{"id":16889,"date":"2017-03-30T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T12:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2017\/03\/30\/how-stenerhag-suss-raced-to-absa-cape-epic-glory-r6367\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T07:01:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T07:01:10","slug":"how-stenerhag-suss-raced-to-absa-cape-epic-glory-r6367","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/how-stenerhag-suss-raced-to-absa-cape-epic-glory-r6367\/","title":{"rendered":"How Stenerhag & S\u00fcss Raced to Absa Cape Epic Glory"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the lead up to and during the first few stages in the orange Hansgrohe Women\u2019s category leaders\u2019 jerseys, Jennie Stenerhag and Esther S\u00fcss were slightly overlooked by the media. The Meerendal CBC pairing were not underdogs by anyone\u2019s reckoning, but they had quietly gone about their preparation, happily letting the Absa Cape Epic hype swirl by them, focusing on the task at hand.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-28836300-1490879155.jpg\"<\/a>Jennie Stenerhag and Esther S\u00fcss celebrate winning a stage of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Dominic Barnardt\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

When the day of the Prologue finally dawned on Sunday 19 March, Stenerhag and S\u00fcss were itching to race. In Stenerhag\u2019s case, there was added motivation; in 2016, she was forced to withdraw with a heart condition and underwent heart surgery after the race. And so began the long road to winning the 2017 Absa Cape Epic.<\/p>\n

Once on the road to recovery, Stenerhag sent S\u00fcss a message which said: \u201cWould you like to race the Absa Cape Epic with me? But only if you want to win!\u201d While the media focus was elsewhere, Stenerhag and S\u00fcss\u2019 focus was very definitely on the winning the race.<\/p>\n

The 2017 Absa Cape Epic got off to a good start for Meerendal CBC on the trails of Meerendal Wine Estate. Perhaps the first good omen of the event was the fact that it started on Esther S\u00fcss\u2019 birthday. On the racing front, the pair crossed the line with the second fastest time of the day, 40 seconds down on stage winners Robyn de Groot and Sabine Spitz.<\/p>\n

On the 101 kilometre long Stage 1, Stenerhag and S\u00fcss decided to lay down a marker. On the steep and rugged climb to the Hansgrohe Women\u2019s Hotspot, Stenerhag attacked and S\u00fcss soon followed, distancing the rest of the women\u2019s field. They went over the hotspot with a 30 second lead, but rather than sitting up and waiting for the pack to regroup on the undulating trails beyond, they maintained a high tempo which saw the rest of the women\u2019s field distanced. The move was a stage racing classic; putting the race favourites, de Groot and Spitz, and Ariane L\u00fcthi and Adelheid Morath, on the back foot. The pressure soon told and Team Spur\u2019s L\u00fcthi and Morath chose to rather ride at a more conservative pace, than give chase beyond their limit on the very technical trails; where the smallest mistake could lead to a crash or a mechanical. The Ascendis Health team, of de Groot and Spitz had to defend their leaders\u2019 jerseys however, and had to do everything they could to reel in the Meerendal CBC women. Their frantic pursuit saw them make two crucial mistakes. First, a mechanical cost them time and then Spitz crashed \u2013 leaving her with a cut above her eye which would need seven stitches. By putting their rivals under pressure with a timely attack, Stenerhag and S\u00fcss had ridden themselves into the lead by 8 minutes and 52 seconds.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-57385400-1490879135.jpg\"<\/a>Esther S\u00fcss and Jenny Stenerhag were doused in M\u00e9thode Cap Classique as they crossed the finish line to secure victory in the 2017 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Dominic Barnardt\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

With the heat and rocky trails of Stage 1 playing havoc with the safety of the Absa Cape Epic entrants, and more scorching temperatures predicted for Stage 2 \u2013 the last 40 kilometres of which offered no easy access for rescue personnel in the case of riders collapsing with heat stroke en masse \u2013 the stage was shortened. The race organisers decided to shorten the stage to 62 kilometres, with the stage finish brought forward to water point two at the Caledon Botanical Gardens. de Groot and Spitz had to go on the offensive, and with a comfortable lead and more tough stages to follow, Stenerhag and S\u00fcss were content to shadow their key rivals. The stage came down to a sprint finish, which proved tricky without the Absa Cape Epic\u2019s usual series of arches signalling the exact finish line from a distance. Stenerhag and S\u00fcss proved the more capable at adapting to the difficult sprint though, adding just over five seconds to their lead as Spitz coasted across the line once it was clear she could not match either Meerendal CBC rider\u2019s kick.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-41474600-1490879101.jpg\"<\/a>Jennie Stenerhag and Esther S\u00fcss proved repeatedly that they were the strongest pairing on the many climbs of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Ewald Sadie\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 3 proved to be another brutally hot stage for the non-elite riders, while in the UCI women\u2019s race, the 78 kilometre stage was again nullified by the strengths of Stenerhag and S\u00fcss. de Groot and Spitz again went on the offensive, but could not distance the Meerendal CBC duo. The stage came down to a sprint finish again and though de Groot and Spitz took the stage honours, the Meerendal CBC lead was trimmed by just two tenths of a second.<\/p>\n

The longest stage of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic was the 112 kilometre long Stage 4. It had been pencilled in as one of the potentially decisive stages of the race. After two stages in which Stenerhag and S\u00fcss aimed to conserve energy they were both feeling strong ahead of the stage. But with head winds and district roads facing riders from Elandskloof to the foot of the Botrivier Pass climb, 85 kilometres into the stage, they once again decided to race intelligently and conserve energy. On the lower slopes of the climb, they ratcheted up the intensity until only de Groot and Spitz could follow; until Spitz punctured near the top of the climb, slashing the sidewall of her front tyre. The puncture handed Meerendal CBC the stage victory and another 3 minutes and 42 seconds on their nearest rivals.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-76885500-1490879076.jpg\"<\/a>Jennie Stenerhag and Esther S\u00fcss hoist the Hansgrohe Women\u2019s category trophy as 2017 Absa Cape Epic champions. Photo by Dominic Barnardt\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n

By the start of Stage 5 Meerendal CBCs lead was 12 minutes and 40 seconds. Stenerhag and S\u00fcss were pushing thoughts of overall victory out of their minds; they had to remain focused on the task at hand. Again, de Groot and Spitz went on the offensive, and once again Stenerhag and S\u00fcss proved they were equal to anything the favourites could throw at them. 7 kilometres from the finish, the first moment of bad luck, or loss of concentration, for Meerendal CBC occurred. A male rider had stopped to allow the leading women past on a section of singletrack, but he did not realise there were two teams rather than just one. After de Groot and Spitz had passed him, he stepped out into the trail, knocking S\u00fcss off the singletrack into a tree on the downhill side of the trail. She crashed chest first into the trunk of the tree, winding herself and managing to get tangled and pinned between the bike and the tree. The rapid assistance of Stenerhag freed her from the situation in seconds and the Meerendal CBC pair were soon back on their bikes and chasing the leaders. With Stenerhag putting in a massive effort on the front, they managed to catch de Groot and Spitz with a kilometre to go, and even contested for the third sprint finish of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic, though they lost out on the line.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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