With a maximum stage time of 10 hours, riders had to prepare themselves for a long stage, the last real hurdle of the 2013 Absa Cape Epic. The first 20 kilometers were primarily in the forestry plantation on the slopes of Du Toit\u2019s Kloof, with a steady 10-kilometer climb followed by an equally long, fast descent interrupted occasionally by some soft forest single-track. The second major climb was primarily through orchards that soon gave way to mountain fynbos as the trails turned more rugged, including another single-track descent, but riders had to watch out for the handle-bar-grabbing fynbos. By the time riders crossed under the N1 national highway at the 35-kilometer mark, they completed almost half the climbing of the day. The next section was fast going along farm and gravel roads along the Drakenstein Mountains towards Franschhoek. The route made the turn towards Helshoogte Pass, as the trail hugged the steep slopes of the iconic Simonsberg Mountain. Riders passed through wine farms and the Idas Valley before passing underneath the R310 road. From here it was one last steep climb, before a descent sweetened by some more forestry single-track that took riders into the race village.<\/p>\n
Today was meant to be the king\u2019s stage with some huge climbs in the beginning and steep climbs at the end. It rained last night and conditions were quite cool today. By the middle of the race it was down to two teams \u2013 Burry Stander \u2013 SONGO and the Bulls, with the other two Bulls teams and the Absa Africa Leader jersey team of Buys and Beukes (SCOTT Factory Racing) in pursuit. Sauser and Kulhavy (Burry Stander \u2013 SONGO) attacked on the final obstacle and the gap grew quickly to 2 minutes and 37 seconds.<\/p>\n
Christoph Sauser(Switzerland) and Jaroslav Kulharvy(Czech Republic) of Burry Stander-Songo lead Urs Huber(Switzerland) and Karl Platt(Germany) of Bulls during stage 6 of the 2013 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Wellington to Stellenbosch, South Africa on the 23 March 2013<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Men\u2019s Category<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Indomitable Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy of Burry Stander \u2013 SONGO won Stage 6 of this year\u2019s Absa Cape Epic. This is their fourth stage win this year and Sauser\u2019s 30th<\/sup> stage win in the history of the event. They finished in 4:30.17,0 (overall 27:13.26,0). The Bulls Karl Platt and Urs Huber finished in second place again in 4:32.54,9 (overall 27:19.47,2). They were followed by the Bulls 2 team of Thomas Dietsch and Tim Boehme in third place in 4:35:44,4 (overall 27:39.27,7) with South Africa\u2019s Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes of SCOTT Factory Racing in fourth place (4:36.42,4; overall 28:25.21,9).<\/p>\n Sauser and Kulhavy (Burry Stander \u2013 SONGO) now lead the race by 6 minutes and 21 seconds (overall 27:13.26,0). The Bulls Karl Platt and Urs Huber are in second place overall (27:19.47,2) and the Bulls 2 team Thomas Dietsch and Tim Boehme in third overall (27:39.27,7).<\/p>\n Says Kulhavy of Burry-Stander SONGO: \u201cToday was very nice and quite easy. I\u2019m really happy with our stage win, especially for Christoph as Stellenbosch is his second home. We increased the gap again. Now we only have tomorrow and I hope it will be good and that we don\u2019t have any problems.\u201d<\/p>\n Says Platt of the Bulls: \u201cWe put in everything that we had. After the second water point as we started the last part, it wasn\u2019t that fast but Urs (Huber) dropped back. He had a bad moment for about ten minutes and we lost about two minutes. Since then we were chasing all the time and we tried hard. At the beginning it wasn\u2019t a friendly competition, but that\u2019s racing. The guys (Sauser and Kulhavy) were very strong. I had very good legs today and we rode well most of the way. It looks good.\u201d Huber adds: \u201cIt was hard today and we tried to keep on fighting, but the Songo boys are very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas Dietsch of the Bulls 2 comments: \u201cToday was hard. We\u2019re very happy with the podium finish. We\u2019ve been trying for 5 years to be on the podium and there\u2019s only one stage left. We\u2019re in a good position to finish on the podium overall.\u201d<\/p>\n Says Simon Stiebjahn of Bulls 3: \u201cI felt very strong today and could keep up with the guys in the front. It was a great ride today with Stefan (Sahm) \u2013 he\u2019s so strong. To finish fifth today is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n Absa African Jersey<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Absa African Leader jersey was taken over by Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes of SCOTT Factory Racing in 4:36.42,4 (overall 28:25.21,9). Beukes says: \u201cIt was a good day. We rode conservatively as we want to do well tomorrow. It was only at the first climb we pushed hard to put some pressure on Darren Lill and Charles Keey and kept up with the Bulls. At the last climb we started pushing for fourth place. We\u2019re very grateful that it\u2019s going so well for us at this year\u2019s Absa Cape Epic. It\u2019s an unbelievable experience and pleasure to be here.\u201d His teammate Buys adds: \u201cToday was nice \u2013 our legs were surprisingly strong. We extended our lead in the Absa African Jersey and we hope we can hang on to it tomorrow. I\u2019m very happy with our performance so far. We thought we\u2019d manage the top 10 and now we\u2019re in the top 5.\u201d<\/p>\n Exarro Jersey<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Prince Maseko and Phillimon Sebona of Exxaro PwC Academy 1 won the Exxaro Jersey for the fourth consecutive stage in a time of 5:34.19,1 (overall 34:09.12,5). Says Maseko: \u201cIt was hard today. My partner is not feeling well and I was helping him a lot and pushing all the way. We worked as a team \u2013 that is why we made it. I\u2019m looking forward to tomorrow and will be happy at the finish. This is the biggest thing I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n Ladies Category<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n C-Bear\u2019s Sara Mertens and Laura Turpijn won today\u2019s stage in 6:05.45,9 (overall 37:52.15,6). They finished on the podium four times during this year\u2019s event. They were followed by the Pragma Volcan Ladies Hanlie Booyens and Ischen Stopforth in 6:11.16,5 (overall 37:11.20,2). Yolande Speedy and Catherine Williamson (Energas) finished in third place in 6:14.06,2 (overall 35:11.08,3). They (Energas) now lead this category by 2 hours and 11 seconds.<\/p>\n Says Turpijn of C-Bear: \u201cWe never expected to win a stage or even to be second or third. Today was hard but I\u2019m so proud of Sara. She kept on pushing. It was good and I\u2019m really happy.\u201d Adds Mertens: \u201cWe\u2019re very happy. This is my third Absa Cape Epic \u2013 the first one I just wanted to finish. The second time I wanted to have fun, which I didn\u2019t have in the first one. And this one I wanted to finish on the podium and Laura helped me with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Williamson (Energas) says: \u201cYolande crashed today and really hurt herself. We\u2019re hoping it\u2019s only muscular. We were actually quite cautious today, but she hit a stone. It was before the second water point. I had a funny feeling about today. She couldn\u2019t ride any of the single-track. She\u2019s strong as na ox on the climbs. I\u2019ll carry her tomorrow if she hasn\u2019t broken anything.\u201d Adds Speedy: \u201cWe were going so well today, until I hit a rock. Hopefully I can still finish tomorrow and nothing is broken. I\u2019m just very grateful to Catherine for pulling me through today.\u201d<\/p>\n Telkom Business Master\u2019s Category<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Telkom Business Masters category was won for the fourth consecutive time by Nico Pftizenmaier and Abraao Azevedo of the Bridge team in 4:52.10,9 (overall 29:46.23,2). They were again followed by Bart Brentjens and Robert Sim (Superior-Brentjens 2) in 5:01.03,8 (overall 30:47.56,5). Brentjens and Sim finished on the podium six times during this year\u2019s event. In third place were South Africans Neil Bradford and Tim Osrin of HCL\/Harvest Foundation 1 in 5:04.32,5 (overall 31:21.55,2). Pfitzenmaier and Azevedo lead this category by 1 hour, 1 minute and 33 seconds.<\/p>\n Pfitzenmaier of team Bridge says: \u201cRight at the beginning I hurt myself. We almost had a crash. I was on Rudi\u2019s wheel and he hit a rock so badly that his wheel went about 2 meters sideways in the air. He managed to stay on his bike. It\u2019s sore and I might have some stitches. It was not what I wanted, but I felt that everything was okay instantly. I just checked that everything was in working order with my bike and got into a rhythm again. Abraao rode brilliantly and our legs were good. We\u2019re very happy with our stage win again.\u201d<\/p>\n Says Robert Sim of Superior-Brentjens 2: \u201cI\u2019m moeg<\/em> \u2013 it\u2019s been a long week. We started hard and things have improved for me every day, but I\u2019m looking forward to the finish tomorrow at Lourensford.\u201d<\/p>\n Telkom Business Grand Masters<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n B\u00e4rti Bucher and Heinz Zoerweg of Songo.info finished in first place in the Grand Masters for the sixth consecutive stage in a time of 5:19.53,6 (overall 32:08.36,9). They were again followed by Izak Visagie and Peter Stopforth of Cape Style Wines with their second podium finish in 5:40.40,2 (overall 35:28.14,1). Deon Wilkins and Raul Acuna Navarro of ERNESTO\u2019S CYCLING finished in third place in 5:40.48,2 (overall 35:36.37,9). Bucher and Zoerweg lead this category by 2 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds.<\/p>\n Says B\u00e4rti Bucher of Songo.info: “I\u2019m very happy that tomorrow is the last stage. Today was great and the route was fantastic. You go from point A to point B and I prefer that. It was a great route – we had some nice trails, but also some steep uphills.\u201d<\/p>\n Mixed Category<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The RE:CM team of Erik and Ariane Kleinhans won for the fifth time during this year\u2019s event in 5:17.34,5 (overall 32:05.09,6). They were followed by Duane Stander and Cherise Stander (Africanmtbkid 1), with their second podium finish, in 5:27.22,0 (overall 35:04.49,0) with Theresa Ralph and Damian Perrin of Biogen Britehouse in third place in 5:29.27,5 (overall 35:03.50,3). Erik and Ariane Kleinhans (RE:CM) lead this category by 2 hours, 7 minutes and 21 seconds.<\/p>\n Says Erik Kleinhans: \u201cIt was an incredible route. It was really nice and we\u2019re very happy to finish first in Stellenbosch, our home town. We had so much support along the way.\u201d Adds Ariane Kleinhans: \u201cI felt really strong today. Of course we had some extra motivation coming home to Stellenbosch. We only have one stage to go and tomorrow will be very hard, but we\u2019ve done most of it. There are so many mountain bikers in Stellenbosch and it\u2019s so nice to see the whole family here.\u201d<\/p>\n Stage 7: Stellenbosch to Lourensford Wine Estate (54 km, 1 500 m of climbing)<\/strong><\/p>\n The final stage of the 2013 Absa Cape Epic is short, with only one major climb at the halfway mark. Riders will leave Stellenbosch along the mountainside through Coetzenberg and Eden Forest, then work their way into the Stellenbosch Winelands. The trail climbs up through the vineyards, opening up spectacular views of False Bay, as far as Cape Point, and back to Table Mountain and Durbanville, where the journey started seven long days ago. Having mastered the nine-kilometer climb up the side of the Helderberg Mountain into the Lourensford Neck, the finish line is almost within sight as the view into the striking Lourensford bowl opens up. This is the first time in Absa Cape Epic history that riders approach Lourensford Wine Estate from a totally different direction and not Gamtouw Pass. The final 25 kilometers are predominantly downhill, on forestry roads on the higher elevations, interspersed with some single-track, and into the orchards and vineyards on the lower slopes. The final run onto the lush green polo field packed with grandstands, marquees and supporters promises to be unforgettable.<\/p>\n Follow the riders on the live site at www.cape-epic.com<\/a>, the mobi site (m.cape-epic.com<\/a>, on Twitter (#absacapeepic), Facebook (www.facebook.com\/capeepic<\/a>) and YouTube (www.youtube.com\/absacapeepic<\/a>).<\/p>\n Share in the legend!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With a maximum stage time of 10 hours, riders had to prepare themselves for a long stage, the last real hurdle of the 2013 Absa Cape Epic. The first 20 kilometers were primarily in the forestry plantation on the slopes of Du Toit\u2019s Kloof, with a steady 10-kilometer climb followed by an equally long, fast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21949"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}