It was a close call for the top teams in this year’s Absa Cape Epic as they battled it out to win the second last stage (Stage 6) of this year’s event. Trek-Brentjens finally attained their dream of a stage win, and need to make up at least 4 minutes and 48 seconds in tomorrow’s final stage if they want to be crowned the kings of this Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race.
Today’s stage was beautiful, but hard. Most riders are relieved that tomorrow will be the last stage of this year’s Epic adventure and are looking forward to returning home with their finisher jerseys and medals, a treasured possession for all.
Time’s running out as they vie for top honours with only one stage to go – from Oak Valley to the beautiful Lourensford Wine Estate tomorrow (Saturday, 28 March).
Bart Brentjens and Chris Jongewaard of Trek-Brentjens win stage six of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race in Oak Valley ( Elgin / Grabouw ) on the 27 March 2009 in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Photo by Gary Perkin /SPORTZPICS
For the first time since the start of this year’s Absa Cape Epic, the Trek-Brentjens team of Bart Brentjens and Chris Jongewaard sprinted across the finish to secure their first stage win in a time of 03:31:09. They are in second position overall (25:23:17). Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander (Songo.info), winners of four stages in this year’s event, finished in 2nd place (03:31:20) and are placed 3rd overall (25:31:56). Emil Lindgren and Andreas Kugler (Felt Factory 2) finished in third place in today’s Stage 3, also securing their 3rd podium finish since the start of the race. They are in 4th position overall, having moved up one position from yesterday (25:36:57)
The Bulls team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm finished fourth (03:32:14), but maintain their overall lead (25:18:29) and will leave Oak Valley for Lourensford Wine Estate wearing the Yellow Leader jersey for the final stage.
The South African team of Kevin Evans and David George (MTN Energade) finished in 03:43:22, and now hold the 5th position overall (25:46:39).
Today the Bulls were working hard as Sahm especially did a lot of the pacing for the other teams. The Bulls and Trek-Brentjens team were riding together for most of the way, watching each other closely. According to the other top athletes in the field, the Bulls team were riding wisely, not allowing anyone to break away, and controlling the rest of the field as well as their speed. This is definitely a sign of Platt’s stage racing experience as well as his good instincts and intuition when it comes to mountain biking. Team Bulls also won the MTN Hotspot today.
Stefan Sahm of the Bulls team broke his chain about 5km to the finish, but remained calm as he knew how to fix it. Says Sahm: “Karl already opened a chain link for me so that I could fix it very quickly, but afterwards it was hard for us to get into the rhythm again.” Adds Platt: “When the chain broke, I just thought ‘not again, not another mechanical obstacle’. At this race nothing is 'given' to you, you have to fight for everything. We’ve never broken a chain at the Absa Cape Epic ever.”
Sahm continues: "I still enjoyed today a lot more than yesterday. It was loads of fun, especially the single track close to the finish. I remembered it from last year and enjoyed it then too.”
Chris Jongewaard’s (Trek-Brentjens) comment to the question of why they were successful in their attempt to win today’s stage by saying that “it’s all about commitment”. He says: “Keeping up with the leading bunch was very hard today as they were going at such a fast pace. However, I was determined and wanted this stage win so bad, that I was simply more committed and focused than the previous days. Our time was running out for a stage win. This was the penultimate stage, so we no longer needed to conserve energy - I was giving it everything I have today. Christoph and Burry put on some hard attacks on the last rolling hills. It was almost as if they were teasing me. Whenever I tried to close the gap, they would hit the gas again. I then put on my poker face and pretended that it wasn’t affecting me. About 1,5km before the finish, we lost Burry in a technical section. I guess his legs couldn’t keep up with his mind any longer. Bart then put in a lot of effort to get us through to the single track close to the finish, and once we had reached that I knew we had our stage win.”
Stefan Sahm rides through the single track at High Rising during stage six , 6 , of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race in Oak Valley ( Elgin / Grabouw ) on the 27 March 2009 in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Photo by Karin Schermbrucker /SPORTZPICS
Says Brentjens: “It feels so good to win a stage in the Absa Cape Epic and the feeling is even greater when you’ve been working so hard to get there. I’m very excited that we made it. All the teams were so close together today and it was very tricky to break away. The Bulls also worked hard today as Stefan was pacing the entire time, obviously feeling very fit. Before we reached the single track section in Lebanon forest, we were all fighting very hard - everyone wanted to get their first. I’m not quite sure what happened to the Bulls. I just saw that their chain was broken but they were able to fix it really fast, so I don’t think they lost a lot of time. But catching up is the hard part. The fact that you win with a team mate makes a stage victory at the Epic even more special. It feels bigger than anything else because you share the joy. It was our goal to win a stage and when I arrived here I thought this was going to be a tough job with so many good teams in the field. The Absa Cape Epic has developed incredibly in the past few years. The competition today is so much tougher than when I won the race with Roel Paulissen in 2005.”
Jongewaard adds: “Today I was very impressed with the Bulls early on in the stage when I was trying to attack and they responded strongly and smartly – putting me in my place. Burry and Christoph did a lot of work on the rolling hills, and that was probably why Burry couldn’t keep up towards the end.” He continues: “Winning a stage at the Absa Cape Epic is a great start into the season. I now feel very confident. Tomorrow we’ll see how we feel, how the race evolves and also what we have left. We would love to take another stage win, but to climb up in the GC (General Classification) will be very difficult.”
Christoph Sauser reckons if this stage had been a little steeper or had a long climb near the end, they could have made up a bit more time. “We didn’t gain a lot of time today and tomorrow will be even more difficult as Stage 7 is very short and I’m sure the Bulls will bring a lot of spares. Similar to the last two years, I’m expecting a sprint finish at Lourensford. As I remember the route, it will be hard to drop someone but we haven’t ticked off this race, so we’ll see how it goes and will react as and when opportunities arise. Burry wasn’t feeling so well today and the route was definitely not designed for us. We couldn’t play on our strengths and were going flat out from the start.” He jokingly adds: “At least we were stopping at every water point. We also had a chat to Bart and were even able to take a leak together at the last water point, which was almost like a holiday.”
To the question of how he feels about their second place today, he grins and says: “We wanted to win but I guess it’s a good change and you can’t win everything. After all, that’s what makes this race so interesting.”
Says Stander: “I wanted to win another stage really badly, but the pace was incredible today. The Bulls and Trek-Brentjens were competing heavily, so I decided to stay in the group and not attack. In the end they were more rested and we were missing a climb to break away. When you’re racing so hard for 7 consecutive days, there will always be a day when your body needs a rest and won’t perform as well. I guess today was my bad day – that’s why I stayed in the bunch and tried to conserve energy. I really suffered for about 30 km and considering the duration of the race, I would say that’s not so bad.”
Stander found today’s route absolutely incredible. “I’m so looking forward to tomorrow’s stage. Our goal is to win the final stage and hang on to our third place overall.”
Oak Valley ( Elgin / Grabouw ), SOUTH AFRICA - during stage six of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race in Oak Valley ( Elgin / Grabouw ) on the 27 March 2009 in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Photo by Gary Perkin /SPORTZPICS
Apparently Karl Platt of the Bulls team was riding fast and strong today. Although he has dislocated his shoulder twice in the last week, he is still riding hard. “It’s not that I’m in so much pain, but rather the fact that I’m riding in fear that something could happen and I dislocate my shoulder again. Riding faster is a lot safer – the slower you go the more you feel the rough terrain and every little bump.”
Andreas Kugler (Felt Factory 2) revealed a back pain patch today, emphasising the fact that all the riders need to cope with some form of discomfort at this stage of the race. Says Kugler: “We were riding in the front group from the beginning. Then we had a small problem with our front derailleur, but managed to close the gap fairly quickly. Emil was the strongest rider in the front field today and helped me a lot. I was really riding at my limit when we were catching up but fortunately I discovered that the others couldn’t go much faster either. A technical stage like today suits us very well.”
His team mate Lindgren adds: “Because this stage was so technical, we wanted to use the opportunity to gain some time on the MTN guys and I think we managed that. To finish with a place on the podium for three days in a row, is really great. We didn’t expect to do so well when we first got here. Andreas and I have probably only spent three weeks together in total, so we hardly knew each other before the race.”
Lindgren, who was having some weaker days in the early stages, says that his legs are getting stronger every day. “I was actually joking earlier that the race could continue for a few more days. I’ve done a lot of training over the winter months and now it’s paying off brilliantly.” Kugler is not so sure if he agrees: “Eight days of racing are really enough for me. Besides, I’m happy that camp life will be over tomorrow. The race was physically challenging, but it was also hard mentally to get into the routine of constantly having to overcome your limits. I really look forward to sleeping in a decent bed, and eating some meat rather than carbohydrates.”
Tinker Juarez and DCM/Monavie-Cannondale team mate Johnny Kritzinger crossed the line 9th today. They maintained their spot in 14th on the GC.
Ladies Category
Sharon Laws, ladies winn ing team during stage six , 6 , of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race in Oak Valley ( Elgin / Grabouw ) on the 27 March 2009 in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Photo by Karin Schermbrucker /SPORTZPICS
Absa Ladies Hanlie Booyens and Sharon Laws continued their 7-day winning streak by finishing first in their division in 04:42:30. They remain in the overall lead in their category (33:39:26). They were again followed by Robyn Adendorff and Sarah van Heerden (WSP – Jeep Girls) in a time of 05:13:50, placing them second overall as well (38:25:26). In third position, with their third podium finish, were Daniela Hartmann and Sarah Koch (2 Swiss Epic Girls) in a time of 05:16:34, placing them in 5th position overall (41:42:09). In third place overall is the Tread Magazine ladies team, Nolene Saunders and Sarah Wielopolska (39:29:16).
Sharon Laws of the Absa Ladies team will be racing every weekend for the next couple of weeks, participating in mountain bike races in the UK, Belgium and Germany, and also a World Cup road race soon after that.
Says her team mate, Hanlie Booyens: “I was feeling very weak today and had no power left so I had to rely on Sharon a bit. Tomorrow I’ll definitely be the one to decide how fast we go as Sharon’s feeling much stronger than me. There will be lots of climbs in the beginning so we’ll see how we’re feeling. It it’s all possible, we won’t push too much and will try to stay with our group which include some of the Mixed team riders.”
Laws adds: “I understand that Hanlie doesn’t want to push too much tomorrow, but we can’t lose too much time as we don’t want to be on the single-track section with too many other riders – then it won’t be any fun. So we’ll try to stay ahead of the pack.” Booyens adds that they rather want to be safe than stupid. “We’re also not focusing so much on the race tomorrow, but rather on what we’re planning to do afterwards. Some nice food, cocktails in a nightclub, and lots of dancing sounds good to me. And on Sunday, we’re definitely going to enjoy our own bathrooms, have a brunch somewhere, and not put bum cream on our behinds as this has become a bit of a routine lately. Monday we’ll probably get the Epic-blues.” Laws will be flying home to the United Kingdom on Tuesday. “I’m really not looking forward to it – it’s cold and nasty back home.”
Mixed Category
Nico Pfitzenmaier and Alison Sydor (Adidas Big Tree) retained their lead by winning their category for the seventh day in a row. They finished Stage 6 in a time of 04:04:06 (overall time – 28:53:51). They were again followed by Marcel Bartholet and Esther Süss (Wheeler – IXS Pro) in a time of 04:04:33. They maintain their overall 2nd position (29:37:25). Lukas Kubis and Ivonne Kraft (Haibike – VMT Afripex) finished in 3rd place (04:10:56), putting them in 4th place overall (30:56:11). Paul Cordes and Yolande Speedy (IMC/ Momentum GT/ Activeworx) finished in fourth place (04:20:42), but maintain their 3rd position overall (30:27:31).
Says Alison Sydor (Adidas Big Tree): “Today was the nicest course of the race so far. I remembered a lot of the sessions from last year and saw some familiar landmarks, so I knew where I was and what trails we’d be following - also that some great single-tracks were coming up. The racing was actually as hard as always because everyone’s exhausted – whether you’re in front or at the back. As pro riders we’ve really given 100% of our energy every single day and now we’re starting to feel it. What is wonderful right now is that you can see the mutual respect between the riders that normally ride together for most of the way. There’s a camaraderie that develops towards the end of the race and that’s the kind of experience that makes stage races like the Absa Cape Epic so special.” It was very important to them to hang on to their leader jersey. “It’s so nice to know that we’ll start the final stage with a comfortable lead. Tomorrow we want to stay focused and because there’s still 60km to go, we won’t take anything for granted. I’ve heard some horror stories in the past of riders thinking they’ll win, only to have something bad happen to them in the final stage. This terrain is unforgiving and we worked so hard to build our lead for the last 7 days, that we won’t risk it by doing anything foolish.” Sydor crashed on the finish line last year hugging her team partner. “Thanks to me Kevin Vermaak got his front page last year. I’m definitely not planning anything as dramatic this year. Also, I’m suspicious and not even thinking about the finish until I see it in front of me. But I hope to cross it on my bike this year.”
The Specialized/Red Bull team of Rebecca Rusch and Matthew Weatherley-White came home 6th again today matching their GC position.
Stage 7Finally the last day (Stage 7 - final) of the taxing Absa Cape Epic has arrived and riders will end their adventure at Lourensford. Traditionally the last stage is always the shortest, but never easy and will take riders over 60km and 1 760 m climbing. Again, they will see short, sharp climbs and then some longer and even steeper ones though Nuweberg. Soon the riders will begin to smell home as they near the bottom of Gamtoe Pass. As any Absa Cape Epic veteran will tell you, it is a compulsory portage section through this National Heritage site. A close look at the path will reveal Voortrekkers’ wagons tracks, heading down to the railway line. Through wine country, riders will head home to the Lourensford Wine Estate to collect their finisher’s medal and a well earned rest.
Visit
www.cape-epic.com for more details and to see where the riders are online during the race.
Race #2 South East Regional Championship Series
Sam Koerber (Gary Fisher 29er Crew) decided to stay closer to his home in North Carolina and not make the journey to Fontana for the weekend. Sam took the lead from the start and never looked back, finishing well ahead of the rest of the race. The exciting race was between Greg Lewis (Trek Co op) and Thomas Turner ( Specialized) for 2nd; after exchanging the lead several time Greg took control on the last lap to finish seconds ahead of Thomas. The KHS/Kenda junior team rider Seth Kemp had a very respectable ride finishing in 4th.
Writing by: Greg Gibson
