Sauser and Stander Win Prologue

The second prologue in the six-year history of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas, which is a common feature in grand tours on the road, set the seeding order for Stage 1 of the magical untamed mountain bike stage race.

For the first time in the history of the race, the 16.5km Prologue circuit took place on the slopes of World Heritage site Table Mountain. The 1 200 teams raced for the honours of wearing the leader jerseys out of Gordon’s Bay for tomorrow’s 112km stage race between Gordon’s Bay and Villiersdorp.

The prologue attracted thousands of spectators, with people lining the course, picnicking along the route and cheering the riders on. The challenging climb to Dead Man’s Tree, one of the highest points during the prologue, provided spectacular views for participants and was lined with enthusiasts – cheering their favourites on with school bells and flags - reminiscent of Alpe d’Huez at the Tour de France.
 
ABSA CAPE EPIC PROLOGUE SEES TEAM SONGO-INFO TAKE THE OVERALL LEAD

The Men’s Category during the Prologue was very competitive with what some labelled as “a slightly surprising result” and some of the favourites not making it to the podium. Crowds were very excited when top South African team and last year’s winners of the Prologue Kevin Evans and David George (MTN Energade) had the best split time halfway through the course (20:45). However, they could not hold on to their lead and lost around 15 seconds on the last single-track section. In the end, Evans and George finished only 5,3 seconds (41:04,1) behind Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander (Team songo-info), who won the Prologue in a time of 40:58,8. They were followed by Hannes Genze and Jochen Kaess (Multivan Merida) finishing in third place (41:45,3).

On the way down from Table Mountain, Karl Platt of Team Bulls, one of the favourites and two times winner of the Absa Cape Epic fell off his bike and dislocated his shoulder. Handicapped by the injury, the Bull Team lost some valuable time and therefore a chance to win the Prologue. They still finished the 16.5 km loop in 42:51,7 minutes, only 1:52,9 minutes behind the winners.


Sauser (32) is the reigning Cross Country World Champion and double World Cup Overall Champion with 16 World Cup wins behind his name. He has been racing professionally since 1993 and won the 2006 Absa Cape Epic with fellow Swiss rider Silvio Bundi. It is the second year in a row that he races with twenty-one year old Stander as team Songo.info. Stander is the current South African Under 23 Cross-Country Champion - a title he has won six times in different age groups. He also finished second in the Under 23 World Championship, second overall in the World Cup Andorra, 5th overall in the 2008 World Cup Series and 15th at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Says Sauser: “We hit the gas from the word go and actually deemed Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm to be faster than what they were in the end. We had a brief look at the route yesterday, got lost a few times, but finally had the key sections imprinted in our minds. So we could go fast.” Adds Stander: “Today I felt that the Prologue didn’t go as well as it did last year, so it was a big surprise to me that we won. This is testimony that we’re in good shape and takes the pressure off us.”

According to David George, his advantage is rather the physical fitness than the technical strength. “Let’s face it, I’m racing against the best technical rider in the world, Christoph Sauser, and I’ve actually been a roadie until last year. Considering all of this, my performance was not so bad.”

Hannes Genze of Team Multivan Merida says they are very happy with their result because Kaess was ill last week. “Jochen only recovered in the last two days. I didn’t think we could actually pull it off in the Prologue and Jochen was riding at his limit. Making it onto the podium was a sweet reward and a great way to start this year’s race.”


FROM PINK OUTFITS TO SAMBA DANCING –LADIES TEAMS DO IT IN THEIR OWN STYLE

South African rider Hanlie Booyens and British team mate Sharon Laws (Absa Ladies) won the Ladies Category in a time of 56:26,5 minutes ahead of Sarah Koch and Daniela Hartmann (2 Swiss Epic Girls) in second place (01:02:30,2) with South African team Robyn Adendorff and Sarah van Heerden (WSP – Jeep Girls) in third place (01:08:01,7).

Booyens and Laws won the Absa Cape Epic Ladies division in 2004. They also raced together at La Ruta in Costa Rica the same year. In 2006 they raced the TransAlps and it was their last race as a team until now. Says Booyens: “It was very easy for us to connect again – we’re good friends. Today was an absolutely stunning ride - I didn’t even notice the burnt veld. We kicked off as the sun was rising and the whole of Table Mountain was glowing - it was marvellous. Of course we were a bit worried about today, but it went far beyond our expectations. I was surprised at Sharon’s strength – she has been doing a lot of road biking to strengthen her legs and the results are definitely there. We were going fast today, but definitely not overdoing it and are quite surprised at how well it went.” Adds Laws: “The next few days will be interesting – my longest ride prior to the Absa Cape Epic was a 200km road training run with only 56 km of climbing.”

Drawing attention from spectators and fellow riders alike thanks to their pink outfits, were Brasilians Luciana Cox and Adriana Dalman Boccia (Team Flower People). Cox was one of the volunteers during last year’s event, and after seeing what a spectacular experience it was, she insisted on not missing out during 2009. She owns a wedding decorating company, Flower People, which the team is named after. Asking long time friend Boccia to join her on the adventure didn’t take much convincing. “To be honest, we are really not all that experienced and not used to technical terrains. Due to the fact that the prologue was such a short distance today, was a real challenge for us to go full blast from the word go. We usually like to warm up initially to find our pace, but naturally had to give it our all for the entire prologue.” Commenting on their pink outfits, Boccia says that they deliberately wanted to stand out. “There are so many men participating, that we wanted to make sure that at least one of the ladies’ teams would be easily recognised. And we’ve also decided to dance at the end of every stage, so expect to see some razzle-dazzle Samba at the finish lines.”

Describing themselves as “Absa Cape Epic virgins” is the ladies team Qloom from Switzerland. Irene Rueesch and Nicole Braun were the first mountain bikers to pedal the first couple of meters of the Absa Cape Epic prologue that commenced at 07h00. “We‘re so excited; there are no words to describe it. What a privilege to not only take part in the race for the first time, but also be the first to start the prologue with all the hype that goes along with it!” The Qloom ladies were guaranteed an entry into this year’s race, thanks to Rueesch’s cousin who worked as a volunteer during the 2008 event. “We therefore knew very early on that we would participate and therefore had about 10 months to prepare. We feel as ready as we possibly can.”

Also from Switzerland, are Sarah Koch and Daniela Hartmann (2 Swiss Epic Girls). Although Koch participated in 2006, this is Hartmann’s first Absa Cape Epic. “We actually had very short notice to enter, as we purchased our entry from another rider who only confirmed in November that we could take over their entry. After not being here for three years, I’m so impressed with the way that the race has evolved. We loved the prologue and being at the foot of Table Mountain was just awesome,” says Koch. In turn, Hartman says that after arriving from snowy conditions in Switzerland, she just loves the South African sun and weather. “The only training I’ve been able to do was cross-country skiing, jogging and indoor cycling. I did one 10-day training camp in Tuscany (Italy), so I was really surprised that things were going so well during the prologue. It was a steep and difficult course, but the views were beautiful. We could still smell the remnants of the recent fires that took place on Table Mountain,” Although wearing Swiss Olympic team outfits, the ladies cannot yet claim that title. “Sarah worked for the Olympic Team, so we knew people in the right places, and was therefore lucky enough to arrange these outfits!”

GETTING MORE SLEEP DURING THE ABSA CAPE EPIC THAN AT HOME

Top riders Alison Sydor and Nico Pfitzenmaier (Adidas Big Tree) won the Mixed Category in a time of 49:03,5 minutes, followed by Ivonne Kraft and Lukas Kubis (Haibike-VMT) in second place (50:02,5). Third place went to Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (IMC/Momentum GT/Activeworx) in a time of 51:49,1 minutes.

Mountain biking legend Sydor and her racing partner Pfitzenmaier took a wrong turn at the start of the race, but quickly realised their mistake and turned around. According to Sydor, they have high expectations of the race this year. “We’re riding for charity organisation Big Tree and would really like to do well. We feel very motivated. Today’s course was great, but it was a bit looser than yesterday and we were blinded by the sun, which made it slightly difficult as we needed to focus on the technical terrain. We’re satisfied that it went so well as we’ve not trained together at all. We communicated mostly via Skype, so our team capabilities were put to the test for the first time today.”

Pfitzenmaier won the Mixed last year with then team mate Ivonne Kraft. He says riding with Alison went perfectly. “We both have good intuition and didn’t need to speak in order to communicate. We’re professional and experienced riders and could see each other’s strengths, build on that and attack on the hills.”

Ivonne Kraft, who finished in second place with team mate Lukas Kubis, says: “Winning last year with Nico was the top achievement for us as a team. We both felt we needed to change the dynamics of our racing and therefore entered with different team mates this year.” After the race, Kraft, Yolande Speedy and Inbar Ronen will be going to Pietermaritzburg for a ‘girl’s camp’ prior to the start of the World Cup which takes place from 9 to 12 April this year.

Kubis celebrated becoming a father a month ago and admitted that he was actually looking forward to the camping experience that the Absa Cape Epic offers, as “I would no doubt get more sleep than during the last couple of weeks with the new baby”. Kraft says that his baby boy is the best thing that could have happened for her new team mate as he was training so hard and could therefore rest a bit before the challenge. “We actually never raced together before,” she says. “We did participate in a training camp together in Cyprus to test our heart rates and adjust to each other. We’re very excited about the next few days and will give it our all!”
 
Participating in the Absa Cape Epic this year after travelling all the way from Japan, are Olympic champions Rie Katayama and Kenji Takeya (known as Specialized Japan). “Kenji is actually my couch, so how wonderful for me to not only be able to train with him, but actually have him as my partner in this challenging race,” Katayama commented. Stating that the longest race she has completed to date was 50km, she feels the event is going to be very challenging. “I’m a little nervous riding all these long stages during the next couple of days, but also very excited. I just love South Africa - it’s a beautiful country. And the trees around Table Mountain during the prologue reminded me so much of Japan, so it felt a bit like home. The prologue was really hard for me, but the views made it all worthwhile.” Takeya says that they are participating in the race without any additional support from Japan as they arrived in South Africa on their own. “But the other ‘Specialized’ teams here are all so supportive that it feels like one big family. We’re so grateful that everyone made us feel so welcome and we were so well received.”

MASTERS’ TEAMS ALL READY TO TAKE TOP HONOURS THIS YEAR

The Masters Category was won by Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean (Cycle Lab Toyota) in a winning time of 47:18,2 minutes. They were closely followed by last year’s overall winners in this category, Doug Brown and Bärti Bucher (Absa Masters) at 47:22,5. In third place was Corrie Muller and Robert Sim (Van Loveren/SAND) in a time of 50:19,2 minutes.

This will be Shan Wilson’s sixth Absa Cape Epic. He was placed 3rd in the inaugural Absa Cape Epic and 5th in 2005 in the Men’s category. Last year was his first year in the Masters category and he finished in second place overall with team mate Walter Platzgummer. Besides winning quite a number of stages in the previous Absa Cape Epic races, he is particularly known for his winning streaks in the Greyton area which has been part of the race twice. Wilson is by far the strongest Master rider in South Africa and his challenge is always to find an equally strong partner such as Platzgummer who is one of the best Masters riders in Europe. Platzgummer took a very bad fall last year and they therefore could not fulfil their dream of wearing the victory crown.

This year Wilson is racing with Andrew Mclean who won the Masters category with Damian Booth in 2007. Says Wilson: “The Prologue sets the tone and gives you a very good idea of how fit and strong you are. Although we only won by 4 seconds, the pressure is now on the other teams to challenge us. It’s mentally a very good thing to start the first stage wearing the Blue Leader Jersey – it gives you a bit of extra confidence.”

Wilson says that he was incredibly relieved to find a strong partner in McLean after initially struggling to find an appropriately strong team mate. “Doug Brown had already teamed up with Bärti Bucher, and Corrie Muller with Robert Sim. So thank goodness Andrew agreed to be my partner.” He added that they spent a lot of time together, both on and off the bikes. “It is just so important to know your partner inside and out,” he says. Together, the team has already won the Masters category this year during the Sani2C, and finished fifth overall. McLean, as a former pro road racer is also a very experienced rider. Says Wilson: “The level of the Absa Cape Epic has increased dramatically over the last couple of years, with truly the best in the world competing against each other. I’m also very impressed with Andrew who has come such a long way since his first Epic. He follows my line and it’s almost as if we’re riding together on a tandem.” In conclusion, he stated that it was a great idea to start the Absa Cape Epic with the prologue, as it prepared everyone with both a mental and physical warm up.

McLean says that it is great to be back competing again this year after participating last year mainly for fun, due to an injury he had. “We already noticed today that it’s going to be a long, hard eight days of racing and we’ll have to fight very hard to win. It’s always good to win any stage, whether it’s with a second, a minute or an hour. However, it’s still a long week and whoever wins is going to be the best team.” Commenting on what his fellow “roadie” cyclists have to say about his new mountain biking career, McLean says: “Some are actually here competing too, while others question my sanity.”

STAGE 1: FALSE BAY TO VILLIERSDORP

Gordon’s Bay, the small, idyllic seaside town on the Eastern edge of False Bay sees the start of Stage 1 tomorrow, taking riders over 112km and 2 769m of climbing to Villiersdorp. The first stage of the Absa Cape Epic has never been easy and will be no exception this year. The early steep ascents will stretch out the field, just in time for some rocky single-track. Then riders cross under the N2 and into the Grabouw plantations towards Nuweberg. Still to come is a familiar highlight of the Absa Cape Epic - Groenlandberg. The 5km climb starts off at about 8%. The surface is loose and difficult to maintain momentum, but the gradient eases up near the top. Riders need to take care on the very treacherous downhill, and halfway along the flat 10km gravel section there is a hot spot sprint. Riders need to save something for the last 15km – with several sharp rises on farm roads and dual track - it could take a while to get to Villiersdorp, where riders will settle in for two nights.