One of the South African favourites to take top honours at this year’s Absa Cape Epic, Kevin Evans (31), and his Austrian Marathon Champion teammate Alban Lakata (30) of Team MTN/Qhubeka showed their metal by finishing first in Stage 1 of the world renowned Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas. With only a 3 minute and 26 second gap between the first and second place winners (overall), this year’s event promises to be one of the most exciting to date.

Team MTN/Qhubeka crossed the finish line of Stage 1 in a time of 4:35.41,7. They were followed by the Songo.info team of Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander in a time of 4:39.07.9.

In third place were the Rabobank-Giant Off Road team of Emil Lindgren and Fabian Giger in a time of 4:39.56,4, followed by last year’s overall winners Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm of the Bulls 1 Team (4:40.17,8). The Flückiger brothers, Lukas and Mathias of Trek World Racing, finished fifth (4:40.22,3).

“Normally my first day is not a good one, but obviously we got a few things right today. It was a roller coaster ride, and I even had a puncture, but we kept it together with Alban saying it’s never over until it’s over,” said Evans.

“We chased the leading riders and were all riding together again before we knew it. Alban said we should keep it steady, but we really put the hammer down on the railway tracks like a steam train. It’s great riding with him. I have so much to learn from him and it’s such a pleasure riding with someone of his caliber.”

Lakata said afterwards that they were not planning on a stage win, but rather a podium finish.

“We achieved a lot today and riding out of Ceres tomorrow with the Leader jerseys will put some pressure on us. At one point I felt really tired but no one noticed as we were controlling the pace. When Kevin had a flat, at first I didn’t notice. The helicopter was above us at that point and I didn’t hear him call out. When I turned around to see where he was, he was already on his way to join me.”

South Africa’s Burry Stander, U/ 23 World Champion as well as the 2008 and 2009 World Cup Champion, says this was not a good day for him.

“This was really not my day as I felt ill. It was difficult to hang on to the guys in front. I also had cramps in my legs on the railway line, but luckily a bad day is normally followed by a good one. The field is really close this year, so it’s going to be an exciting race.”

Emil Lindgren and Giger Fabian fortunately had no mechanical problems today. “We took it nice and steady,” says Lindgren. Last year’s winners Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm decided to conserve their energy for the next seven days as Sahm was feeling a bit weak.

The first ladies to complete Stage 1 were Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Ivonne Kraft (team Sludge Ladies) finishing in a time of 5:47.27,9. They were followed by Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard (Team Rothaus-CUBE) in a time of 5:52.16,8. Giuliana Vitali and Tamara Horn (Team bike2help.ch – Big Tree) finished in a time of 6:13.49,2, placing them in third position after this stage.

Team Wheeler – BIXS, Bärti Bucher and Esther Süss, followed in Team MTN/Qhubeka’s footsteps by winning the Green Leader jersey in the Mixed category of Stage 1 of this year’s Absa Cape Epic. They finished in a time of 5:14.39,6. They were followed by Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (MTN Business Qhubeka) in a time of 5:22.45,2 with Nico Pfitzenmaier and Sally Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team in third place (5:22:49,0).

Cyclelab’s Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean took top honours in the Master’s category on Stage 1 (5:10.30,4), followed by Adrian Enthoven and Gary Marescia (Cycle Lab Jag Foundation) who finished today’s stage in 5:35.35,9. In third place were Pieter van Rooyen and Milan Spolc (Oleander) in 5:42.54,

Monday’s Stage 2 will take riders from Ceres back to Ceres, covering a distance of 90km and 1 625m of climbing. This will be seen as the singletrack stage. The landscape is vastly contrasting – riders will cross farmlands, descend rocky scrub and navigate forest paths; all in one day.

The route takes the form of a cloverleaf, with Water Point 2 and 3 both at the Eselfontein Farmhouse; this will be a hive of activity. At the head of the race, one can expect a fight for position. Eselfontein is an area renowned for its abundance of singletrack. The narrow, steep and rocky climbs will split the race apart. The tough climbs (the biggest being Dead Man Walking in the second loop) will be fair payment for the sweeping descent. But riders must be careful – sharp rocks hide around the treacherous bends.

Some more forest single-track will offer temporary relief, but the last 10km, traversing farm paths, will prove that there will still be plenty of hard work to do. Because of the narrow trails, the organisers have arranged a staggered start, spreading the field out over an hour – seven start groups will head off at ten-minute intervals from 7a.m. until 8 a.m.

For full results and detailed race information, visit www.cape-epic.com