Hans Becking, on his birthday, and Wout Alleman (BUFF – MEGAMO) roared to a second successive stage win on Stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic in Tulbagh. After a commanding performance, the duo also moved into the overall lead in the Absa Cape Epic General Classification and will wear the Yellow Leader Jerseys from tomorrow (Stage 3).
Stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic took riders out of Saronsberg Cellar, up the daunting Wagon Trail singletrack climb and into the sandy and rocky Witzenberg Valley before returning to Saronsberg via the Wagon Trail descent.
From the start, the main contenders of BUFF – MEGAMO, World Bicycle Relief (Nino Schurter and Sebastian Fini), Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne (Matt Beers and Howard Grotts) and ORBEA Leatt Speed Company (Georg Egger and Lukas Baum) jostled for position to hit the singletrack climb in front.
The racing was impacted early when Danish rider, Fini, suffered a puncture. Repairs didn’t take long, but in a flash Fini and teammate Schurter found themselves behind a stream of riders, forcing them to fight their way through the field like heartbroken Kung-Fu masters avenging loved ones in a straight-to-video action flick. It was only around the 90km point in the race when they managed to move into second place on the day.
Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne, BUFF – MEGAMO, ORBEA Leatt Speed Company and, for a short while, Wilier Vittoria Factory (Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro), took advantage of Fini’s misfortune to race ahead.
At this stage, Wout Alleman and Matt Beers looked like the strongest, most determined riders in the field, until Beers suffered a puncture two-thirds into the day’s racing. Alleman cracked on, as did Speed Company; Wilier Vittoria Factory found the pace too demanding and started to drift back.
Stage 2 became a two-team race between BUFF – MEGAMO and Speed Company up until the 70km point. The race changed here when Speed Company’s Georg Egger stopped to take in nutrition, allowing Alleman and Becking to push ahead and ride unhindered for the next 27km to claim the stage win and the Yellow Leader Jerseys.
“We felt amazing today, just super strong,” said Alleman. “It was a crazy day though – so many things happened but we managed to navigate them all, so I’m super happy to get over the line with the win.”
Becking, celebrating his 37th birthday with an Absa Cape Epic stage victory and presumably a two-hour shower after the stage, was naturally over the moon with the day’s result.
“It’s just such a pleasure to ride with Wout,” said Becking. “He was so strong today that in the last 10km, I was shouting, ‘Man, go easy, go easy, because the old man is on the limit.’ It’s my birthday today and we have a Yellow Jersey, which means we don’t have to wash the clothes this afternoon, which is good!”
The ferocious racing was perhaps summed up best by defending champion Matt Beers, who noted on the finish line, “This isn’t an eight-day race, it’s eight, day-races in a row.”
Stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic is a 94km trek from Saronsberg Cellar in Tulbagh to Wellington, another region famed for its twisting and turning singletrack trails. The racing, much like the weather forecast, promises to be hot.
Men, Stage 2
1 Wout Alleman & Hans Becking (BUFF – MEGAMO) 4:05:22
2 Nino Schurter & Sebastian Fini (World Bicycle Relief) 4:07:24
3 Georg Egger & Lukas Baum (ORBEA Leatt Speed Company) 4:07:29
Men’s GC after Stage 2
1 Wout Alleman & Hans Becking (BUFF – MEGAMO) 8:48:20
2 Nino Schurter & Sebastian Fini (World Bicycle Relief) + 32
3 Matt Beers & Howard Grotts (Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne) + 1:52
How to Watch
To watch the racing action unfold, tune in to the daily live broadcast on the Epic Series’ YouTube channel, from Sunday, 17 March. Fans of mountain biking can also share in the excitement of the race by following @capeepic on Instagram or by liking the Cape Epic Facebook page. For more information please visit www.epic-series.com/capeepic or click here to view the full 2024 race register.
GALLERY
