{"id":20319,"date":"2015-03-18T16:40:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T16:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2015\/03\/18\/triumph-and-tears-at-absa-cape-epic-womens-race-r2236\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T11:10:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T11:10:22","slug":"triumph-and-tears-at-absa-cape-epic-womens-race-r2236","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/triumph-and-tears-at-absa-cape-epic-womens-race-r2236\/","title":{"rendered":"Triumph and tears at Absa Cape Epic women\u2019s race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immediately after Team RECM Specialized\u2019s Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad crossed the line of Stage 3 at HTS Drostdy in Worcester, they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and elation. The 128km ride \u2013 blitz in their case \u2013 from Elgin to Worcester had been an emotional rollercoaster.<\/p>\n

Moments later, Kleinhans was in tears as a close friend offered his congratulations. The 1 hour 13 minute time penalty from Stage 2 had been wiped out by an incredible day in the saddle on a course that left many of the riders dreaming of the lush surrounds in the hills and valleys of Elgin.<\/p>\n

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Ariane Kleinhans breaks down in tears as Bobby Behan tells her that they may have made up the time they lost in the stage 2 penalty during stage 3 of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race held from Oak Valley Wine Estate in Elgin to HTS Drostdy in Worcester, South Africa on the 18 March 2015. \/\/ Photo by Sophie Smith\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS.<\/span><\/p>\n

While photographers jostled for images that told the story of the day, Kleinhans smiled broadly in between wiping away the tears.<\/p>\n

Langvad, cool as a Copenhagen snowman despite the 30-degree temperature on the windswept high school field, was as composed as ever. \u201cWe were very motivated when we started this morning,\u201d she said. \u201cWe needed to put ourselves onto another level, and we did that.\u201d<\/p>\n

So potent was Team RECM Specialized on Stage 3 that they now go into Stage 4 with a nine-minute overall lead over Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn de Groot of Team Ascendis.<\/p>\n

It was not a good day on the bike for the first-time Cape Epic pairing as they finished sixth on the stage, 36 minutes and 25 seconds off the lead. Stenerhag and De Groot have been riding well all week, but there were suggestions from out on the course that De Groot might have been ill, with the rider herself admitting at the finish that she felt \u201cflat\u201d on the day.<\/p>\n

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Jenniw Stenerhag [L] and Robyn Lee de Groot [R] during stage 3 of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic. \/\/ Photo by Sam Clark\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kleinhans and Langvad certainly took advantage of Team Ascendis Health’s bad luck, finishing 20th in the general classification on the day. This is the best result for a women\u2019s team in the history of the Absa Cape Epic. \u201cIt was tough and flat, and nowhere near as entertaining as Stage 3. Some sections were so sandy that it felt like we would never get anywhere,\u201d said Kleinhans. \u201cIt was a mentally tough day for us too, especially after the time penalty. It was our intention to claw back as much time as possible, though we didn\u2019t expect to do it in one day. We didn\u2019t want to risk anything, though we were motivated to do well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the Sasol Women\u2019s category, six-time cross country world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja and her partner Kathrin Stirnemann of Team World Bicycle Relief finally came to the Cape Epic party (though Dahle Flesja has insisted from the start that she\u2019s using 2015 as a Cape Epic \u201csighter\u201d), finishing second on the day. See short clip of Stirnemann, current eliminator world champion:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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