Hot, dusty and exhausting - typical conditions of the Absa Cape Epic, with which the drivers also had to struggle on today's fifth stage. The 110km stage took the field from Greyton to Elgin and forced another favorite to throw in the towel.
After Karl Platt from Team Bulls had to abandon the race yesterday due to knee pain, Rudi van Houts from the Multivan Merida Team suffered the same ailment. He crashed yesterday and couldn't finish today's stage. His teammate Jose Hermida will therefore have to finish the race as a single driver.
Robert Mennen and Kristian Hynek from Topeak-Ergon were also about to be eliminated today. Even before the first water station, Hynek had a flat tire on both the front and rear wheel. Luckily, Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Käß rushed to his aid, so Hynek and Käß swapped wheels and the German/Czech duo could continue with the race. Kaufmann and Käß are close friends of Robert Mennen and are far behind in the overall classification due to a broken frame on Tuesday.
They had no chance of overall victory and thus helped Topeak-Ergon maintain their overall lead for another day. "I'm not sure if it was a sharp stone or broken glass that caused the punctures. Luckily, Jochen and Markus helped me immediately – that was a great sporting gesture and I'm very grateful to them ," commented Hynek Käß on his sportsmanship.
Meanwhile, Roel Paulissen and Riccardo Chiarini of the Torpado Factory Team celebrated their first stage win. They led the peloton together with Nino Schurter and Philip Buys and managed to open up a gap shortly before the finish. "Only on the final attack were we able to pull away from Nino and Philip. Nino was very strong today, but Philip struggled a bit and couldn't follow our attack. We're absolutely thrilled to have won a stage. For such a small team as ours, this is a great achievement ," said Belgian Paulissen. Christoph Sauser and Frantisek Rabon secured third place despite a major mistake in which Sauser suffered a punctured tire, gaining some time in the overall standings.
Ariane Kleinhans and Annikas Langvad dominated again on the fifth day. The sweltering South African heat didn't deter them from building a fourteen-minute lead over Süß and Bigham, securing their fourth consecutive victory. "I'm super happy, not only because the final singletrack was incredibly fun, but also because we're finally in the shade. It was so damn hot today ," said Langvad after crossing the finish line. Kleinhans added: "I was a little worried before the stage, as Esther and Sally are good climbers and there were a lot of long ascents today. We tried to maintain a good and, above all, consistent pace, and our plan worked perfectly."
Esther Süss and Sally Bigham lose more valuable minutes to the leading duo and are already 15.24,5:XNUMX minutes behind in the overall standings. Jennie Stenerhag and Theresa Ralph also finished in third place on the fifth day and also seem to have secured third place in the overall classification.
result men
1. Roel Paulissen v Riccardo Chiarini (Torpado Factory) 4:52.03,4
2. Nino Schurter / Philip Buys (Scott Odlo MTB) +6,4
3. Christoph Sauser / Frantisek Rabon (Meerendal Songo Specialized) +5.00,0
4. Ben Bostrom / Paolo Cesar Montoya (Meerendal Songo Specialized 2) +6.14,2
5. Robert Mennen / Kristian Hynek (Topeak Ergon) +6.59,8
result women
1. Ariane Kleinhans / Annika Langvad (RECM 2) 5:29.20,5
2. Esther Suss / Sally Bigham (Meerendal) +14.13,4
3. Jennie Stenerhag / Theresa Ralph (Cape Brewing Company) +40.30,2
4. Milena Landtwing / Hielke Eiferink (Meerendal Wheeler) +46.59,5
5. Sara Mertens / Laura Turpijn (Meerendal Wheeler 2) +1:08.15,7
Rating men
1. Robert Mennen / Kristian Hynek (Topeak Ergon) 23:43.31,6
2. Christoph Sauser / Frantisek Rabon (Meerendal Songo Specialized) +9.47.7
3. Tim Boehme / Simon Stiebjahn (Bulls 2) +15.52,7
4. Roel Paulissen / Riccardo Chiarini (Torpado Factory) +19.05,7
5. Nino Schurter / Philip Buys (Scott Odlo MTB) +30.21,8
Appreciation women
1. Ariane Kleinhans / Annika Langvad (RECM 2) 27:09.10,7
2. Esther Suss / Sally Bigham (Meerendal) +15.24,5
3. Jennie Stenerhag / Theresa Ralph (Cape Brewing Company) +1:44.14,9
4. Milena Landtwing / Hielke Eiferink (Meerendal Wheeler) +2:26.23,2
5. Sara Mertens / Laura Turpijn (Meerendal Wheeler 2) +3:29.04,0