Kent Main and Tiffany Keep clinch brilliant finishes to win Cape Town Cycle Tour

South Africa’s Kent Main and Tiffany Keep were the big winners of the 46th edition of the Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday.

Main pulled away in the final five kilometres of the annual 109km Cycle Tour and finished in a time of 2:31:21 in Green Point, 14 seconds faster than second-placed Charlie Aldridge in the men’s race.

“Kent [Main] got a bit of a gap and I was expecting Charlie [Aldridge] to chase him down for Alan [Hatherly],” Namibian Road Race Champion Alex Miller, who was part of the leading pack, explained.

“But nobody made the effort initially and suddenly he has a good advantage over us.”

Tiffany Keep, women’s elite winner and Kent Main men’s elite winner during the 2024 Cape Town Cycle Tour. (Photo: Peter Heeger/Gallo Images)

The Brit, Aldridge, was sandwiched between two South Africans as Alan Hatherly finished in third place.

“I’ve got goosebumps,” Main said after he finished. “It’s amazing. It was an amazing race. It was super hard right from the beginning, but I think how tough it was actually worked in our favour. It’s amazing to have won it!”

Meanwhile, in a dash for the finish line in the women’s race, it was a two-horse race between Keep and S’annara Grove with Keep winning the sprint finish by a tyre’s width in a time of  2:12:01 for the 78km ride.

“We didn’t know who got it,” Keep confessed after the race.

“It was super, super close. S’annara [Grove] jumped me with about 100 metres to go and I had to work quite hard to get back to her wheel. So, ja, I’m really, very, happy with that.”

Namibia’s Vera Looser placed third.

Tiffany Keep, women’s elite winner. (Photo: Peter Heeger/Gallo Images)

Read more in daily Maverick: Jooste and Le Court take the elite honours in Cape Town Cycle Tour

Perfect conditions

Close to 30,000 cyclists took to the roads, avenues and streets of Cape Town for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the first time since 2020 that the Tour had so many participants.

Throughout the last three years, the event has remained the world’s largest festival on two wheels, but in 2024 it reasserted its dominance in style. Not without the Mother City playing its part to perfection, it must be added.

“It’s been a successful day from a Cape Town Cycle Tour perspective,” Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust Director, David Bellairs said.

“It started in fantastic weather in the CBD and while the stiff South Easterly in the Southern Peninsula made the riding tough through Simons Town and up Smitswinkel, once the riders turned for home the wind was largely behind them. The weather at the finish was sublime.

“It was terrific to be able to host so many fans on the finish line too, as they soaked up the sunshine and cheered on the riders as they finished their 109-kilometre circumnavigation of the peninsula,” Bellairs said.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour confirmed that there were no records of fatalities on the route as of late Sunday afternoon.

“We’d like to praise every finisher,” Bellairs said.

Kent Main wins the Men’s Elite race during the 2024 Cape Town Cycle Tour. (Photo: Peter Heeger/Gallo Images)

“From those of you who knock off a 100-kilometre ride without any stress, to the riders who experience the Cycle Tour as a significant personal challenge.

“This race wouldn’t be possible without you and the gracious people of Cape Town who open the streets to us. It’s wonderful to see so many people on bikes, because the event started in 1978 to raise awareness of the need for safe cycling routes.

“Cape Town has in recent years become a very cycling-friendly city and it’s very rewarding to see.”

“I hope we see every finisher and those who for whatever reason couldn’t finish back next year.” DM