Investec-Songo-Specialized’s Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy were once again imperious at the front of the field, securing a 25 second win during the third stage of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic.
Christoph Sauser of Investec-Songo-Specialized celebrates with the HTS Drostdy school Learners after winning stage three with partner Jaroslav Kulhavy of Investec-Songo-Specialized .
Photo by Shaun Roy/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Sauser and Kulhavy were dropped from the lead bunch ahead of the second waterpoint following a slow leak Kulhavy’s tire had incurred midway on the ride, but it was “bombed” and replaced at the waterpoint before the pair set their sights on the lead once again.
With their win, the pair was able to extended their overall lead to more than seven minutes ahead of second placed Kristian Hynek and Alban Lakata.
“Today was really close and it’s still an open race,” said Lakata. “We’re fighting, we’re really strong and we’re good climbers.”
Topeak Ergon 2’s Robert Mennen and Jeremiah Bishop rounded off the podium in third position with a time of 5:03:29.
Team Bulls’s Karl Platt and Urs Huber dropped from second to fourth overall after Platt punctured badly a couple of kilometres from waterpoint three.
Multivan Merida’s Jose Hermida of Spain and Rudi van Houts of the Netherlands also moved past the Bulls and into third position overall.
RED-E Blend’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock finished sixth overall in a time of 5:12:20, securing the red Absa African jersey from Scott Factory Racing’s Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes and USN’s Rourke Croeser and Travis Walker.
In the women’s race, Team RECM Specialized’s Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad were out to prove a point as they crossed the finish line in a time of 5:46:21, once again securing their position at the top of the women’s log.
