CAPE EPIC 2017 DAY 5, TREAD NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

Day 5, Stage 4. Finally a longer stage! More distance, more time, more climbing. More like the Cape Epic we know. The Cape Epic that everyone prepares for. Well, most of the field anyway. The first four days this year were unusually short (an average of just 66.75km per day), but the 112km stage from Elandskloof to Oak Valley changed that…

Compiled by Sean Badenhorst

Photos by Dino Lloyd

Bad luck #1

South Africa looked like it might be celebrating its first Cape Epic stage win of 2017 when South African Champion Max Knox and his Colombian teammate, Leo Paez, racing as Team Kansai Plascon, broke clear on their own with 85km of he 112km stage covered.

The pair of strong climbers, who were fourth overall at the start of the day, rode away from the leading group up the sandy Botrivier Pass. They charged up the singletrack climbs after Water Point 3 and looked set for the stage win and to gain some time on the GC when disaster struck.

A spoke on Knox’s back wheel snapped at the hub end and pushed the spoke through the rim tape, compromising the sealed tubeless unit with instant loss of air. Knox had to insert a tube, which saw the team lose around five minutes and their lead.

They ended up in fifth place on the stage but still hold onto fourth place overall.

“It’s so frustrating. Today was the first day I felt really good and when Leo went clear up the sandy climb I was able to go with him. We finally had a longer stage that suited us and wanted to make the most of it. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be,” said a clearly disappointed Knox.

The Kansai Plascon pair had built up more than a minute’s lead with 20km remaining when their fortunes took an about turn. They showed impressive climbing strength though and will surely look for another opportunity in the coming days, which offer a high percentage of climbing.

Bad luck #2

Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy looked like they would use today’s longest stage to drive home their victory quest. Brazil’s Henrique Avencini and Germany’s Manuel Fumic (Cannondale Factory Racing) held a slender 1:20 lead at the start of the day and it’s appears to us that the Brazilian has been riding at his limit for the past two days (unless he always looks like he’s struggling).

Sauser and Kulhavy’s back-up team, NAD Pro, comprising South Africans Nico Bell and Gawie Combrinck, were prominent at the front of the fairly large lead pack until the Botrivier Pass, 85km into the stage. This showed that Sauser and Kulhavy were using their South African stablemates to help shelter them from the wind, a tactic that would help them stay fresher for a late surge.

But instead of gaining valuable time, the Investec-Songo-Specialized team lost out on the opportunity. Kulhavy cut the sidewall of his rear tyre with around 15km remaining. The hole only sealed with the second plug (they also pulled out the valve core in the process) and they lost around five minutes and their second place overall.

You can bet though that they’ll come out firing on Stage 5. We reckon they’ll go hard from the gun… 

Bad luck #3

South African champion, Robyn de Groot and her Team Ascendis partner, Sabine Spitz of Germany suffered another setback in their victory quest when Spitz sustained a cut front tyre with 15km remaining.

“It was weird. The cut happened while we were riding through soft sand, the last place you’d expect to cut a tyre!” said De Groot.

The stage win went to overall leaders, Jennie Stenerhag and Esther Süss (Meerendal CBC), who extended their overall advantage to 12 minutes 40 seconds. This is quite a decent cushion and Ascendis Health will have to take back some chunks of time on each of the remaining three days if they intend to challenge for the win. Expect them to be the protagonists from the start on Stage 5.

SCOTT dominance

In an incredible display of dominance, SCOTT bicycles captured first and second place in the Men’s race, first place in the Women’s race and first place in the Mixed division on Stage 4.

Andri Frischknecht and Michiel Van der Heijden (SCOTT-SRAM Young Guns) won the stage ahead of stablemates, Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing), with all four riders crossing the finish line almost simultaneously.

Esther Süss and Jennie Stenerhag (Meerendal CBC) were also on SCOTT Sparks, while Thomas Frischknecht (SCOTT Spark) and Jenny Risveds (SCOTT Spark Contessa) claimed the Mixed division stage win.

For a brand that’s been largely built on Schurter and, more recently Rissved’s XCO success, it’s an impressive showing and sure to boost the brand’s success in the marathon/stage race bicycle sales category.

Close race

After five days of racing, there is just 2 minutes 15 seconds separating the top three teams on the General Classification. This is partly due to the first four days being quite a bit shorter than normal in total distance and racing time (see our Day 4 notes for comparisons with previous years) and partly due to third-placed Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy (Investec-Songo-Specialized) having had two longish mechanical delays (Stage 1 and Stage 4). But even if Sauser and Kulhavy didn’t have those delays, the race would still be quite tight among the top three.

Leading are the Cannondale Factory Racing duo of Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avencini, who lost time today, but still hold a 1:42 lead over SCOTT SRAM’s Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann, who are 33 seconds ahead of Sauser and Kulhavy.

The remaining three days are going to be thrilling!

OBSERVATIONS

Rain?

The long-term forecast the week before the Cape Epic started was that there was no rain likely. The drought-stricken region is incredibly dry and the trail surfaces so far have been loose and blown out. But rain has begun to fall on the eve of Stage 5. It’s a huge relief from the preceding dry, hot days and obviously very welcome. The forecast is for rain in the night, but clearing in the morning.

It’s unlikely to affect the race too much as the extremely dry ground is sure to soak up any liquid rapidly. But it will cool things down from a temperature perspective, which will be welcomed by many, especially the European riders.

If it does rain during the stage, expect drama. Crashes and mechanicals are always more prevalent in the wet.

Difficulty with sand

There were sections of sand today that challenged the riders. We realised just how many try to choose their line in the sand instead of letting the sand choose their line for them. It’s the only way to ride sand with any kind of confidence, but it’s clearly not widely known among Cape Epic participants. We reckon at least half of the riders we watched wasted energy (and time) in the sand…

TREAD is carrying extensive coverage of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic, brought to you by Momsen Bikes. Follow us on twitter: @TreadMTBmag, Facebook: Tread – Mountain Biking with Soul and Instagram:@treadmtb