April 7, 2005 – The demanding fourth stage of The CAPE EPIC had it all: challenging uphills, technical jeep track, and magnificent vistas amongst spectacular fynbos — in short everything that makes mountain biking so special. What exhausted the riders on the 110.6 kilometres long way from Riversdale to Barrydale were not only the climbs with a total ascent of 2425 metres, but also the burning heat, especially on the tar section crossing famous Tradouws pass where spectators were cheering the riders uphill.

After 4 hours 11 minutes and 6.17 seconds the stage victory was decided in a tight 500 metre long sprint finish. When he saw the adidas arch at the horizon in Barrydale, Christoph Sauser (SUI) of team Siemens Cannondale hit the gas, but had to give in to Giant team riders Roel Paulissen (BEL) and “˜Bartman’ Brentjens (NDL) who seem to be unbeatable in the flat. Paulissen closed the gap instantly and Brentjens sprinted from the back being the first to cross the finish line.

At kilometre 70 the race field broke up in the most technical section of the day leading through Grootvaderbos Nature Reserve. “We actually didn’t attack”, explained Roel after the stage, “we just rode at our own pace. And we took it easy on the downhills not to risk another flat with all the sharp stones. Bart had a puncture in the beginning of the stage, but we could seal the hole quickly with the tubeless liquid. The technical sections would have been more fun to ride with a fully, but then there are so many long stretches in this race. That’s why I chose a hardtail.”

After having had a few energy problems during the first days, which slowed him down at the end of each stage, Christoph Sauser has now found back to his strength. “I really enjoyed the first two hours. We didn’t push and I had time to look around. I also wanted to keep my feet dry for a change. After the second water point we were in the front”, Christoph recaps, “but Bart caught up on the flat. And I am just not a good enough sprinter to keep up with him.”

By sticking to the wheels of the yellow leader jerseys, however, team Siemens Cannondale increased the gap to team Rocky Mountain with Karl Platt (GER) and Carsten Bresser (GER) by 3.5 minutes (now 12 minutes in total); Bresser/ Platt came in fourth today after a second sprint finish battling with Sandro Spaeth (SUI) and Thomas Zahnd (SUI) for a place on the podium.

Boundless Woman Power
One of the hardest and most interesting battles for the adidas leader jerseys at this year’s CAPE EPIC takes place in the Women category, because it reveals the power of mind. Hannele Steyn-Kotze (RSA), for years South Africa’s most dominant female mountain biker and without doubt one of the most competitive souls in the race, has chosen a team partner that only started cycling a year ago. Zoë Frost (RSA), a former golf pro and winner of several Pro Am tournaments and US National Championships began to ride her road bike to get back into shape after she gave birth to her two little twin boys, Jordan and Jaeger, who are now 1.5 years old. Before joining Hannele in the CAPE EPIC, the 30 year old adidas athlete only participated in two mountain bike races. Thus almost everything from race tactics to riding technique is completely new to her. The one thing that Zoë, who now lives in Phoenix/ Arizona, has in common with her riding partner is a powerful mind. “I expected this race to be very tough, but it is actually a lot harder than you can imagine. I guess my strength is my mind. Every day is a new race for me and I learn so much from Hannele. Today I crashed three times in the technical section. But I want to hold on to the leader jersey. I am doing this for my boys.” That Zoë Frost can take a lot of pain one can see instantly looking at her bruised and scratched legs that after four days of racing almost have the colour of the leader jersey she and Hannele have successfully defended today — red.

Results (all results are online under www.cape-epic.com)

Men
1. Giant — Roel Paulissen (BEL), Bart Brentjes (NDL) — 4:11:06.17
2. Siemens — Christoph Sauser (SUI), Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE) — 4:11:06:91
3. Papival-Stoeckli-Move Magazin, Sandro Spaeth (SUI), Thomas Zahnd (SUI) — 4:14:40.92

Women
1. Fiat/ Bianchi/ adidas 2 — Hannele Steyn-Kotze (RSA), Zoe Frost (RSA) — 5:19:38.36
2. Scott Ladies — Hanlie Booyens (RSA), Michelle Lombardi (RSA) — 5:23:44.10
3. Hai-Bike/ Scrane.de — Kirsten Rösel (GER), Petronella Hattingh (RSA) — 5:57:32.03

Masters
1. Specsavers — Linus Van Onselen (RSA), Frans van Zyl (RSA) — 4:44:00.99
2. Getaway Mongoos — Doug Brown (RSA), Friedrich Coleske (RSA) — 4:46:53.60
3. Scarabee 2– Frankz Taelman (BEL), Dirk Rossignol (BEL) — 4:48:53.42

Mixed
1. Team Microsoft — Nic White (RSA), Anke Erlank (RSA) — 5:06:25.53
2. Fast n Fresh — Leon Erasmus (RSA), Liza Serfontain (RSA) — 5:11:12.51
3. Manic Cycles — Geddan Ruddock (RSA), Jeannie Bomford (RSA) – 5:17:20.65