{"id":15460,"date":"2019-05-17T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2019\/05\/17\/queen-stage-delivers-at-kap-sani2c-r7832\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T05:22:08","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T05:22:08","slug":"queen-stage-delivers-at-kap-sani2c-r7832","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/queen-stage-delivers-at-kap-sani2c-r7832\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Stage delivers at KAP sani2c"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 97 kilometre second stage of the KAP sani2c lived up to its billing of being the Queen Stage on Friday as PYGA Euro Steel\u2019s Phil Buys and Matthys Beukes put the hammer down to take the men\u2019s overall lead and stage win while Galileo Risk\u2019s Theresa Ralph and Sarah Hill claimed a cracking end sprint in the ladies race.<\/p>\n

With the famous Umko Drop down into the Umkomaas Valley followed by the more infamous Iconic Climb, there are a number of chances to make attacks and that was the way the day unfolded from both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s perspectives.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-85745700-1558105102.jpg\"<\/a>With a one second deficit to overturn, PYGA Euro Steel’s Matthys Beukes (pictured) and partner Phil Buys dominated the stage to give themselves a lead of over three minutes after stage two of the 2019 KAP sani2c from Mackenzie Club to Jolivet on Friday. Kevin Sawyer\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/p>\n

The PYGA Euro Steel duo of Buys and Beukes are a powerful force and they showed their ability when they threw down the gauntlet and the other men\u2019s teams couldn\u2019t respond as the 2017 champions turned a second deficit into a three minute lead at the curtain call of Friday’s action.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t feeling too great yesterday and we knew how important today was going to be so I didn\u2019t put in too much effort on stage one,\u201d Beukes said after their stage win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted the legs to be in good shape for today and luckily it worked out well for us in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pace was fierce on the front for a large part of the day and Buys hoped that he and Beukes could put the others under pressure early but they had to bide their time before they stretched the chasers enough to get a gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough day and we tried to hurt the guys before Iconic Climb but it wasn\u2019t easy for us to get away at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we managed to get that gap we settled into a nice rhythm and extended the advantage a little bit and I think we have a good lead going into the last day,\u201d Buys added.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-90319500-1558105106.jpg\"<\/a>It was the day for PYGA Euro Steel’s Matthys Beukes (left) and Phil Buys (right) to dominate as they took the stage honours and the overall lead after stage two of the 2019 KAP sani2c from Mackenzie Club to Jolivet on Friday. Maryann Shaw\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/p>\n

The second stage of the sani2c is the make or break for a lot of the leading teams but with just over three minutes as the buffer the PYGA Euro Steel team know that they will need to make sure they avoid any mistakes on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have to be awake and watch the other teams because three minutes can be lost very quickly if you make one mistake,\u201d Buys stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily we have Pieter (du Toit) and Philimon (Sebona) on the team that can look after us but we need to keep it clean and stay with the guys right up to the finish and then decide if we want to make a move or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-20627000-1558105110.jpg\"<\/a>Despite the tough Iconic Climb there was still plenty of flowing trail for riders to enjoy on stage two of the 2019 KAP sani2c from Mackenzie Club to Jolivet on Friday. Kevin Sawyer\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/p>\n

After their stage one win the DSV Pro Cycling duo of Arno du Toit and Gert Heyns would have been confident going into the second day, however a few issues curtailed their attempts to stop the PYGA Euro Steel charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing down into the valley I slide out a bit and then had to stop further along to straighten my handle bar,\u201d Heyns said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were still in the mix with Phil and Matthys but in the climbs just before Iconic they put the pressure on and we were a bit tired. Then on the climb they were a bit too strong for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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