By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
Local cyclist Dan Craven achieved the biggest win of his career by winning the 1.2 ranked GP Cristal Energie Race in central France, last weekend.
The race was held over 198 kilometres with 200 riders participating including eight professional teams, amongst them Agritubel (the Tour de France team).
Craven broke away from the chasing bunch with twelve other riders four kilometres into the gruelling race and started collecting points in the King of the Mountains competition.
During the course of the race several breakaways were formed off the front of the main group but Craven was able to remain at the sharp end of the race.
After 160 kilometres, a group of eleven riders formed off the front, including Craven and his www.TeamFidiBC.com team mate Jaroslaw Marycz of Poland.
Five kilometres later the two put in several accelerations and were able to get away with only one other rider, Frenchman Guilliaume Bonnafond, who has already signed a contract with the Pro Tour team AG2R for 2009.
From that point onwards, Craven’s team mate did a lot of work, allowing the 2008 Nedbank Cycling winner to take a breather going into the final few kilometres.
After several attacks from both FidiBC riders, Craven was able to get away with 15 kilometers remaining in the race and from there on, it was a time trial to the finish and the victory, with his team mate coming home in third place 20 seconds adrift.
Along the way, Craven netted the King of the Mountains and the Most Aggressive riders’ competitions as well as the first prize of over N$25 000, which is customarily shared between the entire team as gratitude for their assistance in achieving the result.