Illness hits Silverback OMX hard on penultimate stage of ABSA Cape Epic
Both women's and men's pairs struggling through illness in final days of mountain bike stage race
One stage remains in the 2018 Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race and, while the leaders used Saturday’s penultimate stage to extend their lead in both the men’s and women’s races, the podium positions are still up in the hot South African air.
Sunday’s Grand Finale is only 67 km, but with 2000m of climbing crammed into the reduced distance it will be anything but a victory procession for the race leaders. The climbing starts just three kilometre’s into the stage, hitting riders hard until they roll over the top of the steep, Hawaqa climb. From the summit, the stage trends downwards, but with several sharp inclines along the way. You can follow along with the final stage live, and replay today’s action in the online video player.
Men’s Race
Howard Grotts and Czech cross country legend Jaroslav Kulhavy used the race for podium positions raging behind them to their advantage, surging off the front of Cannondale Factory Racing’s attempt to break the race apart to further distance all of their competitors. Cannondale’s Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic were looking to reclaim their spot in second from Canyon Topeak, and set a blistering pace early on in the stage.
“Today we rode for the GC,” said Avancini. “We had two goals: get clear of Centurion Vaude and get back our second place from Canyon Topeak. That’s why we put the pressure on early and kept the pace high.”
The move produced mixed results, as Investec Songo Specialized used Kulhavy’s seemingly bottomless reserves to power away and ride the final 35km solo to the finish, extending their lead over second to 8 minutes 26 seconds going into the Cape Epic’s final day.
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Behind the leaders though, Cannondale were also distancing the struggling Canyon Topeak pairing of Alban Lakata and Kristian Hynek. “We saw Canyon Topeak were taking strain so we kept the pace on to get the gap and extend it,” said Fumic of Cannondale’s mixed day. The pair were able to separate themselves from Canyon Topeak and reclaim their second place position.
Lakata and Hynek would finish fifth on the day and slide into third overall, but are not giving up on reclaiming their spot just yet. “We lost second but tomorrow we will try again. It was a proper fight with Cannondale so let’s hope the legs are there tomorrow to close that gap.”
Centurion Vaude’s Nicola Rohrbach crashed hard early in Stage Six, resulting in him and partner Daniel Geismayr losing more time to Cannondale and Canyon Topeak in the race for third, even sliding down a spot into fifth overall.
Silverback OMX Pro Team pairing of Martin Gluth and Raphaël Gagné suffered a major setback this morning, when Gluth was forced to pull out of his fourth Cape Epic due to illness. The pair had been moving up the rankings steadily after an early mechanical 5km into Stage 1 left them chasing the lead group for nearly the entirety of the stage. Intent on completing his first Cape Epic attempt, Gagné will continue the race solo, wearing the special “lone leopard” jersey designating riders who’s partners did not make it with them to the finish.
Women’s Race
Silverback’s unlucky illness struck it’s women’s team as well on Saturday, as Mariska Strauss struggled visibly to make it to the finish line. Her and her Silverback-KMC partner Annie Last started the day with a slim lead on a resurgent Ascendis Health team which has been steadily marching up the rankings since recovering from their own illness issues early in the week long race.
Up front, Annika Langvad and Kate Courtney further drove home their dominance, moving a full 46 minutes ahead of second place. Behind them, the shifting fortunes of Silverback-KMC and Acendis Health meant changes were afoot in the battle for podium positions. Sabine Spitz and Robyn de Groot used their improving health to continue chasing the lead, though they acknowledge taking first is looking all but impossible, while Strauss fought valiantly to limit her and Last losses. Strauss and Last finished 16 minutes behind the lead, and ended up conceding second to Acendis Health by a full six minutes. One day of racing remains but, barring any further dramatic changes in fortune, the women’s podium looks relatively set.
