Craven moves to second spot

Quote box Dan Craven Cyclist I’m happier now... to have survived this stage Namibian professional cyclist Dan Craven has taken over the second place in the overall ranking of the Tour du Maroc, which is currently underway in Morocco. The 32-year old member of the German team Bike Aid-Ride for Help, who won the Tour de Cameroun just last month in Cameroon, took over the second place after the third of eleven stages on Sunday. Remco Broers (Netherlands) of the Parkhotel Valkenburg Cycling Team sits in first place with a 38 second advantage over Namibia’s top cyclist. According to Craven, the 180 kilometres from Essaouira to Agadir were extremely gruelling. “When you start thinking that you cannot keep this extreme pace after only 50 kilometres, it is definitely not a good sign -especially if you have more than 100 kilometres to go. I’m happier now than ever before to have survived this stage,” Craven said. The stage started very fast, with the riders going through a mountain area early on in the stage. After the first mountainous section, a group of about 50 riders, excluding the holder of the yellow jersey as well as six other riders who were well placed on the general classification broke away from the main field. “I have never seen this happening. It was chaotic and the race only got harder from there,” Craven argued. Although the break-away group didn’t help each other a lot, it was enough to keep the main field at bay. As the race wore on, the leading group kept on decreasing as many riders grew tired after the speedy start. Eventually Broers, together with six other riders, crossed the finish line 37 seconds in front of Craven who came in 15th. The stage result, however, was sufficient for Craven to move up into second position on the overall classification. “I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this result without my team members. Their support was outstanding. We have to see what happens next. If Sunday’s race is anything to go by, it will be chaotic next few days,” Craven said. The fourth stage will see the participants ride through the Atlas Mountains. WINDHOEK-SPORT REPORTER