Stellenbosch played host to the event, with supporters gathering on Paul Roos Gymnasium's Markötter Fields.

Neotel's Johann Rabie out-sprinted Darren Lill and Nick White to cross the line as the official winner of the inaugural Die Burger Fietstoer. Jennie Stenerhag, riding for Dutch team, Therme Skincare, was the first woman to cross the finish line.

Behind them over 6,000 cyclists who had entered the event followed, many of whom participated to improve their starting time at the 2008 Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour.

David Bellairs of the organising team described the event as a success and thanked participants and the communities along the route for supporting Die Burger Fietstoer. Belliers said, “There were obviously some issues that one can associate with an inaugural event and we learnt some valuable lessons today.

Despite the challenges, participants described the race as “a nice day for a bike ride”, “nicely organised” and a “great end-of-season route”.

Edmund Beukes, publicity manager of Die Burger – naming rights sponsor of the event – described the races as an “example of excellent collaboration between a sponsor and organiser, and a fantastic inaugural event.”