Stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas provided thrilling surprises and excitement, with overall leaders Songo.Info dropping out of the race, and the first three teams crossing the finish line within seconds of each other.

The Cannondale Vredestein team � Roel Paulissen (BEL) and Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) -repeated their stage win when they were the first to cross the finish line for Stage 3, at a time of 4:16:02. This was only 1 second ahead of the South African team of MTN Energade (Kevin Evans and David George) at 4:16:03. Five seconds later the German Bulls team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm crossed the finish line, at 4:16:07, ensuring an exciting sprint for spectators and enthusiasts waiting at the finish line in the town of Riversdale.

Although Karl Platt (Bulls) was the first to cross the finish line, the rules of the Absa Cape Epic stipulate that both riders from a team need to cross the finish line before the official time is allocated, with Sahm�s 4:16:07 used as the stage result. He was still struggling from gastric problems, which no doubt caused a loss of energy and took its toll.

The South African/Swiss team of Songo.Info, the overall leaders after stage 2, dropped out of the race during Stage 3. Burry Stander (RSA) suffered from a knee injury and had to withdraw at waterpoint 2, which also meant the end of the road for his teammate, World and European marathon mountain bike champion Christoph Sauser (SUI).
 

Stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic saw riders complete their stage journey from Calitzdorp to Riversdale, with a distance of 133km and climbing of 2 340m. Of the 1198 riders who left Knysna on Saturday, 1112 were still in the race this morning. 15 riders were competing with a blue number board, meaning they can still ride the Absa Cape Epic, but can�t compete for overall results, because they haven�t completed one of the stages.

The teams were taken up a 13 km steady drag on smooth dirt roads over Rooiberg Pass. It was a long climb that steepened to 9% before a 70kph decent into the valley. After some sharp, rolling hills, riders crossed game country, where antelope, giraffe, leopard, and caracal watched the riders charge through. From there on the terrain was tough. Maximum concentration was needed to preserve bike and body. The rock formations were as geologically fascinating as they were race threatening (should riders have chosen a bad line or made a bad tyre choice). Even after riders survived the punctures and the heat, there was still a long slog on dirt roads before Garcia Pass. They welcomed the tarred, gentle climb and fast descent that took them into Riversdale, for a hard-earned rest.
 

Fuglsang says that despite the stage win, which also gave them the overall lead for the yellow jersey, he was not feeling good during this stage of the Absa Cape Epic. �I especially struggled with the technical climbs and loose rocks, but fortunately Roel felt strong. The stage was partially very flat, but quite hard as it was very bumpy at times and I don�t particulalry like that.� Paulissen says that he is now feeling much better after struggling for the first part of the event, saying that he can see how he gets stronger by the day.

David George and Kevin Evans were eager to win this stage, but �with only a second between us and Cannondale Vredestein, I don�t think we did too badly.� The MTN Energade team says they managed to ride with the leading teams throughout the race, which gave them a boost of confidence as �we could see the potential we have when we�re feeling well�. Both say that if they didn�t have a bad day during stage 1 (where he fell ill), they would still be competing for the leaders� jersey, but that it falls into the �could have, what if� category.

Commenting on fellow South African rider Burry Stander�s injury and subsequent withdrawal from the race, George says �Burry is an extremely talented guy and has the ability to push himself over and above, and that clearly took its toll. When you are young and inexperienced this sometimes happens. But he has a big future ahead of him and he mustn�t be too disappointed.�

 

Brandon Stewart and Max Knox take a chance

For most of the stage race, the South African team Usn with Brandon Stewart and Max Knox, who came fourth, took the lead. On top of Rooibergpass they were already leading by 45 seconds, a gap that built up to 6 minutes later in the race. The leading teams in the overall ranking didn�t feel threatenened as they were no danger to them and allowed the Usn team to shine. At Garcia Pass, Bulls and MTN Energade sped up and pushed harder as they were eager to win the stage and catch up on their overall ranking. Usn was eventually caught on the top of Garcia Pass when the top three teams took the lead for the remainder of the race.

The German Alb-Gold Mountainbike team (who crossed the finish line in fifth position) encountered their first flat tyre 50 metres into the race, riding over a thorn. By the time they fixed it, 300 amateur riders had passed them. It took them 20 minutes to get back to the leading bunch. 60km into the race, Hannes Genze started to experience a loss of energy and had to let the other leading teams go, which left them between 30 to 60 seconds behind for most of the time. Approximately15 to 20 km before to the last waterpoint, they caught up with the Dolphin team and worked together to close the gap between them and the leading bunch. �We realised at one point that we couldn�t catch up, so we just rode at our own pace to keep our energy for the next stage - and rode to the finish with team Dolphin,� Genze says. Still, their pace was fast enough to claim second position overall.

It was a hattrick for the Rocky Mountain team, Pia Sundstedt (FIN) and Alison Sydor(CAN), when they crossed the finish line first in their category for the third stage in a row, at an impressive time of 4:58:00. South Africans Erica Green and Hanlie Booyens, the Absa Ladies, managed for the first time to take the runner-up honours in this category, at 5:16:49 (they were fourth for both Stage 1 and Stage 2). Dolphin-Trek Mtb Racing � Fabienne Heinzmann (SUI) and Katrin Schwing (GER) - arrived third at a time of 5:25:13.

It is therefore no surprise that Rocky Mountain will wear the leader jersey yet again for Stage 4, with an overall time of 17:31:30, almost an hour ahead of Dolphin-Trek Mtb Racing at 18:29:11. Close on their heels is Trek/Vw Wsd at 18:29:39.

Despite their continuous success of winning every stage thus far, Sydor says that they are greeted with obstacles every day. �Not a single day seems to run smoothly. Today, only 2km from the start, we had a big crash that involved many of the top females including myself, Pia and Fabienne of Dolphin-Trek Mtb Racing. It almost took out a good portion of the top female riders!� She explains that in a descent with a little hump in the road, coupled with excessive dust from other riders which made it difficult to see, the crash was inevitable. �You could feel it coming, but there was nothing you could do about it � in a situation like that you can only try not to ride into someone else or at least only their bike in order to minimise the damage.� Sydor fell and hurt her knee, a similar injury to her riding partner Sundstedt�s knee injury which she had from even before the race. �Now that we truly feel each others� pain, there is no reason to complain.�

Despite the dramatic start to the day, Sydor said that this stage was far more of what she expected from South Africa in terms of terrain and scenery. �It was super fun, especially all the jeep tracks. It was of course still a tough route and we really enjoyed the tar section towards the end where we could relax our muscles a bit. We are delighted that we won again, of course, but apart from that we are also very happy with the riding experience.�

Jennifer Smith (NZL) and Susan Haywood (USA) of Trek/Vw Wsd, who secured the fourth position, lost almost six minutes at the 71km mark. �We got a bad flat in the rocky terrain and we first pumped it up with air, but it was not working. We then changed the tube, without luck, and had to re-change it again for the second time. After that we were on our own, paddling against headwinds during the downhill to make up for lost time,� says Smith. Arriving at the finish line completely out of breath, and with paramedics assisting her immediately, Smith added that she was worried when her heart rate on route wasn�t bad, but she experienced muscular fatigue. �But at least it is easier to recover from muscular problems,� she says.
 

The Absa Masters, Doug Brown (RSA) and Barti Bucher (SUI), continue to dominate in their category for the third day in a row, boasting with a stage win of 4:46:10. Pragma Masters, M.C.Franken (RSA) and Peter Buggle (IRE) managed to secure the second position in this category for the first time, completing their stage race at 4:47:22. They were followed by Adidas Williams Simspon who up to now secured the second spot in every stage (4:50:52).

�It certainly was a good day for our sponsors Absa and adidas,� says Kevin Vermaak, founder and director of the Absa Cape Epic. �We had the Absa Masters, Absa Ladies and Absa Mixed, as well as the adidas teams, all finishing within the top five positions. I am sure it must have been a thrill for them to see their teams perform and receive recognition on the podium today.�
 

For the first time since Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic, Joybike Guided by Vmt and Maloja had to not only see Cyclelab Toyota steal their usual stage win position (which they claimed during the previous stages), but also a slip of three positions to only secure the fourth place in today�s stage. Cyclelab Toyota, Yolande de Villiers (RSA) and Johan Labuschagne (RSA), took top honours at a time of 4:58:09, followed by Absa Mixed, Kobus Barnard and Fienie Barnard (RSA) at 5:13:07, and Adidas Fourie Kotze, (RSA) and Amy Mundy (RSA) at 5:14:31. Ivonne Kraft (GER) and Nico Pfitzenmaier (GER) of Joybike Guided by Vmt and Maloja completed their stage at a time of 5:20:24.

Pfitzenmaier comments their gap as follows: �My chain broke no less than four times today. Ivonne waited for me initially, but later on I told her to just go on without me and I would catch up with her and the group of riders. As fate would have it, I would catch up with them, just to have my chain break again moments later.� Despite the misfortune, he says that he doesn�t believe that it is bad luck. �It is just the nature of sport. Anything can happen in terms of equipment failures, especially during a mountain bike stage race. I won�t let anything spoil my enjoyment of this experience.� He concluded by saying that everyone was thrilled to see Yolande de Villiers of Cyclelab Toyota still in strong form, despite her shoulder injury from the day before.

Although only securing a fourth position for Stage 3, Joybike Guided by Vmt and Maloja still walked away as the overall leaders in the Mixed category (17:55:12), followed by Cyclelab Toyota (18:06:35) and Absa Mixed (18:42:23).
 

The ever-present Kenyans are never content to sit passively in the bunch, a tactic that has almost earned them a stage win in the past. David Kinjah Njau and Davidson Kamasu Kihagi, riding as the Absa Safari Simbaz, are sure to again make an impression this year, however with the world-class field of riders it has become far more difficult than in previous years. Their faces appear everywhere. They are also on the cover of the newly released Absa Cape Epic coffee table book, Guts and Glory.

In the past, this team has always teased the pro riders by breaking out and taking the lead. Unfortunately they have never made it to the podium, but have always had strong moments during the previous events. In the very first Absa Cape Epic five years ago, Davidson just learned how to ride a mountain bike. Since then, they have become extremely professional and are riding the race in a professional environment, sponsored by both Absa and adidas. An outsider would see them as pro-riders, but actually they are not. The only major race they ever participate in is the Absa Cape Epic, after which they go back to Kenya, lead normal lives and hope to be re-invited by sponsors to ride another Epic the year after.

The team has done all the Absa Cape Epic events to date and is an integral part of the Epic family. �We feel like we�ve represented the rest of Africa from the very beginning as it�s mainly South Africans that participate,� David Kinjah says. �We�re very happy to see more teams from the rest of our beautiful continent such as the teams from Rwanda and Zambia. . Competing in this race has been very good for us � we�ve made a name for ourselves, both at the race as well as in our country. We�re heroes to the kids back home and that really inspires us to help them. We�re seen as the Galion figures of cycling in our village. What�s so great about this event is not just the experience I gain. The actual value is way beyond that as it�s the people we meet and relationships we build that make the world of difference. I�ve met a sports scientist who offered to help me for free on how to train children, compile training programmes and monitor these.�
 
Participating in the Absa Cape Epic has resulted in a snowball effect affecting more lives on their return to Kenya. Even their MP has contacted them because he wants to become involved with the youth and cycling could be one of the best ways to develop them. �And he�s interested in cycling himself!�

It�s almost unbelievable to think that earlier this year � due to political unrest and civil war in their country � that these guys could not train as it was too dangerous. �We feared that people would knock us down and steal our bikes.� They have now been so empowered that their government approached them to discuss cycling as a key to reaching and developing the youth, and also to fight corruption within cycling federations. �There are still not equal chances for everyone in terms of the selection processes,� says David.
 

Team Zambia consisting of Jupiter Nameembo (25) and Trust Munangandu (25), has also been doing well. For the first time ever in a racing event, they had to fix a chain 70 km before the finish. Both come from a road cycling background and they have only done two other mountain bike events before this year�s Absa Cape Epic, of which one was the Sani2C. �We only started riding mountain bikes two months ago and the above mentioned events were our preparation for this race.� The team was created by Jasper Lublinkhof, who participated in last year�s Absa Cape Epic. Lublinkhof�s famiily lived in Zambia for 40 years and he came across these young talented cyclists. Due to their outstanding results in road racing, they were accepted at the UCI Continental Cycling School. In order to compete in this year�s Absa Cape Epic, they loaned bikes from Lublinkhof and the head of the school, Pieter van Zyl. Jupiter commented that he is enjoying the race tremendously and loves mountain biking. On the other hand his team partner, Trust feels that this is too hard for him and that he definitely prefers the road. They are very happy with their results to date and overwhelmed by the way they have been welcomed by everyone within the Absa Cape Epic family � and how mountain bikers stretching from all over the world accept and treat them. Their goal for this year�s event is just to finish, but their long-term ambition is to become the best African team.

Celebrity riders in this year�s Absa Cape Epic have stood their ground and are still in the race. Following Sunday�s most gruelling stage in the history of the Absa Cape Epic and stage 3 today, Tiaan Strauss (37th overall Masters), Robbie Kempson (501st overall Men) and Dieter Voigt (99th overall Men) are in high spirits and confident that they will finish.
All three riders and their team mates are raising funds for the Big Tree Foundation, the official charity of the Absa Cape Epic. The foundation aims to bring hope to the children in the rural communities along the route with programmes specifically designed to improve conditions in and out of the classroom.

Strauss and his partner, Petrus Senekal, riding as the Absa Kalahari Ferrari�s, trained for between 10 and 14 hours per week and also did regular upper body strength exercises. Said Strauss: �Up to now it�s been okay. It�s been tough and it feels as if every body part hurts, but I think we�ll make it. Many riders didn�t finish Stage 2 - it was a day of survival � focusing on getting to the finish line. Apparently the two worst stages are over, so we want to relax from here on and just enjoy the event. Stage 5 is the next nasty one.�

Strauss� motto has always been: The desire to win must be stronger than the fear to lose - although they are not riding to win, but to finish. �We�re raising funds for the Big Tree Foundation and are sponsored for every kilometer we complete. It really makes it worth it and enables us to give back to the community. Education is extremely important and the poorer communities in the rural areas need all the help they can get.�

Team mate, Petrus Senekal commented that your choice of team mate is extremely important in this kind of event. �Tiaan and I both live in Stellenbosch and we�ve been able to train together a lot. We�re a good combination. Our temperaments and attitudes complement each other. We know each other well � also under pressure.� On the question of why they took up the challenge, both commented that it is all about the sense of achievement.

 

�Race is worse than tough�

According to Robbie Kempson, who agreed to the Epic challenge following a bet with some mates, the race is worse than tough. �I really hope the toughest stages are behind us. Everyone warned us that Stage 2 is the nastiest stage in the history of this event and although this is my first Epic, I think they must be right.�

Kempson added with a chuckle: �Brian (McMillan) was right � I�ve put my plans to climb Kilimanjaro on hold.� Participating in teams of two, Kempson is riding with Craig Lorden as team ABSAlutely Epic. Of his team mate, he only had this to say: �If Craig was a woman I�d probably marry him. His been fantastic throughout the race and we hope to finish. This is a very challenging event.�
 

For Dieter Voigt, former Mr South Africa and keen sportsman, riding the Absa Cape Epic is a three-year dream come true. �I�ve always wanted to do the Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race,� he says. Voigt is riding with team mate Ryan Scott as Team Big Tree. �I heard the Absa Cape Epic was one of the three toughest events in the world and today I believe it to be true. My legs and knees hurt, as well as other parts of my body. I naturally always think ahead � but in the past three days I�ve learnt to focus on the moment. When I hear someone say, there goes Dieter, it gives me renewed energy and motivation. I heard from the other riders that after the third stage, it becomes easier and you almost get into the habit of riding long distances daily.� Voigt, a former teacher, would also like to educate and motivate young people. �I love to help kids reach their full potential and overcome difficult circumstances.� Voigt and his team mate, sponsored by Pragma, aim to raise a lot of funds for the Big Tree Foundation. �Their programmes are specifically designed to improve conditions in and out of the classroom and include bicycles, school desks, uniforms and books. It would also be great if we could establish more cycling clubs at schools. If we want to give up, we only need to think of the changes we can make to a child�s life.�