Vodacom Rapport Toer - Cat. 2.4

South Africa, February 11-19, 2000

Stage 6 - February 17: Montagu - Koo Valley - Ceres, 165 km

South African triumph

Robert Hunter (Pro-Mix) became the first South African to win a stage in this years Rapport Toer, when he sprinted to victory today under searing 40°C temperatures. He won the sixth stage after being present in a six man breakaway, who finished ahead of the main field by nearly eight minutes.

The break had started at the 65 km point, after the peloton had tackled the day's major climb (28 km, 800 m). Hunter broke away with Danes Søren Petersen (Cologne), and Frank Höj (Francaise des Jeux), Florian Weisinger (Aut, Minolta), Australian Baden Cooke, and Steven Kelynen (Ned, Farm Frites).

The six were never going to be caught, as none of them were a major threat to Tobias Steinhauser's overall lead. With 30 km to go, Hunter saw that the others were tiring and launched an attack on a rise, taking Weisinger and Höj with him. They trio gained nearly two and a half minutes on the other three by the finish, but Hunter knew he was the strongest. "I waited until 150 m to go, before I sprinted," he said.

Steinhauser kept his yellow jersey, with a lead of 1.48 over Telekom's Alberto Elli. Jan Ullrich is still faring well, using the tour as training. "I notice that I am going better each day, though it is still quite hard with the heat and the rough roads each day," he said.

Tomorrow's penultimate stage is of 103 km, from Paarl to Atlantis, however it should not provide any serious difficulty to Steinhauser.

Results

1. Robert Hunter (RSA) Pro Mix                    4.20.29
2. Frank Høj (Den) Française des Jeux
3. Florian Weisenger (RSA) Minolta                   0.03
4. Baden Cooke (Aus) Australia                       2.38
5. Søren Petersen (Den) Team Cologne                 2.39
6. Steven Kleynen (Ned) Farm Frites
7. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Telekom                        7.57
8. Salvatore Commeso (Ita) Saeco Valli&Valli
9. Martin van Steen (Ned) Française des Jeux
10. Lars Michaelson (Den) Française des Jeux

General classification:
1. Tobias Steinhauser (Ger) Team Gerolsteiner    22.17.34
2. Alberto Elli (Ita) Telekom                        1.42
3. Salvatore Commeso (Ita) Saeco Valli&Valli         2.52
4. Volker Ordowski (Ger) Team Gerolsteiner           3.49
5. Lars Michaelsen (Den) Française des Jeux          4.05
6. Nicholas White (RSA) Team HSBC
7. Kosie Loubser (RSA) Team IBM-Lotus                4.56
8. Rudolph Wentzel (RSA) Team Minolta                5.17
9. Christian Wegmann (Ger) Saeco Valli&Valli         5.32
10. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Team Telekom                  5.42

Teams:
1. Team HSBC                                     67.13.55
2. Française De Jeux                                 4.27
3. Telekom                                           8.59

Points:
1. Maurizio de Pascale (Ita) Linda McCartney         30 pts
2. Salvatore Commeso (Ita) Saeco Valli&Valli         27
3. Robert Hunter (RSA) Pro Mix                       26

Mountains:
1. Max Sciandri (Gbr) Linda McCartney                45
2. Salvatore Commeso (Ita) Saeco Valli&Valli         32
3. Daniel Spence (RSA) IBM Lotus                     32

Sprints:
1. Robert Hunter (RSA) Pro Mix                       28
2. Olaf Pollack (Ger) Team Gerolsteiner              14
3. Udo Bölts (Ger) Telekom                            6