![\"ccs-62657-0-37579800-1458053693.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-37579800-1458053693.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>The pro men start to the historical 100th stage of the Absa Cape Epic during stage 2 of the 2016 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Saronsberg Wine Estate in Tulbagh, South Africa on the 15th March 2016. Photo by Gary Perkin\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\nThe leading men\u2019s Team Bulls pair of Karl Platt and Urs Huber were determined to scorch a path through the Witzenberg Valley and for most of the day everything went according to plan. But on a technical descent just 10km from the finish Huber punctured, allowing the unheralded newbies Nicola Rohrbach and Matthias Pfrommer of Team Centurion Vaude by Meerendal 2 to take the stage win in a time of 4:16.48,3.<\/p>\n
Third place for the stage went to the young Italian pair of Samuele Porro and Damiano Ferraro (Trek-Selle San Marco A).<\/p>\n
The Men\u2019s category winners on the day only came together as a team about a week before the event started, and even then they are participating here in support of Team Centurion Vaude by Meerendal\u2019s Hermann Pernsteiner and Daniel Geismayr. Pernsteiner, though, had a fall on Stage 1, which opened the door for Pfommer and Rohrbach to win a highly-coveted stage at the Absa Cape Epic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHermann had a crash yesterday,\u201d said Pfommer, \u201cso the plan was for him to start and then tell us that they would go on or if we must go on.\u201d<\/p>\n At the stage\u2019s first serious climb, a near 20km trek up an old wagon trail over the Witzenberg mountain range, Pernsteiner realised he was in trouble, and so instructed the \u201cback-up\u201d team to race on. \u201cHermann and Daniel told us to go, so we did and we hit it full gas,\u201d said Pfommer.<\/p>\n For much of the race there were four teams in the lead bunch, with South African pair Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock (USN Purefit) mixing it up in the front for a while too, until a broken chain for Lill halted their momentum.<\/p>\n \u201cAll day it was very tough and very technical, especially the middle part,\u201d said Rohrbach. \u201cBut eventually we caught the Bulls and the lead bunch. I think we were about 10 seconds behind the Bulls, but the plan was always to then push hard because Matthias and I are both very fast on the downhill. We passed them on the last descent, but also because they had a flat.\u201d<\/p>\n Crossing the line first, Pfommer and Rohrbach were ecstatic, punching the air and whooping with delight. \u201cWe are totally destroyed after that ride. But very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n For the overall leaders, it was another successful, if slightly irritating day. \u201cIt was another hot stage, the weather and the racing,\u201d said Huber. \u201cThe long climb after 10km definitely woke us up, but then we were on to the trails that we knew quite well after riding in the Tankwa Trek recently. We were riding along very comfortably all day. Even though the puncture was annoying, it was a good day. But like always in racing, it could be better.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the pre-race favourites, Team Topeak Ergon Racing, endured another bout of bad luck, something of a recurring theme for Alban Lakata. After a good Stage 1, Lakata and Hynek would have expected to put more pressure on Team Bulls today.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for them, Lakata\u2019s shoe broke early in the racing. After trying, and failing, to fix it, they eventually had to wait for their back up team so Lakata could take Erik Kleinhans\u2019 shoe. Finishing in one red and one black shoe, the replacement also too small, Lakata said: \u201cMy foot is on fire, it\u2019s burning. When these things happen you always think the race is over, but we have to get over it because we don\u2019t know what will happen from here.\u201d<\/p>\n Lakata also punctured later as they hit the top slopes of the wagon trail descent.<\/p>\n In the race for the red Absa African special jersey, Lill and Woolcock remain in front, approximately five minutes ahead of Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell (Team NAD Pro MTB). Bell and Combrinck finished eighth overall on Stage 2, with Lill and Woolcock finishing 12th.<\/p>\n After an intriguing day\u2019s racing in the Sasol Women\u2019s category, defending champions Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad surged to victory and the overall lead on Stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic \u2013 spending 5:06.00,2 in their saddles.<\/p>\n For much of the stage, the 100th in the race\u2019s history, the Spur-Specialized pair bided their time in third place behind the Sport for Good\u2019s Sabine Spitz and Yana Belomoina and Sally Bigham and Adel Morath of Topeak Ergon. Significantly, Kleinhans and Langvad remained ahead of the erstwhile race leaders, Robyn de Groot and Jennie Stenerhag of Ascendis Health and by the time the South African-Swedish pair arrived back in Tulbagh, their 58 seconds lead had turned into a three minute, 17 second deficit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels amazing to be back in the orange jersey,\u201d said a beaming Kleinhans. \u201cThis morning I was confident we could do something but when Sabine and Yana went ahead on the first climb I thought it was going to be a long day. I knew I couldn\u2019t go at the pace that they went up so we decided to keep it really consistent and I remembered from 2011 that the last climb goes into a long descent and is quite technical \u2013 I thought that\u2019s where we could decide it.\u201d<\/p>\n Spitz and Belomoina were the protagonists in establishing the pecking order for the day, by laying down a marker that only Bigham and Morath initially followed, up the wagon trail out of Tulbagh onto the Witzenberg mountains. Spitz revealed that their tactics were formulated because of their experience on Monday\u2019s Stage 1.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal today was to not get fed with dust and the only way to do that is to stay in front for as long as possible,\u201d said the 2003 Cross-country World Champion and 2008 Olympic Champion. \u201cWe managed to stay in front of the men until they caught us 500m before the end of the first climb.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite eventually finishing the day in third place, the Sport for Good pairing remained in fourth overall, but were pleased to claim the day\u2019s spot prize and look forward to the remaining stages.<\/p>\n After trailing Spitz and Belomoina through the first two water points, Bigham and Morath took over the lead before the third water point.<\/p>\n<\/a>Nicola Rohrbach of team Centurian Vaude by Meerendal 2 pacing himself up the massive climb during stage 2 of the 2016 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Saronsberg Wine Estate in Tulbagh, South Africa on the 15th March 2016. Photo by Mark Sampson\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Team USN Purefit’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock summits the Witzenberg during stage 2 of the 2016 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Saronsberg Wine Estate in Tulbagh, South Africa on the 15th March 2016. Photo by Ewald Sadie\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Team Spur Specialized’s Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans summits the Witzenberg during stage 2 of the 2016 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Saronsberg Wine Estate in Tulbagh, South Africa on the 15th March 2016. Photo by Ewald Sadie\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n