{"id":16099,"date":"2018-03-18T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2018\/03\/18\/langvad-and-courtney-dominate-on-prologue-day-r7186\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T06:06:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T06:06:16","slug":"langvad-and-courtney-dominate-on-prologue-day-r7186","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/langvad-and-courtney-dominate-on-prologue-day-r7186\/","title":{"rendered":"Langvad and Courtney dominate on Prologue day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three-time winner Annika Langvad and her novice partner Kate Courtney combined perfectly to win the Prologue of the 2018 Absa Cape Epic at the University of Cape Town and will take a confidence-boosting 72-second lead into Monday\u2019s Stage 1.<\/p>\n

The vastly experienced Langvad and her young 22-year-old American partner combined perfectly despite Sunday\u2019s Prologue being the first time they have raced together as a team.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-49047300-1521383234.jpg\"<\/a>Annika Langvad and Kate Courtney of Team Investec Songo Specialized prepare to win the Prologue of the 2018 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race held at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Cape Town, South Africa on the 18th March 2018. Photo by Greg Beadle\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

The Investec Songo Specialized pair\u2019s time of 53 minutes 18,5 seconds for the 20km course on the slopes of Table Mountain was 1:12,6 ahead of Langvad\u2019s partner when she won in 2014, 2015 and 2016, Switzerland\u2019s Ariane L\u00fcthi, who has teamed up with Belgium\u2019s Githa Michiels (Spur).<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-63477000-1521383356.jpg\"<\/a>Sabine Spitz & Robyn De Groot during the Prologue of the 2018 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race held at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Cape Town, South Africa on the 18th March 2018. Photo by Ewald Sadie\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

They were followed home by two South African \/ European combinations, with Robyn de Groot and German veteran Sabine Spitz (Ascendis Health\/ WIAWIS Bikes) third, 2:14,2 behind the leaders and in turn just one second ahead of Mariske Strauss and her English partner Annie Last (Silverback \u2013 KMC).<\/p>\n

The first all-South African combination was Candice Lill and Amy Beth McDougall (dormakaba) who are fifth, 3.20,8 behind Langvad and Courtney.<\/p>\n

Langvad, who added a fourth Mountain Bike Marathon World Championship title to her name in 2017, was very happy with the new combination after a near-perfect day on the bike.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a really good strategy in our mind and it played played out to perfection today,\u201d she said after crossing the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cKate and I have not ridden as a team together but I was really surprised at how well it worked. I think we had it dialled in from the first pedal stroke \u2013 it felt really good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe course was a bit more dry and loose from all the riders who had gone through, but I knew it was going to be that way. I was a very cautious on the loose areas and then tried to push hard on the other areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtney was very excited with a stage win on her first ever Absa Cape Epic attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an incredible team effort today,\u201d said the USA cross-country champion. \u201cAnnika is such a team player and she just made sure we played to both our strengths. Rather than put me in the hurt locker on the first day, she really pushed my pace and brought out the best of both of us.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-10649500-1521383455.jpg\"<\/a>Kate Courtney and Annika Langvad from team Investec Songo Specialized winning the Prologue of the 2018 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race held at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Cape Town, South Africa on the 18th March 2018. Photo by Mark Sampson\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is a really, really long race so our goal today was to dial in our team tactics and put in an effort that was strong but also within ourselves, and so to set ourselves up to race strong throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is all new for me, so that makes it exciting, and I think gives me some advantages in terms of ignorance is bliss \u2013 I don\u2019t know exactly how hard it is going to be and so I am just relying on Annika to be our guide and push as hard as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk about good mentorship? She has the experience and has spent a lot of time investing in the partnership and the teamwork to make sure we get through all eight stages and to maximise our potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

L\u00fcthi was not too disappointed to have given away a minute to her former partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really happy with second. Racing for an hour is a gear up from what I am used to and to race against the cross-country riders is really hard on a stage like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy partner Githa Michiels went super hard. She is such a strong rider I am very pleased to have her on my side.
\u201cAt the Absa Cape Epic you always have to improvise and trouble shoot a little bit. There are amateur riders out there and you are always passing slightly slower teams, so it is not always smooth sailing out there on the route. You have to be super aware and awake for anything that can happen and we adapted well to anything that was in our way.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we just have to take it day by day and not do any stupid things. We are probably a little bit stronger over the longer stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut congrats to Specialized, Kate and Annika, they have a lot of pressure on them being the favourites and they executed it excellently today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-08961800-1521383516.jpg\"<\/a>Ariane L\u00fcthi during the Prologue of the 2018 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race held at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Cape Town, South Africa on the 18th March 2018. Photo by Sam Clark\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS.<\/span><\/p>\n

By finishing fifth women\u2019s team, Lill and McDougall are the first ever leaders in the newly introduced Absa African Women\u2019s special jersey category. The pair only teamed up this week after both their partners were forced to pull out, but the combinations seems to have clicked quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter just one ride we can see our strengths and weaknesses and adjust our strategy for the week,\u201d said Lill. \u201cThe Prologue was never going to be our strength so I was pretty happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be an honour to have the Absa African Women\u2019s special jersey, but at the same time we think that if everything goes smoothly we can still get a good result overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lill was not prepared to give a prediction of what position she was aiming for, but did say \u201c… a podium would be really great \u2013 we are a new combination and it is a strong field.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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