Stage one of the Absa Cape Epic is always referred to as one of the most challenging of the race, and it was no different for this year’s event.
(L to R) Lukas Fluckiger of BMC Mountainbike Racing, Hannes Genze of Meerendal Centurion Wheeler, Christoph Sauser of Meerendal Songo Specialized, Tim Boehme of Bulls 2 and Frantisek Rabon of Meerendal Songo Specialized sprint to the line for second place during stage one of the 2014 Absa Cape Epic. Photo: Shaun Roy / Cape Epic / SPORTZPICS
The stage was as tough as it was beautiful with the most spectacular views rewarded after the most demanding climbs.
The day was characterised by a fast start at water point one, where the real challenge began.
Three major climbs, all on rough surfaces, took riders through fynbos deep into the foothills of the Langeberg Mountains.
Tortoise Hill stood out with its double peak and precariously steep descent, followed by some relentless ridgeline riding and the sharp zigzag climb, which started off through cooling pine trees before once again heading for the skies.
It was the harsh surface which made the day challenging – as well as the fact that most of the climbing was packed into the 45km section in the middle of the stage.
Riders were able to make some time on the final 25km as the terrain eased back into flowing farm and gravel roads.
Temperatures for this stage ranged from 19 to 22 degrees Celcius with light rain.
The men’s category of stage one was won by the Centurion-Vaude team of Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Kaess in a time of 4:42.50,3.
They were followed by Swiss/Czech duo Christoph Sauser and František Rabon (Meerendal Songo Specialized) in 4:44.49,1.
Lukas Fluckiger and Martin Fanger of team BMC Mountainbike Racing crossed the finish line 0,2 seconds after team Meerendal Songo Specialized, to claim the third place on the podium for Stage 1 in a time of 4:44.49,3.
Kaufmann and Kaess now lead the men’s category with an overall time of 41 seconds (5:43.28,1). Fluckiger and Fanger of BMC Mountainbike Racing are placed second overall in 5:44.09,3, with Sauser and Raboñ of team Meerendal Songo Specialized in third with an overall time of 5:47.11,8.
Esther Süss and Sally Bigham of Meerendal won the Women’s category in a time of 5:24.31,7 (overall 6:36.48,0), ahead of Swedish/South African duo Jennie Stenerhag and Theresa Ralph (Cape Brewing Company) in a time of 5:40.42,7 (overall 6:56.26,0).
In third place were Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad of RECM 2 in 5:49.20,6 (overall 6:59.27,6). Süss and Bigham lead this category by 19 minutes and 38 seconds.
To view more information on the Absa Cape Epic event, click here.
