Swiss pair surge to Epic victory
DUO FINISH OVER EIGHT MINUTES CLEAR
Shorter-distance specialists have proved they can be more dangerous than marathon racers at the gruelling Absa Cape Epic, Olympic champion Nino Schurter said yesterday, after he joined Swiss compatriot Matthias Stirnemann in securing a superb victory at the annual mountain bike contest in the Western Cape.
After taking the lead from Manuel Fumic of Germany and Henrique Avancini of Brazil (Cannondale Factory Racing) on stage five, the Scott-SRAM MTB Racing duo charged to a convincing overall win, more than eight minutes clear of their nearest challengers.
“I think we changed the nature of the event this year, along with Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini,” Schurter said.
“We have shown that the cross country guys can win the Cape Epic and I think we took some people by surprise.”
The Scott-SRAM Young Guns pairing of Dutch rider Michiel van der Heijden and Swiss partner Andri Frischknecht won the seventh and final stage between Elgin and Val de Wie Estate, while Schurter and Stirnemann finished third on the stage to wrap up the title.
Another Swiss rider, five-time winner Christoph Sauser, and Investec-Songo Specialised partner Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic took second position in the general classification.
Podium contenders Max Knox of South Africa and Colombian team-mate Hector Paez (Kansai Plascon) struggled on the final leg and slipped to fourth spot overall.
In the women’s race, local favourite Robyn de Groot and German partner Sabine Spitz (Ascendis Health) won the final stage, but it was Esther Suss of Switzerland and Jennie Stenerhag of Sweden who finished on top of the overall podium.
Suss and Stenerhag (Meerendal CBC) ended more than 35 minutes ahead of SA rider Mariske Strauss and English team-mate Annie Last (Hansgrohe Cadence OMX Pro) in the general classification.
De Groot and Spitz finished third overall after facing various struggles throughout the week including a crash and a broken handlebar.