Matt Beers and Howard Grotts (Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne) romped to their first stage win of the 2024 Absa Cape Epic when they pulled away from Andreas Seewald and Marc Stutzmann (Canyon SIDI) in the closing kilometres of the 70km Stage 5 in Wellington. They increased their overall lead by almost one minute in the process.
The stage started at a relatively casual pace as the riders made their way out of the Wellington race village and into the vineyard trails. Hans Becking and Wout Alleman (BUFF – MEGAMO), Phil Buys and Pieter du Toit (Pyga Euro Steel) and Nino Schurter and Sebastian Fini (World Bicycle Relief) went immediately to the front of the bunch, as did the surprise package of the morning, Scott Calabandida | Mazowsze (Sergio Gutierrez and Pawel Bernas).
BUFF – MEGAMO soon started to struggle. This allowed Bulls Mavericks (Simon Schneller and Urs Huber) and Canyon SIDI (Andreas Seewald and Marc Stutzmann) to move into the front bunch. Huber then dropped off the pace, leaving Canyon SIDI, World Bicycle Relief and Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne alone at the front to contest the stage.
With rolling hills, short, sharp climbs and singletrack dominating the route, there was no obvious point for a team to break away. Beers and Grotts were shrewd, too, positioning themselves ahead of the singletrack-loving Nino Schurter when it mattered.
Once out of the tight trails and onto the vineyard and dirt-road finish, Beers opened the taps and started racing home. Grotts, who has matched his taller partner pedal-stroke for pedal-stroke all week, was once again able to go along for the ride and the pair comfortably left Canyon SIDI and World Bicycle Relief behind.
Aware that at the Absa Cape Epic every second counts, Beers and Grotts upped the tempo towards the finish, crossing the line 12 seconds ahead of Canyon SIDI and, more importantly, almost a full minute ahead of Schurter and Fini.
Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne now go into tomorrow’s Stage 6, the penultimate stage of the event, with a near three-minute lead over World Bicycle Relief in the general classification.
“Yeah, you know, the time gap can never be ‘too much’ in the Epic,” said Beers. “If there’s an opportunity to push it and grow the gap, you have to take it. You have to try. Even if you feel a lot of pain everywhere, as everyone does, it’s whoever can get that out of their mind and let the adrenaline take over. And I’m glad it worked for us today.”
Beers added that the plan wasn’t necessarily to win the stage, but it all came together on the day. “The stage win is a bonus! The plan is just to get time on our competitors. And then, I mean, normally it corresponds with winning a stage, but yeah, it’s very special to win in Yellow and we’ll definitely remember this one.”
For a full Stage 5 image gallery, check out the Absa Cape Epic Facebook Page here.
Results
Men’s Category Stage 5
1 Matt Beers & Howard Grotts (Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne) 2:46:09
2 Andreas Seewald & Marc Stutzmann (Canyon SIDI) 2:46:21
3 Nino Schurter & Sebastian Fini (World Bicycle Relief) 2:47:06
Men’s Category GC after Stage 5
1 Matt Beers & Howard Grotts (Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne) 18:40:13
2 Nino Schurter & Sebastian Fini (World Bicycle Relief) 18:43:10 +2:57
3 Hans Becking & Wout Alleman (BUFF – MEGAMO) 18:48:56 +8:43
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.
Source: Absa Cape Epic Media
