The predicted rain was inevitable on the first day of the Absa Cape Epic. The 108-kilometre circuit took the drivers over a total of 2450 meters in altitude and demanded a lot from them with a steep climb at 40 kilometers. Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Käß from Team Centurion - Vaude mastered this first task best and finished after 4:42.50 hours.
It was initially not to be expected that they would be able to gain a lead of almost two minutes. All the top teams had problems on day one. Whether falls or mechanical problems, none of the favored teams remained unscathed. "We had problems, like apparently every other team, but in the end we won and are very happy", said Kaess .
The chasing group turned out to be surprisingly large. Five teams fought for the place behind Kaufmann and Käß. In an exciting sprint, Christoph Sauser and Frantisek Rabon (Team Meerendal Songo Specialized) secured second place, closely followed by the Swiss BMC Mountainbike Racing Team with Lukas Flückiger and Martin Fanger. The winners of yesterday's prologue suffered what was probably the biggest setback. Rudi van Houts and Jose Hermida (Multivan-Merida) finished 1:16.21:XNUMX behind.
Our editor Immanuel Stark and his brother Sebastian coped well with the difficult conditions and placed on a very good 27th place.
The prologue winners Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad didn't really get into the race today either and were plagued by several punctures. Although they were able to finish on the podium in third place, they lost a lot of ground to the new leaders Esther Süss and Sally Bigham from Team Meerendal with a time of 24.48,9:XNUMX minutes. "It was a terrible day. We had so many punctures and after fighting our way back to the front group, one of us suffered another puncture." comments Langvad today. The Swedish/South African team around Jennie Stenerhag and Theresa Ralph finished second.
result men
1. Markus Kaufmann / Jchen Kaess (Centurion Vaude) 4:42.50,3
2. Christoph Sauser / Frantisek Rabon (Meerendal Songo Specialized) +1.58,8
3. Lukas Flueckiger / Martin Fanger (BMC MTB Racing) +1.59,0
4. Tim Boehme / Simon Stiebjahn (Bulls 2) +1.59,2
5. Konny Looser / Hannes Genze (Meerendal Centurion Wheeler) +1.59,3
result women
1. Esther Suss / Sally Bigham (Team Meerendal) 5:24.31,7
2. Jennie Stenerhag / Theresa Ralph (Cape Brewing Company) +16.11,0
3. Ariane Kleinhans / Annika Langvad (RECM 2) +24.48,9
4. Milena Landtwing / Hielke Elferink (Meerendal Wheeler) +29.46,5
5. Sara Mertens / Laura Turpijn (Meerendal Wheeler 2) +30.42,7
Rating men
1. Markus Kaufmann / Jochen Kaess (Centurion Vaude) 5:43.28,1
2. Lukas Flueckiger / Martin Fanger (BMC MTB Racing) +41,2
3. Christoph Sauser / Frantisek Rabon (Meerendal Songo Specialized) +3.43,7
4. Tim Boehme / Simon Stiebjahn (Bulls 2) +4.07,8
5. Konny Looser / Hannes Genze (Meerendal Centurion Wheeler) +4.17,4
Appreciation women
1. Esther Suss / Sally Bigham (Team Meerendal) 6:36.48,0
2. Jennie Stenerhag / Theresa Ralph (Cape Brewing Company) +19.38,0
3. Ariane Kleinhans / Annika Langvad (RECM 2) +22.39,6
4. Milena Landtwing / Hielke Elferink (Meerendal Wheeler) +33,43,1
Ischen Stopforth / Yolanda de Villiers (Sasol Racing) +39.25,6