Hans Becking and Wout Alleman (BUFF-MEGAMO) outclimbed most of their rivals and then outsprinted the remainder to win Stage 1 of the 2024 Absa Cape Epic, at Saronsberg Cellar in Tulbagh on Monday.
Becking and Alleman, Low-Country riders from the Netherlands and Belgium respectively, are flying high at this year’s Cape Epic, with Alleman in thrilling form.
The Belgian, who is the current European marathon chapmion, was in complete command of the BUFF-MEGAMO Stage 1 race strategy from start to finish, coolly guiding the team home in 3:38:48, two seconds ahead of Nino Schurter and Sebestian Fini (World Bicycle Relief).
As the four riders entered the home stretch, Alleman surged to the line with Schurter in hot pursuit. Unfortunately for the World Bicycle Relief pair, Fini’s chain snapped, allowing BUFF-MEGAMO to race over for a well-deserved stage win. Schurter and Fini remain in the overall leaders’ Yellow Jersey, one minute and 10 seconds ahead of second-placed Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne (Matt Beers and Howard Grotts) and 90 seconds ahead of third-placed BUFF-MEGAMO in the GC.
“I’m super happy with the stage win,” said Becking. “Yesterday we started on a high with the podium and then after about 30km today I told Wout it was going to be a very good day for us. We paced it well and it worked out perfectly – Nino and Sebastian were just too strong to drop though. Still, six days to go and I’m thrilled to already have two podiums in the pocket.”
Alleman added, “I always tried to stay out in front of the racing today and managed that pretty well. In the beginning, the Speed Company guys went really hard up until the big climbs. We didn’t try to race them but rather just managed our pace. It takes me a bit longer to get going these days, but today I felt good all the way.”
The men’s Elite race on Stage 1 started in dramatic fashion with a multiple-bike pile-up in the first few kilometres as the elite field left Saronsberg Cellar. Thankfully, no riders, bikes or bicycle components were injured in the prang and the field was able to regroup and start racing again.
Alleman looked focussed from the start, but as soon as the pack turned off the tar road and into the trails, Georg Egger and Lukas Baum (ORBEA LEATT Speed Company) attacked.
BUFF-MEGAMO, World Bicycle Relief, Imbuko (Marco Joubert and Wessel Botha), Wilier Vittoria Factory (Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro), Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne and Pyga Euro Steel (Philip Buys and Pieter Du Toit) were all able to stay with Egger and Baum until the climbing started around the 57km mark of the 88km stage.
Alleman put in a surge to shake loose the field, attacking again up the steep Fanti’s Pass climb at 69km. At this point, only Schurter and Fini could respond and it looked like a two-horse race to the finish until Beers and Grotts surprisingly reappeared like long-lost twin brothers coming to claim a family inheritance with 10km to go.
Grotts, racing well despite two crashes on the day, dropped off again, leaving BUFF-MEGAMO and World Bicycle Relief alone to contend the sprint finish.
“We had our challenges today,” said Beers. “There were a few crashes and we just fought our way back every time.” Grotts added, “To be honest, it would have been nicer to be able to save a little bit of energy today, but all things considered, we didn’t lose that much time. We’re still on the podium, still in the hunt.”
Stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic is another Saronsberg Cellar start and finish day, where participants will tackle 97km and 2200m of climbing. The bulk of the stage will take place in the Witzenberg Valley, where the sandy and rocky terrain will test the abilities of the entire field.
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
