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Dolphin Mountainbike wins 7th Stage
of 2007 Absa Cape Epic
 Kleinmond,
30 March 2007: Bart Brentjens (NL)
and Rudi van Houts (NL) of Team
Dolphin Mountainbike finished first
in the seventh stage of today's race
with a time of four hours and forty
nine seconds. However, Team Bulls,
in a fight to the death with Team
Cannondale-Vredestein 1, have once
again taken the number one overall
position with a three and a half
minute lead. “I don’t recall ever
having raced that fast before.” Says
Stefan Sahm (D). ”We let Bart break
off and focussed more on sticking to
the wheels of Cannondale-Vredestein
1. As my pedal broke off, I thought
the race was over. I was devastated.
We asked everyone who passed us if
they could help with a spare part
and finally David George came past
and offered me his. It took us some
time to replace it. I think all in
all, we must have lost about five
minutes if not more. Afterwards, we
continued with full speed. We had
great legs.”
Today, 1 057 riders covered the 116
kilometres from Villiersdorp to
Kleinmond with the total climb for
the day adding up to 1 990 metres,
in the end, presenting one of the
most spectacular views of the entire
race and a finish line right along
the beach.
Bart Brentjens and Rudi van Houts
put the hammer down on the first
climb, with a precisely planned
attack. “I said to Rudi that if we
want another stage win, we must
break away immediately after the
start. We have to be two minutes
ahead before we reach the top of the
first climb.” says Bart. “Roel and
Jakob came after us so fast that it
was scary. They had a technical
problem on the big asphalt climb.
After that, we were on our own. I
did a lot of work, in fact, too much
work. I was really struggling for
the last 20 kilometres. I had also
not been feeling too well over the
last few days.” He comments on the
riding of his opponents: “They
seemed to be so afraid of technical
problems that they weren't riding
smoothly. They were concentrating on
not getting a flat tyre and when
they finally did, their focus
wavered.”
 Andrew
Mclean (RSA) and Damian Booth (RSA)
of Cycle lab clinched another stage
win today with a time of four hours
and thirty nine minutes increasing
their overall lead by three minutes.
Team Duravit's Yolande de Villiers (RSA)
and Anke Erlank (RSA) continue to
hold their leading position, winning
yet another stage today with a time
of four hours and fifty five
minutes. Ivonne Kraft (D) and Nico
Pfitzenmaier (D) of Team Maloja-BTS
Time for Travel placed first for
their second time in the Mixed
classification with a time of four
hours and forty eight minutes ahead
of Team IMC/Mongoose who are still
in the overall lead by twenty
minutes. Nico says: “Today, we had a
very good rhythm and we were very
fast. We even passed the leading
ladies. The scenery on the 20
kilometre climb up Groenlandberg was
mind-blowing. I don't think I will
ever forget these stunning views.
The Absa Cape Epic presents South
Africa at its best. You go through
areas that you would never see as an
ordinary tourist. Sharing this
amazing experience with all riders
creates a very strong bond
regardless of who you are or where
you're from. We all share the same
joy and passion.”
One Speed Wonders
At the Absa Cape Epic, one of the
overriding topics when it comes to
‘tech talk’, is the discussion over
lightweight versus full suspension
bikes. There are many pros and cons
for both. However, on the rocky
climbs this year, dual suspension
riders were reassured that they had
made the right choice and hard tail
users wished they could reverse
theirs. Now imagine someone riding
this bumpy route with no suspension
at all, not even in the front and,
to make it worse, using only one
gear… A team at the 2007 Absa Cape
Epic does just that. Team 23, One
Speed Wonders, rides the entire race
from Knysna to Lourensford on a
single speed bike with no suspension
at all. 46 year old Shaun Weber (RSA)
from Cape Town and 49 year old Chris
Wurster (USA) from New York, have
never met before. The got in touch
through the Absa Cape Epic online
forum, when Shaun was searching for
a partner for a single speed team.
While Shaun prepared himself on
coastal single trails for the Absa
Cape Epic, Chris trained in Central
Park during the week. To absorb the
shocks experienced on the route,
their bikes are equipped with fatter
tyres that have less tread. Of
course, they ride much slower than
others, placing them between the
825th and 916th rank in the Men’s
classification over the past seven
stages, but they came to finish the
race and not to win it.
Lead The Way
 This
year, Toyota have come on board as
sponsor of the 2007 Absa Cape Epic
presented by adidas. They support
the race organisation with twenty
one vehicles, mainly off-road
models. Toyota also has one team in
the race which, according to Ace
Dube, spokesperson for Toyota, has
been doing quite well. “They've only
been two hours behind the champions
which is quite a remarkable
achievement for them. I'm sure we'll
see more teams participating next
year.” Dube says that the real
spirit of the race is the essence of
the Toyota brand values – continuous
improvement and endurance. “Just
like the Absa Cape Epic, Toyota
gives clients what they are looking
for, so we are very happy to be part
of this race, that epitomises that
spirit.”
“The feedback has been fantastic and
most of the employees back at Toyota
have been following the Absa Cape
Epic, not only because we have a
team taking part but because it is
something different to cricket,
rugby and soccer. We are planning to
build on this relationship going
forward and hopefully it is not just
a short term engagement. We will be
looking forward as to how we can
grow the race and how we, at Toyota,
can participate in helping the
competition to be a lot bigger than
it is right now.” adds Dube.
Grand Finale
 Stage
eight, the final stage, will see
riders covering an exhausting 75
kilometres with a total climb of 1
285 metres. The final day of the
2007 Absa Cape Epic starts in
Kleinmond, with riders crossing the
Palmiet River on a short and fast
tar road, before turning into the
Kogelberg nature reserve, riding
alongside the Palmiet River on jeep
track and over the mountain. Riders
will pass through the apple orchards
of Elgin and Grabouw as the route
works its way to the summit of Sir
Lowry pass. Here, riders will be
forced to carry their bikes for
about one kilometre down slippery
rocks that still bear the marks of
the Voortrekker wagon wheels. This
hike-a-bike section on the Gamtou
pass is a national heritage site and
special permission has been given
for the first time to descend this
historic track. After dropping onto
the railway line for a fun, bumpy
few kilometres, it's into the
magnificent Lourensford Wine Estate
for the all-new Absa Cape Epic
finish, where relieved and exhausted
riders will finally cross the finish
line.
Riders will be met with great
celebrations, as organisers of the
race have put together the best
finish line party yet. A ceremony
will take place awarding riders with
their medals and announcing the
official results, and thereafter,
new and old members of Amabubesi
will have the opportunity to revel
in the glory of their Herculean
accomplishment in one of the most
exquisite settings in the world.
Warm regards,
Sonja Gueldner-Hamel
Absa Cape Epic
Media Director
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