Even the top finishing times were relatively slower on what was meant to be an ‘easy’ and short (90kms) stage from Calitzdorp to Prince Albert, as the clock seemed to be chasing the mercury.

With the exception of the mountain giant near the end, the route (if not a ‘toddle’) had looked quietly do-able. Many of the riders who had (maybe naively) turned up the heat on Day 1 and had threatened to ‘ride into form’ on Day 2, were themselves good and truly cooked by the merciless elements. The heat attack stretched the efficient and faultlessly caring logistics organisation of the event to the limit. The ‘Abandonment’ number also chased the thermometer and many who made it up the pass, towards the back of the field, were walking…and not talking. That's before some of the ‘really difficult stages’ still to come!

GT stalwart Erik Kleinhans and Johnny Kritzinger (on a Cannondale) of Memory Foundation/New Heights clocked 4 hrs 03 min 22sec while super-master Lieb Loots and his ebullient partner Cornelius Muller (Squirt), although closer behind than yesterday (4:06:03), couldn't match the MF express.

And once again, Johan Labuschagne and Yolande de Villiers of Toyota Supercycling Mixed were breathing down the necks of the hot, hotshots, taking fourth place and beating a bunch of hard riders including the Specialized – Songo internationals Christoph Sauser and Bobby Behan. This even though Behan had sorted out his cramp problems of yesterday and looked truly good and fast at Waterpoint 1. Sauser, a multiple world champion says he is on holiday and took even more photographs today than yesterday – as befits a happy holidaymaker – but the sensible teams would watch him and his partner very carefully.

The potent TREAD magazine duo of Donovan Jackson and Roan Exelby more-or-less took the lead soon after Waterpoint 1 and held it to the start of the pass (although it must be said that the three top teams sensibly worked together until then). At the start of the massive climb Kritzinger and Kleinhans again took control and the valiant TREAD team was dropped as the ‘hoik’ progressed.

In the Mixed category, the Stopforths (Peter and Ischen of Marsilo Projects were displaced in the second placing by Petrus Malherbe and Jannette Leask (Schwinn).

The Veterans seemed a bit slow: Gus Klohn and Marc Wiederkeh of Infradev Dunkeld Cycles) nudged out Temlett Hockey and Anthony de Jager by five minutes when they clocked 4:53:56. But, in spite of a serious tyre tear, the Masters Brian Strauss and Linus van Onselen had more than five minutes on their ‘younger’ opposition.

The Open Women's pair of Fienie Barnard and Esher Lategan (Wom Landmark) clocked an impressive 4:48:20.

So the ‘easy’ stage is out of the way: Wednesday it's from here, Prince Albert, to De Rust (again more than 105 kilometres) with Meiringspoort as the main feature of the ride which will be hard-pressed to match the scenic beauty of Tuesday's stage... and hopefully the heat.








For more information and detailed results, visit http://www.capepioneer.co.za/

Photo credits: KARIN SCHERMBRUCKER / SLINGSHOT MEDIA

Source: Cape Pioneer Trek