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Riders Complete Toughest Climbing
Stage of Absa Cape Epic
 Ladismith,
26 March 2007: The first three days
of the 2007 Absa Cape Epic,
presented by adidas, have made for
arguably the hardest start yet in
the history of the race. 81 riders
have already received a blue number
board, meaning that they can ride
the race but cannot be listed in the
classification as they did not meet
the cut off time in stage two.
Nevertheless, spirits are high in
the camp, with participants,
particularly the top riders,
agreeing that this is the best race
yet, in terms of organisation, route
structure and, most importantly,
food.
Riders bid farewell to Oudtshoorn at
7.00am this morning, as they
embarked on the third stage, faced
with the toughest day of climbing,
 totalling
2 425 metres. This, after completing
yesterday’s gruelling 132 kilometres,
considered to be the most physically
taxing stage of this year’s race.
Weather conditions were perfect
today with mild temperatures, clear
skies and a slight breeze.
Ruthless
Fiellie’s Folly
Today, the Absa Cape Epic route,
designed by Leon Evans, took riders
from Oudtshoorn to Ladismith through
arid, ostrich country. A fast jeep
track made for a high-speed start to
the day, which was soon replaced by
a crawling pace as the riders hit
Fiellie’s Folly, a ruthless ascent
of 430 metres at an average climb of
14 percent. Riders were then
rewarded with one of the most
enjoyable descents of the race – 30
kilometres of swift, open riding
towards the next looming obstacle
cheerfully dubbed the Calitzdorp
Crusher. After completing the
Crusher’s three steep kilometres of
loose, stony track, they descended
only to find themselves at the base
of another climb up the Huis Rivier
Pass. The final 35 kilometre stretch
provided exhausted riders, graded,
open roads and the exquisite scenery
of Seweweekspoort, as they
catapulted towards the finish line
in Ladismith.
Johann Pallhuber and Rupert Rheeder
drop out of race
 Team
Cannondale-Vredestein 1 clinched
their second stage win and
maintained their overall lead today
as team members Roel Paulissen (B)
and Jakob Fuglsang (DK) clocked a
remarkable time of four hours,
fifty-six minutes and 8.4 seconds.
Their closest competitors, Team
Bulls, were hot on the leaders’
tracks, coming in only three minutes
behind them. With Ralph Naef (CH)
and Jose Hermida (E) of Team
Multivan Merida Biking 1 and Bart
Brentjens (NL) and Rudi van Houts
(NL) of Team Dolphin Mountainbike
still securing positions in the top
five, it’s still anyone’s guess as
to who the overall winners will be.
Today’s stage also saw the first top
riders crossing the finish line
without their racing partners.
Defending champion Christoph Sauser
(CH), Kashi Leuchs (NZ), and South
Africa's road legend David George (RSA)
received a time penalty of three
hours as they left their team
partners behind in order to race
with the top. “Last night Johann and
I decided to ride at our own pace”
says Sauser. “I think the last two
days have squeezed everything out of
him and really pushed his limits.
For me it was fun to ride with the
leaders today even though I stayed
at the back in order not to
influence the race.” From tomorrow
Christoph Sauser will team up with
David George, following today’s drop
out of their partners, Johann
Pallhuber (I) and Rupert Rheeder (RSA)
respectively. According to the rules
of the Absa Cape Epic, riders who
have lost their team mate during the
race are permitted to partner with a
new rider in order to complete it.
These new teams, however, will not
be classified.
Tomorrow, speed skills will come
into play as the route eases off on
climbing, and beefs up on fast, open
road riding. Jose Hermida of Team
Multivan Merida Biking 1 says of the
race thus far: “I enjoyed today’s
stage the most, so far. The scenery,
the views and the mountains were
beautiful, even if you had to suffer
for it. It was one of those days
when you are really proud to be a
mountain biker because you get to
see places that many other people
will never see. Of course you see
the back of your enemies in front of
you too. When we came here, we said
we didn’t want to burn the engine on
the first day. We want to progress
throughout the race and I think
we're slowly getting there.”
Team Raleigh MTN Energade 1 with
Kevin Evans (RSA) and Brandon
Stewart (RSA) defended the jersey of
the Best African Team today, placing
9th with a time of 5 hours, 18
minutes and 52.8 seconds. They are
now ranked at 7th position overall.
Taking their first stage win in the
Masters category were Linus van
Onselen (RSA) and Doug Brown (RSA)
of Team Absa Masters who came in
with a final time of five hours,
thirty-eight minutes and 48.2
seconds. They are now eight and a
half minutes behind the leading team
Cycle lab with Andrew Mclean and
Damian Booth.
Team IMC/Mongoose consisting of
South Africans Yolande Speedy (RSA)
and Paul Cordes (RSA) clinched the
top spot today in the mixed
classification for the second day in
a row, maintaining their overall
lead by nearly twenty minutes.
Testing your puncture temperament
 Today’s
stage saw the ultimate test of
mental endurance as the riders
experienced a record-breaking number
of punctures along the route. In
spite of suffering from seven flats,
Anke Erlank (RSA) and Yolande De
Villiers (RSA) of Team Duravit still
won their third stage in a row. The
leading ladies were able to gain a
lead of 'just' five minutes as
opposed to their lead time of 35
minutes in yesterday’s stage. 2006
Ladies Champion, Kerstin
Brachtendorf (D) of Team adidas Fiat
Rotwild who came in second says of
Anke and Yolande: “Those two ladies
in front of us are impossible to
catch, they are much stronger. Now
we just want to focus on defending
our second position overall. This
year my partner and I had only met
at the race. I didn’t know what to
expect but I am really impressed by
her strength. We compliment each
other well.”
Thorns, sharp stones and rugged
terrain set the scene for today’s
route. Dolphin Mountainbike Team
with Bart Brentjens and Rudi van
Houts also struggled with five
punctures today despite riding
tubeless. “We had our first flat
half hour into the race. All the
back markers passed us. It took us
forever to catch up with the front
guys. The huge thorns ripped our
tyres and the latex milk did not
suffice. In the end we ran out of
tubes so Silvio Bundi helped us out
with his. We also had to stop at the
Shimano Tech Zone for assistance and
our last flat hit us just 10
kilometres before the end of the
race”.
Another team that experienced a fair
amount of bad luck with flats, was
team adidas with top South African
female rider, Hannele Steyn-Kotze (RSA)
and Downhill World Champion, Greg
Minnaar (RSA). “I have never seen a
pro change a tyre so slow” Hannele
quips, “but Greg never has to deal
with this so he has no practice.”
However, practice makes perfect,
having experienced five punctures in
stage two and one today… But
‘critique’ aside, Hannele raves
about Greg’s climbing performance:
“I invite all people who think Greg
cannot climb, to come and watch this
guy overtake people in the uphill.
If we didn't have such bad luck, we
could probably be in the top five in
our category. We hope to catch that
perfect day when we experience no
mishaps. It is also a pleasure to
watch him ride downhill. Greg’s
riding is so smooth, whether there's
a trail or not. There were some guys
who tried to follow his line today
but they immediately crashed.”
Greg says of himself that he really
enjoys this kind of racing.
“Downhill is a great sport when
you're quick and young but I'll
start training now for when I'm 50.
Compared to the first year of the
Absa Cape Epic the race and the
quality of the organisation have
improved dramatically. This one
feels like a different race, from
the route markings to the chill-out
lounge to the delicious food.”
The general atmosphere in the tented
village was one of palpable relief
this afternoon, as the first
gruelling three days came to an end.
Tomorrow, riders will have a day of
relative rest as they ride to
Barrydale, over speedy, wide and
open roads, with a total climb just
over half of today’s massive 2 425
metres.
Warm regards,
Sonja Gueldner-Hamel
Absa Cape Epic
Media Director
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