Fumic, Avancini outpace the field
PROLOGUE: SWISS PAIR FINISH SECOND, 1:36 BEHIND
SA’s Robyn de Groot wins women’s prologue.
Cross country specialists Manuel Fumic of Germany and Henrique Avancini of Brazil insist they can be competitive over the full eight-day contest, after making use of their speed yesterday to win the short prologue on the opening day of the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race in the Western Cape.
“We are well-prepared for the race,” Avancini said.
“Of course, the shorter stages suit us better, but we are in good shape and we want to fight for the overall. We will try our best.”
Avancini and Cannondale Factory Racing team-mate Fumic, who earned the cross country silver medal at the 2013 World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, completed the 26km prologue in 1:01:52.
They were 1:36 quicker than Olympic champion Nino Schurter and fellow Swiss rider Matthias Stirnemann (Scott-Sram Racing) who settled in second place.
Max Knox was the first SA rider, lying in fifth spot with Kansai Plascon team-mate Hector Paez of Colombia.
In the women’s contest, local rider Robyn de Groot admitted she had been made to work hard, again getting her race off to a great start to win the opening leg of the gruelling annual battle.
The multiple national champion had also won the prologue last year, but Swedish partner Jennie Stenerhag was stretchered to the medical tent due to illness and they were forced to withdraw after three stages.
Turning out this week with veteran German rider Sabine Spitz, the 2008 Olympic cross country champion, the Ascendis Health duo won the prologue in 1:15:26.
“I had to dig deeper than I like to,” De Groot said.
“Sabine started really hard and I had to ‘vasbyt’ for a while.”
Stenerhag and former marathon world champion Esther Suss of Switzerland (Meerendal CBC) took second place, 39 seconds adrift.
Today’s 101km first stage will start and finish at Hermanus High School.