![\"ACE21_stage2_NickMuzik_3059.jpeg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ACE21_stage2_NickMuzik_3059.2b8cb8bbc15b8b5ec057d22409bd0912.jpeg\")
\n\tMens leaders, Matt Beers and Jordan Sarrou of NinetyOne-songo-Specialized during stage 2 of the 2021 Absa Cape Epic. Photo credit: Nick Muzik.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe pair comfortably won the 98km stage that took riders from Ceres to Saronsberg, Tulbagh in a time of 3:56:02. The stage victory means they remain in the overall yellow leader jerseys going into tomorrow\u2019s 91km stage that features many of Tulbagh\u2019s most famed trails, including the notorious Bone Trail.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tNinetyOne-songo-Specialized\u2019s stage win means they now hold a 2:13 lead over Martin Sto\u0161ek and Andreas Seewald (Canyon Northwave MTB) in the race general classification.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t \n\tCanyon Northwave MTB finished second on Stage 2, roughly 30 seconds behind the winners while Urs Huber and Simon Schneller, in the BULLS colours, came in third; they sit third in the overall standings, too.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tEarlier in the day, the race started in ideal riding conditions, with blue skies and cool conditions. There was a lowkey bunch ride out of Ceres, with the BULLS 2 team of Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn making a few early attacks. Nothing much came of them, and the men\u2019s field remained intact for much of the morning.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tFrom around 30 minutes into the race the pace started to quicken, with Canyon Northwave MTB looking all business at the front. The field eventually split into a clear lead bunch, with NinetyOne-songo-Specialized, BULLS, Trek-Pirelli, Buff Scott 1, and Absa African Jersey leaders Pyga Eurosteel 2 (Phil Buys and Pieter du Toit) all sitting just behind the Canyon riders.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat remained the case late into the day, until the final climb began at the 70km mark. Seewald and Sto\u0161ek decided to make their move on the climb and were aided by Beers slipping out. This let Canyon Northwave MTB briefly pull away; Beers worked hard to recover, though, and, crucially, he and Sarrou were able to enter the Old Wagon Trail singletrack descent in front. Once on the descent, Sarrou and Beers went flat out to pull away, racing home through the orchard and vineyard roads to Saronsberg.\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s awesome to win another stage,\u201d said Beers. \u201cThe Prologue was good enough but wearing the yellow and to win in the yellow… you just can\u2019t get better than that. On the final descent, I knew we had to get a gap there, so I just bombed away and railed the corners until I got to Jordan\u2019s wheel and I was like, \u2018okay, let\u2019s go man\u2019 – we flew down there, with his XCO skills and my background in motocross we could just send it.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tOf the final 10km, Beers was less enthusiastic. \u201cThe last bit felt like a lifetime!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tSarrou was slightly off the pace at the beginning of the day and he confirmed as much on the finish line. \u201cI was off this morning and was struggling a bit. Matt just waited for me and we kept calm. His local knowledge really helped today; eventually I started feeling better and by the end we were riding on the same wavelength.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tAndreas Seewald admitted that the Canyon Northwave MTB strategy was to attack on the final climb, but they didn\u2019t count on the aggressive descending mindset of Beers and Sarrou. \u201cOur plan was to push as hard as possible on the steep climb; that worked out well, but Matt and Jordan came back strongly. It was actually good to have them in front on the descent so we could just stay on their wheels, but we lost them about halfway down. We didn\u2019t want to take too many risks. We expected the final descent to be fast and dangerous and it was. They were taking a lot of risks – we want to do well overall and not take too many risks, so we are playing it safe over the first few days.\u201d\n<\/p>\n![\"ACE21_stage2_NickMuzik_2841.jpeg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ACE21_stage2_NickMuzik_2841.81e1e8e5720f984efce835606eef2dd7.jpeg\")
\n\tAndreas Seewald and Martin Sto\u0161ek of Canyon Northwave MTB. Photo credit: Nick Muzik.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n![\"ACE21_S2__MG_1862_Photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/210091457_ACE21_S2__MG_1862_PhotoSamClark.27278921abbb7a0a65c26457d425f3a2.jpeg\")
\n\tPhoto credit: Sam Clark.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n![\"ACE21_stage2_NickMuzik_2854.jpeg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ACE21_stage2_NickMuzik_2854.e19e9b6b99ac5158d46f090b938b4284.jpeg\")
\n\tSimon Schneller of Team Bulls during stage 2 of the 2021 Absa Cape Epic. Photo credit: Nick Muzik.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n