Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander (Songo-Specialized by DCM), winners of four stages during last year’s Absa Cape Epic, are back in top form after winning Stage 3 in a time of 4:36.59,8. They finished 4 minutes and 10 seconds ahead of the Flückiger brothers, Lukas and Mathias, of team Trek World Racing, who finished in second place (4:41.09,5). The Bulls team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm finished in third place (4:41.50,6), only 0,6 seconds ahead of team Trek-Brentjens’ Bart Brentjens and Jelmer Pietersma (4:41.51,2).
The Bulls team of Platt and Sahm have taken over the overall lead (at 13:30.06,8) from Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata (MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon) who had serious technical problems along the route and lost a lot of time. They are now in third position overall (13:36:36,8). Trek-Brentjens is now second overall (13:34:10,1). Winners of today’s stage 3, Songo-Specialized by DCM, are now in fourth position overall (13:40.00,1).
Says South Africa’s Burry Stander, winner of today’s stage: “It’s a huge relief to have done better than the first two days. I suffered a bit at the beginning of the stage, but felt very hungry at the first water point – a very good sign – and had something to eat. That made me feel better and I continued fuelling my body after not being able to do so for the first two days.
“I started feeling better and stronger and we started pushing to catch up with the leaders. As soon as we were with them, Christoph and I decided to go for it and open the gap. As long as I can eat, my body feels good. It’s a really nice feeling to have won this stage and to know the game is back on. We’re in fourth place overall. But, you never can tell what happens in this race. It’s still a long way to go. This is definitely the toughest Absa Cape Epic I’ve ever done and you can see that the riders are more fatigued. Hopefully during the next couple of days we’ll feel good.”
Sauser is very pleased that Stander is back in shape. “It’s lovely that Burry’s back. Every morning at the start we didn’t know if he may have to pull out. Also, if your partner’s not feeling well, you also feel bad. Today after the long technical climb, I saw that we were back in the race. We had to inflate tyres on two occasions, so lost some time, but when the Flückiger brothers took the wrong turn, we went for it and made good time. In this race you don’t only need to pedal – you have to keep your eyes open and your brain switched on.”
The Flückiger brothers, winners of last year’s final stage, finished in second place today, their first podium finish in this year’s event. Says Mathias, who was still in school in Switzerland last Thursday: “We had very good legs today. Around 5km before the finish, we took the wrong turn and lost about 4 minutes. We were riding at a good pace today and are very happy with the results. It’s just very hot – I’ve come from a very cold Switzerland and my body is still acclimatising.” Lukas adds: “It’s a pity that we took the wrong turn. Our legs and heads were good today, and our bikes perfect. It was a good technical ride.”
Karl Platt of the Bulls team was very happy with today’s results: “It was a good stage and it feels great to be in the leader’s jersey. We missed one of the signs and followed the motorcycle – we lost 4 minutes or so. We feel really sorry for Kevin and Alban. They’re incredibly strong and had some bad luck today. It must be hard for them. Fortunately we only had small punctures, so nothing major.” Sahm adds: “Yes, we’re very happy to have the leader’s jersey back again. It’s perfect to be in the overall lead, but now the fight really starts.”
According to Evans, of the MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon team, “we were in the lead when we started having problems around halfway. We probably had about 4 punctures and you start running out of tubes and CO2 bombs. Today was unlucky for us, but there’s still a good few days to go.” His teammate Lakata adds: “I had to run with my bike on my back for the last 2km as my rim exploded. When I hit the tar I could feel that it wasn’t going to make it – it was already that bad. Today was just unlucky. We even got some bombs from the other riders to inflate the tyres, but the damage was too severe. In a way this is actually not all bad – I was starting to feel the pressure of riding in the leader’s jersey. Now we can watch the leaders and maybe narrow the gap again.”
The first ladies to complete Stage 3 were Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard (Team Rothaus-CUBE) in a time of 5:41.33,6. They remain in second position overall (16:56.52,8). They were followed by the winners of the first two stages, Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Ivonne Kraft (team Sludge Ladies) in a time of 5:49.36,4. They are still the overall leaders in this category (16:53.41,7). They were followed by Julia Skea and Carla Rowley of Team RBS Biogen in a time of 6:16.12,8 (4th position overall – 18:35.28,1). In fourth place today were Giuliana Vitali and Tamara Horn (Team bike2help.ch – Big Tree) who finished in a time of 6:27.38,7, placing them in third position overall (18:21.13,0).
The Danish power sisters, Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard, who finished in first place today, are enjoying the race so far. Says Kristine: “We’re never the fastest at the beginning of the race, so we haven’t been disappointed with our results so far. From experience we know that it’s important to race our own race all the way and to follow our own speed. Today we didn’t decide to attack – I asked Anna-Sofie how her legs were feeling, she said well, so I said let’s go. We’re here to have fun, do what we can and sometimes a bit more. We don’t put too much pressure on ourselves. Since Anna-Sofie had a baby, we’ve both realised that mountain biking is not the most important thing in the world. Of course it’s nice to be on the podium though.”
Adds Anna-Sofie: “I started riding again about 4 weeks after giving birth. My son’s called Karlo and is named after one of our favourite riders Karl Platt. Karl always manages to have fun, so we think Karlo is going to be strong and also have fun. This year’s Absa Cape Epic is harder than ever, with so many rocks and stones. It’s also really tough because of the heat. In Europe we can get water wherever we like – even from people standing next to the road. And we really don’t enjoy getting up at 5am in the morning, but at least we’re not staying in a tent like in 2007. We promised ourselves then that we won’t do that to ourselves again so we’ve booked the premium package.”
Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (MTN Business Qhubeka) again finished in first place in the Mixed category today in a time of 5:13.50,7. They have taken the overall lead in their category (15:21.14,7). They were followed by Nico Pfitzenmaier and Sally Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team (5:37.08,7) who are in third position overall (15:59.54,6). In third place today were Bärti Bucher and Esther Süss (Wheeler – BIXS) in a time of 5:45.23,3, who are placed second overall (15:49.01,5).
Says Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team: “It’s actually quite amazing that we finished in second place today. We had to stop at the second feed zone because I had a mechanical problem. For some unknown reason, my back brake stopped working but luckily they managed to fix it. I felt really strong today, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that we carry on as we have been.”
Bucher (Wheeler – BIXS) says that they had a terrible chain of unfortunate events during Stage 3. “We were struck by bad luck all day long. Yolande Speedy crashed early on in the race and we tried to get out of the way, and then Esther almost stumbled over her. In the process, Esther’s back wheel was damaged and it took three minutes to fix it. As we were catching up and saw the leading team again, my chain broke. After fixing it, we sped up to catch them again, and then something ripped off my bike’s derailleur. Thankfully, Esther kept a clear head throughout the race, and encouraged me to make my bike a single speed by shortening the chain. We could at least carry on and later swapped bikes so I could lead again. What a day! But… it’s not over until the fat lady sings.”
The Big Tree Masters Team Corrie Muller and Robert Sim finished first in the Masters Category in a time of 5:27.27,2. They are in sixth place overall (17:02.50,8). Cyclelab’s Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean finished second in 5:29.09,4 and they remain the overall leaders in the Masters (15:20.43,4). They were followed by the Adrian Enthoven and Gary Marescia (Cycle Lab Jag Foundation) in 5:35.28,0 and are placed second overall (16:16.56,0).
Muller of the Big Tree Masters Team says he had to wait seven years to win a stage of the Absa Cape Epic and is so stoked that he finally managed to do so. “In the first stage we were struck by bad luck when Rob lost his derailleur and had to ride single speed most of the way. As we’re supporting the Big Tree Foundation we were feeling really bad that we weren’t getting the publicity and podium finishes they were hoping for.” Adds Sim: “We were becoming totally demoralised and today we’re all smiles. One day in the Absa Cape Epic can change it all, anything can happen in this race.
Says Cyclelab’s Andrew Mclean: “We didn’t have a good day from the beginning and decided to ride at our own pace and recover a bit. Shan was also not feeling well. You have to take the good days with the bad. It’s the Absa Cape Epic! We’re still in the lead but still have a long way to go. We didn’t really have technical problems today – just no legs.”
Tragedy at the 2010 Absa Cape Epic
It was an incredibly sad and emotional day during Stage 3 of this year’s Absa Cape Epic. Twenty-six-year old James Williamson, participant at the event and editor of the Australian Enduro mountain bike magazine passed away in Ceres Private Hospital at 6h47 this morning, after his riding partner Shaun Lewis (28) could not rouse him.
James was a strong young athlete, who had an uneventful ride during stage 2, feeling completely well with no complaints. He and his partner ate well last night and everyone who spent the afternoon and evening with him said that he was perfectly fine. After the first two stages they were in the 18th overall position.
On behalf of the race organisation, Kevin Vermaak, director of the Absa Cape Epic, has expressed his most sincere condolences to James’ partner Nicky, his family and his riding partner Shaun. Says Sonja Güldner-Hamel, international media director of the Absa Cape Epic, who has liaised for several years with James stated: “James was a very enthusiastic mountain bike journalist who had expressed interest to ride the race over the last few years. 2010 was the year that he could fit it into his publishing schedule and he was thrilled to finally be participating in the race. After yesterday’s Stage 2 through singletrack paradise, he was all smiles and repeatedly expressed how he enjoyed yesterday’s route. He will be deeply missed in the mountain biking media fraternity.”
Stage 4: Ceres to Worcester (86km distance, 1640m climbing)
Riders will leave Ceres for the last time during Stage 4 of this year’s Absa Cape Epic. It will be a short climb up Mitchell’s Pass followed by a fast downhill section on tar, before turning off into the winelands past Waverly Hills Farm and Mountain Ridge. Then comes a long zigzagging section of rustic dual and singletrack up and down the foothills of the mountains, before the cyclists finally climb up onto the saddle. After another descent and climb to the next saddle ahead, riders will be rewarded with spectacular views into the Breede River Valley. Even when they have home in their sights, there is still the rough 2km Boesmansberg climb to scale. This stage is not the toughest or the longest ever, but after the combination punches of the first three stages, riders will be counting the pedal strokes to the short time trial of stage 5, the following day.
For full results and detailed race information, visit
www.cape-epic.com