Cannondale Factory Racing’s Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini won their second successive race on stage two of the Cape Epic after coming out on top in a four-team sprint finish.
Cannondale Factory Racing’s Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini pictured winning stage two of the Cape Epic today. Photo: Zoon Cronje
Canyon Topeak’s Alban Lakata and Kristian Hynek led the stage at the second waterpoint, with Silverback OMX’s Martin Gluth and Raphael Glagne and Fumic and Avancini having closely followed.
Soon after the waterpoint, on the descent, Investec-Songo-Specialized’s Jaroslav Kulhavy and Howard Grotts took the lead, as Lakata and Hynek and Centurion Vaude’s Nicola Rohrbach and Daniel Geismayr gave chase.
Heading onto the 9.5km Bosvark technical section, Kulhavy and Grotts held their lead, before getting a flat and losing approximately four minutes.
Lakata and Hynek then took the lead, just ahead of Buff Scott MTB’s Francesc Guerra Carretero and Luis Leao Pinto, Rohrbach and Geismayr and Fumic and Avancini. The four teams stayed together as the stage ended.
Kulhavy and Grotts, after repairing their puncture, gave a hard chase in an attempt to catch up with the leading group, but it was to no avail as they finished in seventh.
Fumic and Avancini were tactically smart in the final kilometre of the race to get ahead and take the spoils on the line. The pair retain their yellow jersey ahead of stage three tomorrow.
View the results here.
