Langvad and van der Breggen survive a crash by Dane to maintain Cape Epic lead
Schurter and Forster eat back into Cannondale Factory Racing's advantage
Stage Four of the 2019 Absa Cape Epic was short, but not uneventful.
At just 43 kilometres, the time trial format wasn’t as dauntingly long as some stages, but the change in pace presented its own challenges. There was still 1,000 m of elevation gain in that short distance, presenting the opportunity to go too hard on legs used to longer days and blow up.
Women’s leaders dodge bullet
Annika Langvad, surprisingly, was one of the riders pushing to close to the edge with the faster pace. The Dane crashed hard mid-stage, presenting one of the biggest – or first – drama’s for the leading team.
“It is a long race and we have been racing for many days in a row and I think I lost concentration a bit,” said a dusty Langvad after the finish. “Luckily it was in a safe spot. I fell on a sandy part and just slid off the edge. My bike was stuck in a small bush and I was pulling to get it back on the trail but it was not moving.”
Anna van der Breggen, remarkably relaxed in her first Cape Epic experience and confident in her partner, seemed less concerned with the incident. “When I looked she was fine,” said the Dutch road world champion. “I knew it was not too deep there and knew she would come out again.”
The duo still had the fastest time on the day. Including the opening prologue, that make for a fifth straight win at this year’s Cape Epic for the Danish-Dutch teammates. They add one minute and 44 seconds to their lead, with Summit-Fin’s Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath finishing second. Maja Wloscscowska and Ariane Lüthi (Kross-Spur Racing) finished third, conceding two more minutes to the Summit-Fin team.
Making up for lost time
After a devastating mechanical saw the race lead shift from Scott-SRAM to Cannondale Factory Racing in Wednesday’s racing, the chase was on. Nino Schurter and teammate Lars Forster weren’t wasting any time eating back into the new leader’s advantage. The reigning world champion and European champion pushed hard on the short stage, reclaiming nearly 90 seconds from the Cannondale riders.
“We did well!” Schurter enthused after the stage. “Lars was super strong today, he pulled hard and it was a good performance for us.”
In the Cannondale camp, Manuel Fumic was having less fun. “I was riding more-or-less 40kms with a locked suspension,” said Fumic, after crashing just three kilometres into the short stage. The German rider was left riding a rigid machine on the fast course. “This left ‘Ava’ to do all the work and he was really strong,” Fumic added. “He brought me to the finish, we’re happy with the second place and kept Yellow.”
Fumic and Brazilian partner Henrique Avancini ended up conceding nearly 90 seconds on the stage. Schurter and Forster are no just 1:13 behind the race leaders. Trek Selle San Marcos Damiano Ferraro and Samuele Porro remain in third, 9:50.4 behind the lead.
