Sauser, Stander move into third overall with consecutive stage wins

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Switzerland’s Christoph Sauser and his South African teammate Burry Stander (Songo-Specialized by DCM) again proved their world class stature by winning stage 4 of this year’s Cape Epic. This is their second consecutive win, having also taken top honours in stage 3. They were followed by the German Bulls 1 Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm, who are still leading overall by six minutes and 18 seconds. The South African/Austrian duo of Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata (Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon) finished third and is now in second place overall.

Max Knox and Brandon Stewart of DCM Chrome finished in eighth place today (3:41.36) and are in the 11th place overall (17:47.32). They took the African leaders' jerseys from Mannie Heymans and Marc Bassingthwaigthe (Garmin adidas 1) yesterday and also defended it today.

Stage four took riders from Ceres to Worcester, a distance of 86km and 1,640m of climbing. A short climb up Mitchell's Pass was followed by a fast downhill section on tar, before turning off into the winelands past Waverly Hills Farm and Mountain Ridge. Then followed a long zig-zagging section of rustic dual and singletrack up and down the foothills of the mountains, before the cyclists finally climbed up onto the saddle.

After another descent and climb to the next saddle ahead, riders were rewarded with spectacular views into the Breede River Valley. Even when they had home in their sights, there was still the rough 2km Boesmansberg climb to scale. This stage was not the toughest or the longest ever, but after the combination punches of the first three stages, riders were counting the pedal strokes to the short time trial of stage 5.

Sauser and Stander make it two in a row

Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander of Songo-Specialized by DCM were the first to cross the finish line of stage 4, placing them in third position overall (17:12.41). They were followed by the Bulls 1 Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm who are still in the overall lead (17:04.21). Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon have made an impressive comeback after yesterday's technical problems and are now in second position overall (17:10.39). The Flückiger brothers, Lukas and Mathias, are in fourth place overall having moved up from sixth position in a time of 17:20.49.

"We were all still together at water point 3 today as all the teams are battling for the leaders' jerseys. But Christoph kept attacking, attacking, attacking and I think the other teams could just not hang on any longer," said Burry Stander of Songo-Specialized by DCM. "When we hit the last saddleback, it was quite easy to break away."

"I felt very good today. I looked at the stage profile yesterday and knew it was going to be a cross country stage which is really our strength," said Stander's teammate Sauser. "It would be great if we could ride like this every day. Tomorrow's trail riding will also work in our favour because cross country riders can ride hard from the start. Hopefully we'll be feeling good and not too tired."

"This is also a mental game and you have to be prepared to suffer. I don't like gradual climbs - it's always the same - up, up, up. As long as I have small downhills in between, I'm okay. We'll also have to be careful that we don't have mechanical problems - it's always such a fine line."

According to Karl Platt of the Bulls Team, Sauser and Stander put on the pressure early on in the stage. "Christoph and Burry tried to outdistance us today with brute force. We managed to stay with them for some time, but once in a while we had to let go and catch up with them afterwards. It was a really stressful day - the terrain was extremely difficult. But if we only lose one or one and a half minutes in the upcoming days, that's okay."

Kevin Evans of Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon, reckons that Songo-Specialized by DCM had it easy for the first three days. "We've been fighting for the last three days, especially with our bad luck yesterday when Alban had to run for 2km to cross the finish line. Christoph and Burry pushed very hard today - even the Bulls could not follow in the end. But we're only halfway and anything can still happen. Tomorrow's time trial will also suit us. Hopefully we can recover and sleep a bit later tomorrow so that we're well rested. We're in a good position."

Lakata said his legs were feeling stage four. "My legs were quite sore today. We're still focusing on the leaders' jerseys and are still in good shape. With four stages to go, anything can happen and we're definitely still in the running to win the race. Today we only had problems with our legs - riding on the rim yesterday cost a lot of energy, and stages 2 and 3 were hard on us. We hope we don't have any major punctures and mechanicals from now on. Kevin has a lot of experience with the time trial and we'll definitely try our best. It's a short but challenging course, which I think will suit us."

Jose Hermida of Multivan Merida 2, who finished in fourth place (3:38.19) and is in 10th position overall, said the spirit of the Cape Epic is what keeps him going. "Every afternoon, after the stage, you ask yourself why you're doing this, only to get up the next morning, see all the smiling faces and feel motivated again. It was lovely to finish at the Worcester school today and have all the kids cheering us on - it really motivated us and created a fantastic atmosphere."

The Flückiger brothers, Mathias and Lukas, finished in fifth place, and are fourth overall (17:20.49)."We're happy with our results and are in a stable position. We ride for a stage win every day, but today our legs weren't great," said Lukas. "We'll try again tomorrow."

"Today's stage was definitely a lot harder than we thought," said Max Knox (DCM Chrome). "The conditions were difficult and it was very windy, but we're happy with our African leader jersey. We stayed with the leaders for as long as we could, and then had our own race."

Noergaard sisters first women to finish

The first women to complete stage 4 were Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard (team Rothaus-CUBE) in a time of 4:30.04, winning in their category for the second day in a row. They have moved to first position overall (21:26.57).

They were again followed by the winners of the first two stages, Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Ivonne Kraft (team Sludge Ladies) in a time of 4:41.57, who are now placed second overall (21:35.39). Giuliana Vitali and Tamara Horn (team bike2help.ch - Big Tree) finished in third place in a time of 5:03.46, placing them in third position overall (23:24.59). Julia Skea and Carla Rowley of Team RBS Biogen finished fourth in a time of 5:10.17, for fourth position overall at 23:45.45.

"Today was really nice. We were riding at our own pace again and caught up with the leading women," said Anna-Sofie Noergaard of Team Rothaus-Cube.

"We just kept going and weren't all that interested in winning - we also like to have fun," said her teammate Kristine Noergaard: "I really liked today's stage. The last part was on tar which was so nice and very unlike the Cape Epic. I also enjoyed the dirt tracks as well as the downhill."

Ivonne Kraft of the Sludge Ladies Team felt really good today. "I had a good day but it was tough for Hannele. She was completely empty and couldn't take in any food. I pushed her up almost every uphill - I could enjoy the ride but she had to fight all the way. The only thing I didn't like today was the cold - I was frozen. Luckily we had no technical problems and enough water. I'll have to feed Hannele some fat today - she's so skinny and has nothing left to burn. I think we can do this and get the leaders' jerseys back."

"I ate a lot but really battled a bit today. I worked very hard but the other girls rode extremely well," said Steyn-Kotze. "Ivonne's more experienced at doing time trials, so hopefully she can help tomorrow. But, I will not give up until we get to Lourensford Wine Estate."

Bucher and Süss celebrate second stage win in mixed category

Bärti Bucher and Esther Süss (Wheeler - BIXS) celebrated their second stage win in a time of 4:10.14 and moved up to second place overall (19:59.16). They were followed by Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (MTN Business Qhubeka) in a time of 4:13.10. Speedy and Cordes who remain the overall leaders in their category (19:34.25). Nico Pfitzenmaier and Sally Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team finished in third place (4:15.40) and are third overall (20:15.34).

Ester Süss of the Wheeler - BIXS team said, "We cycled with Yolande and Paul to the second water point when they had a flat - they're a very strong team. Today was very windy and sandy, but luckily we had no technical problems. I think we're all starting to feel tired and really look forward to the time trial. The mixed category is definitely more competitive than last year."

"We had no problems today, but you must know that Yolande and Paul can't take it easy. We need more hard days to even out the field and as always, the Cape Epic is never easy," said Bärti Bucher.

Yolande Speedy of MTN Business Qhubeka called it a tough day. "We had a flat and had to stop. Of course we were chasing Esther and Bärti all the way to the finish, but never caught up. It was a taxing day, but at least it was cooler than yesterday. And of course it was nice when the wind was behind us, but not when it came from the front."

Masters Category

Cyclelab's Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean ensured their third stage win in 4:03.18, and they remain the overall leaders in the masters (19:24.01). They were followed by Adrian Enthoven and Gary Marescia (Cycle Lab Jag Foundation) in 4:17.42 and are placed second overall (20:34.38). In third place were Pieter van Rooyen and Milan Spolc (Oleander) in 4:25.58 with their second podium finish in this year's race. They are also in third place overall in a time of (21:48.23). The Big Tree Masters Team Corrie Muller and Robert Sim finished in fourth place in a time of 4:37.43 and have moved to fourth place overall (21:40.34).

Cyclelab's Andrew Mclean says it was a good day for them. "We're not under pressure to take risks to defend the leaders'jerseys and rode at a good tempo with Thomas Frischknecht and some other riders. Of course our legs are getting worse as we get more tired, but luckily it's the same for everyone. The course was also not as hard as the last three days, so I think everyone will enjoy it."

Stage 5: Individual time trial

For Stage 5, a time trial, this year's participants will ride for only 27km and climb a total of 860m. In this time trial stage, teams will set off at 30-second intervals, in reverse order, according to their overall ranking.

The route forms a figure of eight through the foothills of Brandwacht, taking the race along the western side of Worcester through semi-desert vegetation. Eight hundred and sixty metres of climbing is a great deal on any mountain biking day, but over only 27km it will be extremely demanding.

However, the relatively short time spent in the saddle and will give riders a chance to recover and prepare for what is yet to come.

Video from stage four is provided by www.rsaweb.co.za.

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