toyota CSA) and Tomasz Kiendys (CCC Polstat). Rapha Condor-Sharp, the team of race leader Kristian House, controlled the pace, only giving the escape a maximum lead of two minutes. At this point, the race was relaxed as riders enjoyed the sightings of elephants and giraffes amongst other wildlife as they passed the Addo Elephant Park.

Team Europcar changed their focus from winning the general classification to winning a stage after team leader Anthony Charteau crashed out of the race on stage 1. The team showed their intent with 65km to go when they took full advantage of strong winds to put the race in the gutter.

The breakaway was brought back and the peloton was splintered with several different groups forming on the road. Twenty-four riders made up the front group that included the gold jersey, House.

On the way to the finish, two short, steep climbs had to be negotiated. Five riders, including Rabie and Daryl Impey (MTN-Qhubeka), got a small gap on the first one. However, a lack of cooperation saw them being brought back before a group of 12 riders formed at the top of the final climb. Gene proved the strongest from this group and made the trip from France worthwhile for his team. Kristian House finished 5th on the stage to retain the race lead going into stage 4.