Investec-songo-Specilaized’s Annika Langvad and Anna van der Breggen came out on top in a close tussle with Kross-Spur Racing’s Ariane Luthi and Maja Wloszszowska to win the 90km second stage of the Cape Epic today.
The two teams were neck-and-neck for large parts of the stage before Luthi and Wloszszowska used their technical prowess to put pressure on the leading pair through the Wildekrans single-track section.
Investec-songo-Specilaized’s Annika Langvad and Anna van der Breggen (pictured) managed to outlast Kross-Spur Racing’s Ariane Luthi and Maja Wloszszowska to win stage two of the Cape Epic today. Photo: Greg Beadle/Cape Epic
But as in the men’s race, Langvad and Van der Breggen had too much stamina and broke clear of Luthi and Wloszszowska on the final climb in Paul Cluver to eventually win by over two minutes.
Unlike in yesterday’s stage, Langvad said they tried to ride within themselves today.
“Yesterday we were quite broken when we crossed the finish line but today we tried to save energy as much as we could,” she said.
“It was so bloody hot so we just tried to hang onto the girls and then up the last climb we could feel that they were fading.
“So we pushed the pace a little bit and got a gap.”
Regarding the climb, which proved to be so decisive in both races, Landvad said: “Because it’s at the end of the stage you need to time it well to have something left in the tank.
“We knew that so we tried to pace it like that.”
Despite falling short at the end, Luthi said she felt they had put in a strong performance.
“We had a solid race. I must say I’m starting to feel more in my element,” she said.
“I’m very happy with how we worked together. She [Wloszszowska] is super fast on the trails and very solid on the lines, so it’s amazing to ride with her.”
Wloszszowska was delighted that both they and the Kross men’s team of Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez and Ondrej Zink managed to claim second-place finishes today.
“I’m so happy for the guys. We felt so sorry for them yesterday. They had the ability to make something of this race and yesterday they lost their GC chances [due to mechanicals].
“It’s great to see them on the stage podium. For us it was really good, but I have to say I felt a little worse than yesterday.
“But Ariane had a better day so she did a lot of work on the flats and single tracks where I followed her.”
Summit Fin’s Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath got home in third some seven minutes behind Luthi and Wloszszowska.
