Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes won the African jersey competition after finishing ninth in today’s gruelling 92km seventh stage of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic.
Matthys Beukes (L) and Philip Buys (R) during the final stage (stage seven) of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic. Photo: Sam Clark/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
The Scott Factory Racing pair finished fifth overall in the general classification, securing their position as the top team from the continent.
“I am very happy that we have won the Absa African special jersey,” said Buys. “It was the big goal of the week for us.”
The red jersey was worn by three different teams and changed shoulders four times during the event.
EAI’s Gawie Combrinck and Johann Rabie placed second and sixth overall despite not laying claim to the jersey earlier in the week.
RED-E Blend’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock had a second successive disappointing day and dropped to third in the African contest and seventh overall.
The Dimension Data Masters category was commandingly won by Bart Brentjens and Abraao Azevedo (BETCH.nl-Superior).
“It was a very competitive Epic,” said Brentjens. “Every day was a battle. To come out on top is all that we wanted.”
The BETCH.nl-Superior duo had been challenged throughout the race by South Africans Robert Sim and Nico Pfitzenmaier (Dorma/Robert Daniel), but the latter broke a finger on stage five.
He rode on courageously with a massively swollen hand, but it clearly slowed him down and they dropped back nearly 30 minutes during today’s seventh stage.
South Africans Andrew Mclean and Greg Andersen (Ascendis Health) won the stage in the Grand Masters category today, but finished 55 minutes overall behind Barti Bucher and Heinz Zoerweg.
A tired Bucher said: “I have to be honest and say that I am just glad it is over. It’s been a very hard (race). Today was a good day and a perfect way to end the Epic.”
In the Mixed category, Asrin Cycling’s Nizaam Essa and Briton Catherine Williamson won the stage but had to concede the overall victory by 39 minutes to ETIS’s Peter Vesel and Ivonne Kraft.
“This is a 10-year dream that came true today,” said Kraft. “Peter has been trying to get to South Africa and the Epic for the past 10 years. To have won stages and the overall category is a dream come true.”
Phillimon Sebona and Jan Motshioa (Exxaro PWC) won the Exxaro special jersey race by a whopping two hours and 21 minutes from Rilamulele Gadabeni and Tovhawani Mavundavhi (Exxaro/EOH).
