Absa Cape Epic
Short First Stage, but one of the Favourites Crashes Out
Press Release / 29.03.2011
Stage 1’s distance was a shade under 90km (with 2050m of climbing), which may sound short but it was not to be underestimated!The flat roads out of town left few clues as to what was to come. Very soon the short(ish) but incredibly steep, rough and loose climbs appeared, and on the treacherous descents, volley-balled sized rocks and sand patches pocked the little-used dual tracks. While the pros made short work of it, the first 50km took some backmarkers over five hours.
The stage’s last climb on some rough roads brought riders to the top of one of the most precariously difficult downhills they’ve seen at the Absa Cape Epic. With large rocks, deep ruts and a sheer drop on the left, riders were wise to take it slow.
The Mens Category for Stage 1 was won for the second consecutive day by the South African / Swiss team of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser (team 36ONE Songo Specialized) in a time of 3:52.13,9 (overall time 4:54.54,6).
They were followed by Urs Huber and Konny Looser of the Stöckli Pro team in 3:53.15,5 (overall time 4:58.17,3) with the Bulls 2 team Tim Böhme and Thomas Dietsch in third place in 3:54.25,1 (overall time 4:59.49,4). In fourth place was the Bulls team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm (3:56.02,4; overall time 5:00.38,0) with Hannes Genze and Jochen Käss of Multivan Merida Biking in fifth place (3:56.02,8; overall time 5:00.25,7).
Last year’s winners Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm are now in fifth position overall, with Sauser and Stander leading them by 5 minutes and 43 seconds.<br>
<b>Evans Crashes Out</b>
<br>One of the most prolific mountain bikers in the history of the sport in South Africa, Kevin Evans, is out of the race. He and team mate David George were one of the favourite teams to take top honours in this year’s event. Evans’ brakes failed on the second steep descent of the day as he was going down at top speed and he had to pick a landing spot as he couldn’t slow down.
Says Kevin Evans (of team 360LIFE). “After the second long climb of the day in Fisantboskloof, with a very steep descent, I realised my brakes weren’t working. I was going way to fast and realised I needed to pick a landing spot. I crashed really hard and knew I was unlikely to get up.<br>
“I can’t tell you how disappointed I feel. Both David and I really looked forward to this year’s race and were in excellent shape. I’m so sorry for Dave and the team, as well as our sponsors. It’s the same collar bone I broke eight years ago. It was plated and screwed, and never bothered to have it removed as it didn’t bother me. I’m on my way to the same specialist I went to then and he’ll then decide whether he’s going to remove everything and start again.�
To the question of his history with the race - having had bad luck last year when his riding partner Alban Lakata broke the front wheel of his bike – Evans simply answers that he will be back. “I’ll be coming back till I get it right. It’s not the amount of times you get knocked down that matter, but the amount of times you get up again.� He will be joining David George and the team again if he is not operated on.
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