Cape Epic Stage 2: HAT TRICK FOR STANDER AND SAUSER IN THIS YEAR’S ABSA CAPE EPIC

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Burry Stander leads the pack early during 
stage two, of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race held in 
Villiersdorp on the 23 March 2009 in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Photo by Sven Martin /SPORTZPICS

The South African/Swiss team of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser (Songo.info) again proved their world-class stature by winning Stage 2 of this year’s Absa Cape Epic. This is their third consecutive win, having also taken top honours in both the Prologue and Stage 1 of this year’s race.

With an overall time advantage of 6 minutes and 35 seconds, the Songo.info team will wear the yellow leader jersey for Stage 3 tomorrow [Tuesday, 24 March 2009]. Songo.info crossed the finish line in a time of 03:53:48, 2 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm (Bulls).

For the second stage of the Absa Cape Epic, riders had to follow a 110km route with 1 527m of climbing from Villiersdorp to Worcester, before heading back via Robertson, with the Trek-Brentjens team leading until halfway.

Men’s Category

Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander of Songo.info were the first to cross the finish line of Stage 2 in a time of 03:53:48 (overall time 09:24:58). The German Bulls team Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm finished in second place in a time of 03:56:08, which also secured them the second place overall (09:31:23). In third place were Emil Lindgren (Sweden) and Andreas Kugler (Switzerland) (Felt Factory 2) in a time of 03:56:09, finishing in 5th place overall (09:42:19). Attackers Bart Brentjens and Chris Jongewaard (Trek-Brentjens) eventually finished in 5th place today (03:58:46), but secured the third overall position (09:36:00).

U.S. rider Tinker Juarez (DCM/Monavie-Cannondale) finished 13th on the day with a time of 4.22.14. A strong effort from Juarez and South African teammate Johnny Kritzinger saw the pair move up five spots in the GC.

Brentjens and Jongewaard again attacked from the start of today’s stage and had a 5 minute lead time at one of the main obstacles of the day – a 3km technical 8% climb. By the time they reached the bottom on the other side, the Songo.info and Bulls team had caught up with them. The Bulls team struggled with punctures all day and had to repair their tyres at least five times.

Says Sauser: “Yesterday was a very tough stage and we were both tired. Today we felt good and on the last climb we really went for it. We also made up some time on the flat sections whenever we could.”

Stander had a flat tyre along the route and his team mate’s experience came into play, with Sauser helping him whilst remaining calm, so that they did not lose too much time. After the flat, they hit the gas and caught up with Trek-Brentjens again, riding hard whenever conditions allowed.

Sauser continues: “I know how difficult it is mentally to have two teams in front and you have to ride hard to catch up.” Today’s terrain was extremely technical and at times even the pros had to get off and carry their bikes. “It’s not that we wouldn’t be able to ride it, but in terms of race tactics walking is sometimes quicker. You also don’t run the risk of injuring yourself or damaging your equipment. Our focus is to win overall – over the next days we won’t focus so much on winning the stages, but rather on maintaining our overall lead.”

Stander adds: “On arrival I thought I was in worse shape than last year, but in fact I’m in much better form. I feel better every day and I’m mentally much stronger. We don’t discuss race tactics – Christoph is very experienced – so I do what he says and so far listening to him has always paid off.”

Songo.info’s tactics were to push as hard as possible on both the climbs and descents, sometimes making up a minute or more to increase their lead.

To the question of how he can keep up with Christoph being such an outstanding technical rider on the downhills, Stander says: “If you participate in the Cross-Country World Cup like I do, this pace is standard. If you can’t keep up, you’ll never get to the top. That’s probably one of the major differences – many of the other riders specialise in long distance and not fast Cross-Country racing.” Asked about what he plans to do with regards to his punctures; Stander adds: “We’re not going to change any of our equipment. We have a routine and will deal with whatever comes along, fix it and carry on.”

Many of the other participants also struggled with flat tyers, caused by thorns along the way. Normally riders use sealing liquids (slime) to temporarily repair the damage, but the holes were too big and it took time to fix.

Tim Poehme of Bulls 2 loses his tire after a big fall during stage two , 

2 , of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race held in Villiersdorp 

on the 23 March 2009 in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Photo by Karin Schermbrucker /SPORTZPICS

Says Stefan Sahm of the Bulls: “This is what makes it really hard. Not only were the other teams pushing, but we constantly had flat tyres. If you have a gap of 200m in such terrain, it takes you up to 10 or 15 minutes to catch up, and that takes a lot of energy out of you. Nearer the end we were both feeling quite tired, but Karl and I have an excellent sprinting routine and lots of experience, so we could win the sprint finish.” The Bulls, Felt Factory 2 and MTN Energade teams caused quite a stir today as they sprinted against each other to the finish line, showing spectators why this race is so popular. 

He continues: “With regards to the 6-minute lead that Christoph and Burry have - they are in such incredible shape – unless they have a major breakdown or injury, I don’t think that the overall result will change. It’s going to be very difficult to catch them, but we’ll try our best every single day.”

Jongewaard (Trek-Brentjens), Australia’s mountain biking champion, has recently been doing mainly Cross-Country races, which are normally no longer than an hour and 45 minutes at the most, and are very fast. “Today I felt very good at the start and wanted to break away. After the first two hours yesterday, my lights went out and today I was again going hard for the first 2 and ½ hours, just to have my strength fading again. But I’m getting stronger every day and am working on getting my endurance and stamina back. Hopefully by the end of the race, we would’ve won a stage. Bart is just so impressive – he’s extremely fit, has loads of stamina and can keep going – and he’s more than 10 years older than me.”

Lindgren of the Felt Factory 2 Team says: “If you asked me one week before the Absa Cape Epic if we’d make it to the podium, I would’ve said yes. But after yesterday, I didn’t think we’d ever get a podium finish. Both Andreas and I had good legs today and if you have a good partner and stay focused, you can make it to the podium. We also had one puncture each today – yesterday as well – and think we’re definitely among the top of the list for the most punctures.” He knew it was a tough race after the first stage. “Yesterday I thought this was the worst race ever – but after our success of today – I’m much more positive about the days to come.”

Ladies Category

The first ladies to complete Stage 2 were Hanlie Booyens and Sharon Laws finishing in 05:11:17, also keeping them in the overall lead (12:46:17). They were followed by Robyn Adendorff and Sarah van Heerden (WSP – Jeep Girls) in a time of 06:01:41, placing them second overall as well (14:53:12). The Tread Magazine Ladies, Nolene Saunders and Sarah Wielopolska, had their first podium finish in a time of 06:10:47, placing them in third position for this stage and overall.

Says Hanlie Booyens: “It was a great ride today. We’ve actually stopped thinking about the competitive side of the race – the riding is tough enough. You just hope that you arrive in one piece, so we’re not looking at what the other teams are doing. We want to finish every stage well and ride at our own pace.” Laws add: “We’ll see over the next few days how we compare with the teams we’re currently riding with to monitor whether we are getting stronger or weaker.”

Mixed Category

Mixed Category leaders and stage winner 

Alison Sydor during stage two of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage 

Race held in Villiersdorp on the 23 March 2009 in the Western Cape, 

South Africa.

Photo by Gary Perkin /SPORTZPICS

Team Adidas Big Tree, Nico Pfitzenmaier and Alison Sydor, followed in the Songo.info’s footsteps by winning the green leader jersey in the Mixed category for the third day in a row. They finished in a time of 04:23:10 putting them in the overall lead (10:43:40). They were followed by Marcel Bartholet and Esther Süss (Wheeler – IXS Pro) in a time of 04:38:20 (second overall – 11:16:08) with Paul Cordes and Yolande Speedy (IMC/ Momentum/ GT Activeworx) in third place (04:39:40). They are also third overall (11:22:51)

Says Pfitzenmaier: “We were riding very carefully today. There were so many crashes on the first section of single track due to all the dust; one couldn’t always see the holes and ditches - this even affected the pro riders. We didn’t want to risk anything and tried to stay with the leaders, as they are more experienced and it therefore makes it safer. Despite this, Alison was pushed into the bushes by other riders and I didn’t notice. I thought she was riding ahead of me and some riders even confirmed it. I was hitting the gas and ended up in front with the leaders only to realise that she was nowhere to be found. I then waited for her. I really enjoy riding with her - there was one super steep climb where everyone got off, even me, and Alison stayed on her bike. I really take my hat off to her and her capabilities.”

Sydor adds: “I was pushed into the bushes and because I saw some bad crashes ahead and behind me in the Men’s, I tried to stay out of trouble and was working my way through the thicket rather than with these guys. The terrain was unforgiving, but suited us very well. Some sections were loose and very technical and both Nico and I know how to ride it. We were still riding conservatively though and had no problems, not even a flat.”

Pfitzenmaier and Sydor are placed in the 14th position overall, having moved up 5 positions since yesterday and are leading their category by 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

Stage 3

Tomorrow’s Stage 3 will take riders from Villiersdorp to Greyton, a 73km route with 1 976m of climbing. Riders will need to tackle the tracks towards Kaaimansgat where they climb 900m in the first 20km. The water canal lies at the 20km mark where the riders steel their resolves for a long ascent up a rugged 4x4 trail. From 400m to 1 000m altitude in 5km, it feels like they are riding straight up a wall. This is a 3km stretch of portage that takes the best part of 45 minutes. If any rider has the time to turn around they will see 180-degree mountain vistas to help lighten the load. This takes them to the top of Boskloof, from where they need to take care on their way down as erosion has not been kind to these roads. Another gem in the Overberg awaits – the sleepy town of Greyton nestles in the beautiful Riviersonderend mountains, but there is three fun but tough pieces of single track to go, along the last section of the route of stage 3.

Visit www.cape-epic.com for more details and to see where the riders are online during the race.

GV during stage two, of the Absa Cape Epic 
Mountain Bike Stage Race held in Villiersdorp on the 23 March 2009 in 
the Western Cape, South Africa.
Photo by Sven Martin /SPORTZPICS