Team RECM Specialized’s Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad reclaimed the overall lead after winning the third stage of the Absa Cape Epic in 5:46:21 in Worcester today.
Ariane Kleinhans (R) and Annika Langvad (L) during stage three of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race.
Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Having incurred a time penalty during yesterday’s second stage, Langvad and Kleinhans started the stage off in fourth overall were able to build up a nine-minute lead ahead of second placed Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn Lee de Groot.
Following the win, Langvad said: “We were very motivated when we started this morning. We needed to put ourselves onto another level, and we did that.”
“It was a mentally tough day for us, especially after the time penalty. It was our intention to claw back as much time as possible, though we didn’t expect to do it in one day,” said Kleinhans.
The six-time cross country world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja and her partner Kathrin Stirnemann of Team World Bicycle Relief finished the 128km route in 6:15:51, securing the second position on the third stage.
“We’re very happy to be up in second place for the stage,” said Dahle Flesja. “This is where the racing is and for the first time in the Cape Epic we felt like we were in the race. It was a long, sandy day and some places it felt like we weren’t moving at all.”
Team Meerendal Wheeler’s Esther Suss and Alica Pirard rounded off the podium in third.
In the men’s race Swiss master Christoph Sauser and Czech Jaroslav Kulhavywon of Investec Songo Specialized won the third stage of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic in a time of 5:01:17 to extend their lead in the general classification to seven minutes.
The fourth stage will see riders facing a 111km route and 2 000m ascent through and around the Fairy Glen Private Game Reserve before finishing at the HTS Drostdy.
