March 30, 2011 (Saronsberg, South Africa) – Today a 12km steady upward drag took riders to a 6km climb on an ancient Voortrekker wagon trail, specially opened for the race. At the top, the 18km mark, riders had already ascended almost 1 000m. With this stage’s major obstacle out of the way, the valley opened up ahead, with the route looping clockwise, following the buffer zone between orchards and mountainside. The tracks were far from flat and a short section of single-track compensated the labours of the first 50km. It was very hot in the valley (37 C) and riders were tempted to take a dip in one of the several dams dotted along the route as they began to head home. After a 1.5km rise to the highpoint of the day’s outing came the reward of the hard work invested in the first climb. The unmistakable silhouette of Table Mountain was visible from the crest. Riders then enjoyed descending the wagon trail they had previously climbed towards town for a good night’s rest.

Men’s Category
The South African/Swiss team of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser (36ONE Songo Specialized) 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.

With an overall time of 9 hours, 27 Minutes and 38 seconds, the 36ONE Songo Specialized team will wear the yellow leader jersey for Stage 3.

Canadian Werner Gerntholz of the The Outeniqua Rockies team is in 208th position in the Men’s GC with South African team mate Jake Crowther, while Canuck duo of Luke and Adam Ferris (Serenity Now) is in 226th overall.

Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander of team 36ONE Songo Specialized were the first to cross the finish line for the third consecutive day in 4:32.43,4 (overall 9:27.38,0). They were followed by Hannes Genze and Jochen Käss of Multivan Merida Biking in 4:33.30,6 (overall 9:33.56,3) with their second podium finish for this event and placed second overall. In third place with their first podium finish this year were Lukas and Mathias Flückiger of Trek World Racing in 4:34.07,2 (overall time 9:48.42,1). In fourth place was the Bulls team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm in (4:34.23,6; overall time 9:35.01,6), placing them in third position overall. Nicolas Vermeulen and Kevin van Hoovels (team Versluys-Evenza) finished in fifth place today in 4:40.18,0 (overall time 9:49.53,2)

The 36ONE Songo Specialized team of Sauser and Stander lead the Multivan Merida Biking team of Hannes Genze and Jochen Käss by 6 minutes and 18 seconds and it is their 12th stage win in the Absa Cape Epic since they participated for the first time.

Says Burry Stander (team 36ONE Songo Specialized): “Today’s stage was hard. We followed a similar tactic to yesterday and tried to stay in front. Towards the end there were some steep climbs, but Susi (Christoph Sauser) was really strong and I just had to follow his wheel and on the flat stretch power to the end.” Adds his team mate Christoph Sauser: “I was feeling super strong today and had a good day in the saddle. We were riding together – about 8 of us – for most of the day but we broke away near the end. It was really nice to win another stage, but we’ll only celebrate tomorrow if we manage to win the stage again. The whole thing can blow up again. I’ve never been as strong as this year – I also had a coach this year which was good for me. It’s good to get some advice, even at 35, and do more power workouts. I definitely have more strength in my legs.”

Hannes Genze of Multivan Merida Biking, who finished in second place, was exhausted but excited. “Our team worked perfectly today. Jochen had a flat tyre, but the world champion José Hermida gave us his front wheel to continue on. Andreas (Kugler) and Markus (Kaufmann) managed to get us back to the leading group of 8 teams by pushing us a bit. That’s why I had enough energy at the end. I also had a crash today, which wasn’t very nice.” Says his partner Jochen Käss: “I had a flat tyre, but Hermida helped me out. It was really nice of him. We’re very happy with second place. Of course being on the podium makes us feel stronger. Our goal in this year’s race is a podium finish. The other teams are very strong and there’s still a long way to go. We’ll take it day by day.”

José Hermida of the Multivan Merida Biking team says he is thrilled to keep one of their teams in front. “I have no problem to be the spares rider. I gave Jochen my wheel and we just took it easy. We’d like a stage win, but our chance will come. We lost a lot of time yesterday – we had a technical problem – so it won’t be possible for us to catch up with the others. But a stage win is a priority.”

For Karl Platt of the Bulls team, today was “a good day. I felt strong today and we only lost the other riders on the last uphill. I hope we can make up some time. Stefan is not 100% and we’re waiting for him to feel better and find his legs.”

Says Lukas Flückiger of Trek World Racing: “We were motivated and off to a good start today. Mathias is bit tired as he was ill, but today we didn’t have any problems and are very happy with our podium finish. We definitely want a stage win – so we’ll go for it in the next five days.”

The reigning Belgian champion Nicolas Vermeulen (team Versluys-Evenza) says they had a great day. “We only lost the leaders in the last climb and rode in our own rhythm which was really nice.”

African Leader Jersey
Mannie Heymans from Namibia and Adrien Niyonshuti from Rwanda (team Garmin adidas MTN) are the leaders in the African Jersey in 10:05.25,5, followed by Paul Cordes and Charles Keey (MTN/Qhubeka) in 10:17.39,3. In third place are Brandon Stewart and 20 time Absa Cape Epic stage winner Shan Wilson (Toyota DCM) in 10:19.55,1.

Says Mannie Heymans of Garmin adidas MTN who won the inaugural Absa Cape Epic in 2004 together with Karl Platt: “We’re out here to defend the African leader jersey and very happy that we managed to extend our lead. Our objective for the rest of the race is to defend it. Adrien and I didn’t do much training together and he’s not a guy with lots of words, but every day just gets better and better. We’re getting stronger as the Absa Cape Epic progresses. I had a big heart for Adrien at the beginning of the race and as we go along, my heart is getting bigger. It’s a dream come true to ride with him. He’s been through so much – I really admire him. It’s a pity about Kevin and David, but we’ll wear the African Leader jersey with pride.”

Ladies Category
Eva Lechner and Nathalie Schneitter (team Colnago Arreghini Südtirol) won the Ladies Category for the third day in a row in a time of 5:56.23,0 (overall time 12:27.59,7), ahead of Sally Bigham and Karien Van Jaarsveld (team USN) in a time of 6:01.49,6 (overall 12:41.38,7). Naomi Hansen and Jodie Willett of adidas finished in third place in 6:07.58,4 (overall time 13:26.15,4). Lechner and Schneitter lead by 13 minutes and 39 seconds.

Canada’s Cathy Zeglinski is teamed up with Swiss rider Sabina Compassi (Northlands Medical Clinic), currently ranked sixth in the Ladies GC.

Says Eva Lechner of Italy (team Colnago Arreghini Südtirol): “We had a really good day today. This is another world for me and I’m happy to be back and to have won this stage. The TransAndes challenge, which we competed in earlier this year, was much shorter. I think the longest stage was around 60km. It was an easy race and we did it for fun. The Cape Epic is really hard and competitive. We’re cross-country riders and prefer shorter stages, but I must admit to enjoying the stage racing.” Nathalie Schneitter adds: “The hardest part for me today was the first 30 minutes as my legs felt tired. I enjoyed the downhills a lot today and generally had a good day. We’re a good team and it helps a lot that we know each other well. We’ve had three good days and I believe I’ll get one bad day and Eva will then need to bring me home somehow. We’ve done two 6-day races since October and know that we’re fine until day 6 of this race, but aren’t sure what will happen on the last two days. I’m convinced Sally and Karien will catch up with us later in the race.”

Sally Bigham of the USN team had an unfortunate crash yesterday. “Two minutes from the start, a guy crashed into me, I was going at 35km/h and stopped instantly. I landed on my head, and hurt my neck, shoulder and arm. So yesterday was a little hard. Today went very well and I’m happy with our results. I didn’t hurt myself too much yesterday and the physio and ice packs worked – Lady Luck was definitely on my side. We’re taking each day as it comes and riding our own race. Hopefully our endurance will kick in again during the later stages of the race.” Her partner Karien van Jaarsveld reckons it was very hot out there. “We did over 2 000m of climbing. Sally and I ride very well together as a team. She’s very experienced and I’m learning from her.”

Master’s Category
The Juwi team (Carsten Bresser and Udo Boelts) won the stage for the third consecutive day in 4:59.31,2 (overall time 10:30.14,2). They were again followed by Robert Sim and Doug Brown of the Robert Daniel team in 5:10.34,3 (overall time 10:57.08,8) with the Nandos team of Adrian Enthoven and Gerrie Beukes in third place in 5:23.08,6 (overall time 11:17.19,1). The Juwi team lead by 26 minutes and 55 seconds.

Canadian David Stachon of Team Olympic Cycles is in 16th overall with team mate Brett Burton (New Zealand), while the Canuck Trail Dogs squad of Ian Wilson and Gary Young is in 93rd in the Masters GC.

Udo Boelts (of Juwi) says today was a good race for them. “We found endurance rhythm as I call it. Carsten had a flat, but everything worked out. This is a mountain bike race, not a road race, so anything can still happen. One can never be too confident – the race only ends at Lourensford.”

Doug Brown of the Robert Daniel team reckons “personally today was a good day. Robert (Sim) had bad day today and I had it bad yesterday. Hopefully we can both feel good soon and get a podium win.”

Adrian Enthoven of the Nandos team had a tough day. “Today started with a long, hard climb – quite technical – and the section on top of the plateau was also quite hard. The map is deceptive as it’s much more difficult out there. We were riding with Ester and Bärti today and really enjoyed it. They ride consistently and smooth and it suits us well.”

Mixed Category
The Wheeler – BIXS team, Bärti Bucher and Esther S¸ss, won the Mixed category for the third day in a row in 5:23.08,0 (overall time 11:16.09,6), followed by Erik Kleinhans and Ariane Lüthi in 5:42.13,3 (overall time 11:49.47,0). The Swiss team of Daniel Annaheim and Renata Bucher (Baumat / zaboobikes.com) again finished in third place in 5:50.20,3 (overall time 12:13.29,2).

The Canadian Yukon Travel Team of Tamara Goeppel and Thomas Tetz is sitting in 12th in the Mixed Team GC.

Says reigning MTB Marathon World Champion Esther Süss, a teacher by profession, of team Wheeler – BIXS: “It was hard today and much faster than yesterday. It’s difficult riding with the men and I’m just happy I made it. We were riding with Robert Sim and Doug Brown. It’s good to be in the first position – it gives you drive and power. There’s definitely more single-track this year which of course I love.”

Ariane Lüthi: “I struggled a bit at the beginning. I’m not so used to so many riders around us. But as soon as I got into my rhythm, it went better. It’s still early days and anything can happen. We’re happy about our position – it gives us confidence.”

Stage 3 – Saronsberg/Tulbagh to Worcester (125km, 1900m of climbing)
With the fast roads out of town, riders will cover 13km before the first climb. It’s steep at times and very loose, requiring hard bursts of effort to gain momentum over the rockiest parts. If there was ever a theme of race week, it’s “from effort comes reward”. After the 4km climb, riders arrive at a plateau with a beautiful valley nestled between spectacular mountains that resemble the pictures found on the covers of fantasy novels. There will be little time to look around during the race though – the deeply rutted descent tests the rider and equipment alike. After smooth farm roads and more rocky tracks, the tyres will be put to the test, with devil thorns lying in wait. A long drag upwards on a rough path leads to a remote hut at the foot of the cliff face of the bare rock of the mountainside. This area is a geologist’s paradise. After the final water point, Absa Cape Epic veterans will have déjà vu, with a similar run into the race village through some winding single-track.

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