Switzerland’s Christoph Sauser and his South African teammate Burry Stander (Songo-Specialized by DCM) are on a winning streak by again finishing first in the time trial stage (Stage 5) of this year’s Absa Cape Epic. They completed the tough 27km course in a time of 1:05,15,0 and are now 7 minutes and 6 seconds behind the leaders, having closed the gap over the last three days. They were followed by another South African, Kevin Evans, and his Austrian partner Alban Lakata (Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon) in a time of 1:06.25,5 with the German Bulls Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm in third place in a time of 1:06.29,0.
The Bulls Team of Platt and Sahm are still in the overall lead (18:10.50,2). Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon remain in second position overall (18:17.04,9), while Songo-Specialized by DCM are in third position overall (18:17.56,3). The Flückiger brothers of Trek World Racing, Mathias and Lukas, remain in fourth place overall (18:36.50,2) with Bart Brentjens and Jelmer Pietersma of Trek-Brentjens in fifth place overall (18:37.06,9).
Max Knox and Brandon Stewart of DCM Chrome finished in tenth place today (1:10.46,8) and successfully defended the African Leader jersey. They remain in the eleventh place overall (18:58.18,4).
Says Sauser: “We knew it’s going to be hard to do a time trial in the middle of a stage race. Luckily, I recovered well from yesterday. Burry felt even better, but he was so excited about this one hour stage, that I could already feel it this morning. We were going very fast today and I knew we were in the lead. Today was quite dusty behind Burry and I was kind of riding blind going into the downhills. I’m probably slightly better at the downhills so I can take more risks. It was ideal that I was behind him, although normally it’s better if the weaker one follows in the downhill and can catch up right away in the uphill.”
Sauser believes racing at the Absa Cape Epic starts from the very first day on. “Tomorrow you can have a big mechanical and the race is over. We’ll still go for every stage win and ride as if there’s no tomorrow.”
Karl Platt of the overall leading Bulls Team jokingly said that if the course was longer, perhaps they could have caught up with Sauser and Stander. “We’re like family and joking with each other all the time. We’re all such fierce sportsmen and always show respect when someone’s faster. Today was a fun course. The downhill was very fast and I really like that. I was also feeling very strong – a bit nervous at the start as we had a long wait before we could take off and that makes you think too much. But once we took off my whole body just wanted to go. Now our time begins – our legs recover well and our bodies are in the rhythm of the race. Tomorrow is a long stage but we’ll be going at full blast from now on. The race starts now – and it’s still open.”
Kevin Evans of Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon, finished in second place today. “With time trials you give your everything, so the other guys are obviously stronger. We came second to two World Champions and don’t feel too bad. It was a good race.”
Lakata adds: “I suffered a bit today as my legs are still sore, but Kevin is feeling strong. Perhaps he could’ve gone for victory today, but you have to stay together and today was just not my day. We still have three days to go and hopefully tomorrow we’ll do better.”
Tim Böhme of the second Bulls team in the race finished in fifth place today (1:07.28,2). “I really enjoyed today as it gave us the opportunity to show that we could also ride fast. We could race at our own pace and go at full speed. We didn’t need to fix bikes for our teammates. Although the time trial ride is not without pain and suffering, we had fun – it was nice! With the one-minute interval between the start of riders, we could also see what was going on ahead of us. It was more difficult to see the riders behind you.”
José Hermida of Multivan Merida, again finished in fourth place today (1:06.35,1) and remains in tenth position overall. “Today’s course was cross-country, which I really enjoyed – in fact, I think everyone enjoyed it. I could find myself again and we just needed to find good places to push hard. After the first 6km we took off. The course was challenging and we had fun. I don’t really care about a podium finish, the fun we had was like a podium to me.”
Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard (team Rothaus-CUBE) won the Ladies category for the third day in a row, finishing in a time of 1:28.57,1. They remain in first position overall (22:55.53,6). They were again followed by Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Ivonne Kraft (team Sludge Ladies) in a time of 1:29.24,2, who are placed second overall (23:05.03,2). In third place were Giuliana Vitali and Tamara Horn (team bike2help.ch – Big Tree) who finished in a time of 1:33.17,5, placing them in third position overall (24:58.16,2). Julia Skea and Carla Rowley of Team RBS Biogen finished fifth in a time of 1:44.53,7 (4th position overall – 25:30.38,6).
Says Kristina Noergaard of team Rothaus-CUBE: “We cycled with our heads today and were actually prepared to give up two minutes to the Sludge Ladies. We’re much better with the longer stages and were quite surprised to hear that we finished before them. Today was one of the most beautiful stages of the race and very enjoyable. We had a lot of fun.”
Anna-Sofie adds: “It was also very nice to sleep a bit late. We had a nice breakfast consisting of eggs and juice early this morning and went back to sleep again for about two hours.”
Bärti Bucher and Esther Süss (Wheeler – BIXS) secured their third stage win in a time of 1:19.21,2 and remain in second place overall (21:18.36,7). They were followed by Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (MTN Business Qhubeka) in a time of 1:19.28,2 who remain the overall leaders in their category (20:53.53,3). Nico Pfitzenmaier and Sally Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team finished in third place (1:21.34,2) and are placed third overall (21:37.08,4).
Ester Süss of the Wheeler – BIXS team says: “Today’s time trail was a great race. It offered the best of cross-country riding and it was beautiful to ride - hard but also fun.” Bärti Bucher adds: “It was very nice today. A good stage with good trails – up and down all the way – and so much fun.”
Yolande Speedy of MTN Business Qhubeka says it was “actually so nice to have a later start. The course was good and quite technical. Of course we would’ve liked to take the win, but had a good go at it. The longer stages ahead will suit us well.”
Her team mate Paul Cordes adds: “At one stage we could see Esther and Bärti up ahead, but we couldn’t catch up with them. We knew we were losing a bit of time, but in this race what you do one day you pay for the next. We didn’t want to risk too much and rode quite conservatively.”
Nico Pfitzenmaier of the Adidas Big Tree team says he absolutely enjoyed himself. “This was definitely one of the most beautiful courses I’ve ever seen. The landscape was amazing and it can’t get any better than is. There’s a fierce battle in the Mixed this year and I really do believe this category will grow. It’s a very dynamic form of riding – male and female – and very competitive.”
His team mate Sally Bigham was not feeling well the last two days. “Yesterday I was dehydrated even before the start of the race and we missed one water bottle. Today I have my strength back and am feeling so much better. Today’s course was truly amazing – awesome. I look forward to the next stages and we’ll be taking each day as it comes. Of course we’ll try our hardest, but the competition is very strong this year.”
Cyclelab’s Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean defended their Leader jersey again today by winning the fifth stage in 1:14.43,0. They remain in the overall lead in the Masters category (20:38.44,4). They were again followed by Adrian Enthoven and Gary Marescia (Cycle Lab Jag Foundation) in 1:18.33,6, who are placed second overall (21:53.11,6). In third place were Corrie Muller and Robert Sim of the Big Tree Masters, with their third podium finish in the year’s race (1:18.53,5). They are placed fourth overall (22:59.27,4). Pieter van Rooyen and Milan Spolc of Oleander finished in fourth place today (1:20.40,3) and are placed fifth overall (23:09.04,0). Geof Blance and Malcolm Mcleod of R & R Sport New Zealand are in third place overall in a time of 22:46.14,6.
At the end of Stage 5, 21.4% of the teams had dropped out, and 14.6% of the overall riders (as some riders are still continuing their Epic journey without their partners).
Stage 6 – Worcester to Oak Valley (123km distance, 2240m climb)
After a neutral convoy out of Worcester, riders will soon be hugging the shores of Brandvlei Dam. Then the ups and downs begin; retracing some of the 2009 route in reverse. Some might remember this as mostly uphill and it is still uphill, even ridden the other way!
Climbs here are short but some gradients reach 26%. Cyclists will notice that they are heading towards a radio mast far away on top of a hill in the distance. A dead-straight chute takes the field down to the canals, through the orchards, then into some singletrack and finally over the wall of the vast Theewaterskloof Dam. The race then takes a short-cut through a hidden valley to Porcupine Hills before reaching the foot of another monument of the Absa Cape Epic, the Groenlandberg Cape Nature conservation area.
Dr Evil has found a new way for riders to conquer this beautiful beast. Part 1 follows a steep dirt road up to Water Point 3, but the crest still lies on the horizon. Part 2 takes riders into virgin Epic mountain biking territory and deep into nature. The going is tough and slow on washed-out, sandy, lumpy tracks. While the gradient decreases, the effort is intensified all the way to the Groenlandberg saddle. This brings views of the beautiful Elgin Valley, and the treat of the day, as fast and smooth singletrack in Thandi and Oak Valley takes the cyclists towards home for two nights.
Wise souls will save something for the end – it’s not at all downhill to the finish. This may well be the hardest day in this year’s Absa Cape Epic.
For full results and detailed race information, visit www.cape-epic.com