Cycling: Neither heat, dust and headwind nor a technical problem could prevent Swiss Christoph Sauser and Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy from winning their fourth stage at the Absa Cape Epic. The stage led from Worcester to Wellington over 121 kilometers with a tough 2500 meters in altitude.
The Investec-Songo-Specialized team is now more than ten minutes ahead of the second in the overall standings. And it seems that only bad luck - a bad fall, health problems or technical defects - could prevent the two from achieving Sauser's fifth victory in the "Tour de France of mountain bikers".
The transfer leg from Worcester in the Breede Valley to Wellington, some 40km from Cape Town, included some tough climbs. Including the one on the Bain's Kloof Pass, a national natural monument in South Africa. After that, it was straight into the rugged climb called Full Monty, part of the Welvan Pass mountain bike trail network.
At the entrance to the Fully Monty, Sauser and Kulhavy (Investec-Songo-Specialized) were able to shake off the last two chasing teams. When the two crossed the finish line 15 kilometers later, they were almost a minute ahead of the next-placed Team Bulls with Karl Platt (GER) and Urs Huber (SUI). The South Africans Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock (RED-E Blend), who had lost their red Africa leader shirt the day before, went along. With a strong energy performance, they reclaimed the Absa African championship lead. This own ranking at the Absa Cape Epic is extremely exciting in 2015, the leader's jersey has already changed three times.
The stage was tough for Topeak Ergon, second overall, as the marathon world champion Alban Lakata (AUT) first had a flat tire and then caught the chain when it fell off on a descent. They had been given a rear wheel by the backup team Robert Mennen (GER) and Jeremiah Jacobs (USA) to keep the gap within limits. Luckily, when the chain broke, they were close to the third aid station and were able to change the chain in the official tech zone there.
The leading favorites also had technical problems. “Jara had a huge branch hanging from the rear wheel” said the Swiss at the finish, “this caused the rear derailleur to bend.” Sauser hadn't noticed this at first, but suddenly he was alone. He was anxiously waiting for his partner, fearing that Investec-Songo-Specialized's race was over, when the yellow zebra jersey reappeared. On the wonderful singletrack of Wellington, the two then took it a little easier because there was no sign of the Bulls.
“Today was a huge match point for us, but it's far from over. We will remain focused, no holiday spirit as the epic is only over in Meerendal. It was important to be the first to hit the trails and be able to ride safely. The most important thing is that we are closer to the (overall) goal. Tomorrow the stage is not too rocky and with many trails, that suits us very much", according to Christoph Sauser.
"After we really always had flat tires in the wrong places in the last few days, things went happier for us at least today"said Karl Platt (Team Bulls). “We showed that we can still get on the podium.”
The Topeak Ergon Team with Kristian Hynek (CZE) and Alban Lakata (AUT) kept their second overall place, but the gap to the leaders is now 10.51:XNUMX minutes. “I don't think we can catch that up unless Specialized has technical issues in one of the last two stages”said the Czech.
Alban Lakata:
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After 6:05.33,7:XNUMX hours, Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad (RECM Specialized), once again a long way behind the rest of the women, crossed the finish line in Wellington. The only dangerous thing was a mass fall in the men's field shortly after the start, which the two fast women managed to avoid. “It was very rough today”, said three-time marathon world champion Langvad, “the tarmac climb up Bain's Kloof was a respite and after that we rolled home.” But even the incredibly enduring Dane has to admit that her legs are slowly giving out. "I can still push on the flat, but I'm already noticing the elevation gain over the past few days."
Ariane Kleinhans:
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Second in the women's standings were Team Ascendis Health, Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn de Groot, around 24 minutes behind the overall leaders. 2007 winner Yolande de Villiers was third with SasolRacing partner Janka Keseg Stevkova.
In fact, one woman crossed the finish line earlier than Stenerhag/de Groot: multiple world champion and gold medalist Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå. After Kathrin Stirnemann (SUI) had to drop out yesterday with serious lung problems, the Norwegian continues to ride alone as an “outcast”.
"I wasn't going flat out," said Dahle Flesjå. “I had a good day out there. I rarely do stage races so it's a good experience for me. Maybe I'll come back to the Absa Cape Epic with a bit bigger ambitions." Stirnemann had serious breathing problems in the fourth stage. A suspicion of a pulmonary embolism, which she had suffered before, was fortunately not confirmed after X-rays in the hospital.
The sixth and penultimate stage of this year's Absa Cape Epic is a 72-kilometer loop around Wellington. Almost half of the route, around 30 kilometers of it, are single tracks - single-lane, demanding paths, some of which were specially designed for mountain biking. The starters have to cover 2000 meters in altitude.
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