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<\/a>Carel Bosman, of Momentum Health, takes to the Saasveld Singetrack time trial route on Wednesday the 18th of October, during the Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek, presented by Biogen<\/span><\/p>\nThe 31 kilometre time trial route included a vicious 720 metres of climbing, with a long jeep track drag to the highest point of the day accounting for much of the altitude gained. While the singletracks were tucked away under the canopy of the pine plantations, the jeep tracks ran through clearings and as a result, the jeep tracks had received a lot more rain. The weather and heavy forestry machinery worn roads were littered with potholes \u2013 these were in turn filled with muddy water \u2013 some of which proved far deeper than riders expected.<\/p>\n
The UCI women, set off an hour earlier than their elite male compatriots. This meant that the trails they raced across were less rutted, but the route still provided a stern test. The Ascendis Health team of Robyn de Groot and Sabine Spitz were neck-and-neck with Team Spur\/Valencia, Ariane L\u00fcthi and Amy-Beth McDougall, at the first time check at the fifteen kilometre mark. \u201cWe tried to ride at a consistent pace. It was a real cross country style stage, but with three stages still remaining we could not ride at a maximum cross country style effort\u201d Spitz reflected post stage.<\/p>\n \u201cI started to struggle with my chest on the main climb\u201d, an exhausted McDougall said after crossing the finish line. \u201cI had a bit of the flu last week and while I\u2019m healthy now my chest has been closing up a bit. But it is getting better every day and the warmer temperatures definitely help.\u201d<\/p>\n The temperatures will certainly be warmer on stage 5 when the race transitions from the Garden Route into the Klein Karoo via the Montagu Pass. The heat and rocky terrain of the interior will expose any weakness so the remaining 256 kilometres are fraught with opportunities to lose the race. Team Ascendis Health\u2019s victory by 30 seconds reduces the gap between them and Team Spur\/Valencia to 5 minutes and 16 seconds; but even a lead like that can evaporate like water under the harsh African sun should one of the leaders puncture or crash.<\/p>\n The UCI men\u2019s race is already a far closer affair \u2013 which promises a dramatic conclusion over the next three days \u2013 between the defending champions, Nico Bell and Gawie Combrink, of NAD Pro MTB and the young upstarts, Team Spur\/Red-E. Despite both teams experiencing a couple of interesting moments they again proved too fast for the other leading men\u2019s teams; KMC Fruit to Go, SPOT Africa and Kelly\u2019s Bikeranch.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of used Matt [beers] as a workhorse and sat at the back crunching numbers for a lot of the stage. Telling him when to push and when to slack off a bit,\u201d stage winner Alan Hatherly explained. \u201cI\u2019m really happy with how the week has gone so far, with four stage wins from four stages so far. I did not really know what to expect going into the race and I am happy with how my legs are feeling. I think we are well placed for the final three days\u201d the young Team Spur rider concluded; having built up a 1 minute and 33 second buffer by adding a further 30 seconds to their lead on stage 4.<\/p>\n The elite men provided a little added excitement by ploughing through deceptively deep puddles. \u201cNico had a couple of crashes, but fortunately they were not serious and did not cost us too much time\u201d Combrink began. Picking up the story Bell confessed: \u201cI came into a wet corner a bit fast and slipped out, and then later I underestimated the depth of a puddle. My front wheel disappeared down to the fork and I went tumbling. Fortunately, no damage was done.\u201d Hatherly and Matt Beers had a near miss of their own with a similarly tricky puddle. \u201cAlan [Hatherly] clipped his pedal on the side of a really deep puddle. That knocked him across into me and then I nearly crashed. I think the helicopter got the whole sequence so people should be able to see the pros hacking\u201d Beers laughed.<\/p>\n The fifth stage of the 2017 Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek, presented by Biogen, is the second journey stage of the event. The route climbs 1 650 metres in its 97 kilometre distance, with the majority of that climbing coming in the first 20 kilometres as the riders take on the famed Montagu Pass. To see how it unfolds mountain biking fans can follow the action live on the event\u2019s Twitter handle, @CapePioneerTrek<\/a>, from 08:00 on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a>Robyn de Groot and her Team Ascendis Health partner, Sabine Spitz, raced to stage victory during the Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek, presented by Biogen\u2019s mid-race time trial. Photo by Zoon Cronje.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Amy-Beth McDougall and Ariane L\u00fcthi dug deep to reduce their time loss to Team Ascendis Health to just 30 seconds. Photo by Zoon Cronje.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Sabine Spitz and Robyn de Groot pulled back a further thirty seconds on the race leading Spur\/Valencia duo. Photo by Zoon Cronje.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>The Team Spur\/Red-E combination of Alan Hatherly and Matt Beers further extended their lead over NAD Pro MTB by a further 30 seconds. Photo by Zoon Cronje.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Marek Rauchfuss of Kelly\u2019s Bikeranch showing off his skills in the Saasveld Singletrack. Photo by Zoon Cronje.<\/span><\/p>\n