Stander and Sauser win stage 1

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Men's category

The South African/Swiss team of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser (Team 36One-Songo- Specialized) won for the second consecutive day when they crossed the line at the end of stage 1 in a time of 4:33:23, which keeps them in the overall lead. They were followed by Urs Huber and Konny Looser of the Stöckli Pro team in 4:38:32 with the Bulls 2 team of Tim Böhme and Thomas Dietsch in third place in 4:38:33.

"We rode well today and were on our own on the last 45km, which we rode at our won pace," said Stander. "Some of the guys had problems with the heat or with their tyres. We didn't have any problems, so it was a nice steady race for us - touch wood."

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"I felt much better today than yesterday and enjoyed the stage. And of course it's nice to go from 134 seconds in the lead to just under 10 minutes. It really helps to have a strong second team and they were close to us for most of the day. It makes a big difference - I'm sure after today team 360Life will agree, as they apparently had many problems."

Stander's teammate Sauser said, "Winning by this margin is a big advantage for us. It feels good to win the stage, but having the time gap is more important. We have a good lead now, but we know that anything can still happen. We also have a second team which is great."

Runner-up Huber has won over 50 races in his career to date and his teammate Looser's impressive achievements include winning the U23 Marathon European Championships in 2010. Huber said, "It was really hot today and even more so later in the morning. A lot of teams had problems with the heat and the track. On the one downhill, three of the five teams we were riding with had flats. We had flats twice, but didn't lose too much time as we only needed to put air into them. We worked really well with the Bulls 2 team today and are delighted with our second place. Burry and Christoph are the best team and the second place is the best we can do - and we did it today!"

"It was a difficult stage for me. My legs didn't feel great today and we lost time because of it," said Looser. "When I realised that the other riders were also feeling tired on the last long steep climb, it motivated me and we picked up speed on the last downhill, around 25km before the finish."

Böhme of the Bulls 2 team, who finished in third place, said, "The route was tough and a bit of a lottery. Many riders had flats. We had luck on our side as it was tough, long and super fast. You had to concentrate."

Dietsch said, "It really felt good to finish on the podium today. I started getting cramps around 20km before the finish and just tried to survive. We hope to recover well so that we're ready for tomorrow. We don't have a game plan - the 36One-Songo- Specialized team is really strong. I suppose the plan is just to follow them."

The Bulls 1 team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm was fourth (4:40:05), having moved up from 10th place yesterday to fifth place overall today, with Hannes Genze and Andreas Kugler of Multivan Merida Biking in fifth place (4:40:06).

South African hopefuls Kevin Evans and David George of 360Life finished in 15th place in the stage after major problems. They are now placed 10th overall.

After today's result, year's winners Stander and Sauser comfortably lead the GC by nine minutes and 26 seconds.

Ladies category

Sally Bigham and Esther Süss of Wheels4Life won the ladies category for the second day in a row in a time of 5:20:04. Theresa Ralph and Nina Gässler of team Biogen Britehouse were second, stopping the clock at 5:27:32. Ivonne Kraft and Elisabeth Brandau of botebooksbilliger.de finished in third place in 5:45:20.

Bigham and Süss continue to lead - by nine minutes and 47 seconds after stage 1.

Leader Bigham said, "It was a long stage with lots of steep climbing. I liked it and didn't suffer too much. We also didn't have too many problems which is great. My body still feels strong, so our plan for tomorrow is the same."

Teammate Süss said, "It was very hot today and I drank a lot. The course was steep and loose, then flat and the downhill was difficult - you had to concentrate not to fall or get flats. Hopefully we recover well for tomorrow's stage."

Runner-up Ralph said, "Today was a nice awakening from the first stage. It was very different today and luckily what I train for. There was quite a lot of portage and some monster climbs in the beginning. At around the 100km mark, they threw in a character building loop. The long stretch at the end was fun though. We're stoked to finish in second place again. We're not pros - we both work and I have kids - so we're very chaffed with our performance so far."

Her teammate Gässler said, "It was a very good ride, but it became long. We expected it to be around four hours. I have a fantastic riding partner though, so even the hardest day becomes a pleasure. We'll just hang in there for tomorrow. I'm Esther and Sally's biggest fan - they're my idols - so as long as we stay with them, I'm very happy."

Mixed category

The Contego 28E team of Erik and Ariana Kleinhans won the mixed category in 5:16.26, followed by Udo Boelts and and Milena Landtwing of Centurion Vaude in 5:21:46. Russell de Jager and Andrea Huser finished in third place again in a time of 5:38:37. Contego 28E lead by 4:07.

Kleinhans said, "Today was great. We started out with Udo and Milena and did a lot of walking up the first uphills. The last 30km were flat, but we rode into the wind which was uncomfortable. It took a lot of willpower to stay motivated. We'll take it a bit easier tomorrow now that we're in the lead and ride a bit more conservatively."

Ariane was delighted with their result. "I had some problems with my derailleur, but luckily Erik is a great mechanic and fixed it without us losing to much time. We're happy with the lead and will keep it steady for tomorrow. It's really tough out there and we don't want to risk anything."

Boelts called it a hot day, especially for Europeans coming from a cold winter. "Just last week Milena was still doing ski tours. We've been here for four or five days, but it's not enough. We're not used to this heat, going at full heart rate. We'll see how our legs feel tomorrow, perhaps we'll be more used to the conditions - and then decide. Also, Milena still has a full season ahead of her, so we're careful not to push too hard. The Kleinhans couple are very strong and I think today is a sign of what's to come."

Landtwing said, "It was very hot and tough and we still have a long way to go. We'll see how the legs are tomorrow and then decide on a plan of action."

Master's category

The masters category was won by the Jag Craft team of Adrian Enthoven and Delaney Impey. Their winning time was 5:00:27. They were followed by Robert Sim and Nico Pfitzenmaier of the Robert Daniel Momsen team in 5:02:53, with the World Bicycle Relief team of Bart Brentjens and Jan Weevers in third place in 5:28:33. Sim and Pfitzenmaier lead by one minute and 30 seconds.

Pfitzenmaier said, "It was very, very hot and the steep climbs were barely rideable. We were in the lead, but at the last water point, Rob felt a bit nauseous, so we decided to take the pace down a bit. That's where the Jag Craft team passed us and we just tried to hang in there and hope for the overall lead. My body's feeling good - yesterday was a tough day - but I had some reserve for today."

"I had a bit of a rough day," said Sims. "I wasn't feeling great last night and think I didn't digest my food very well. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

A look at the day's course

As the race's history tells us, stage 1 is always a rude awakening for the riders. Combining the length, the climbing, the severity of the trail surfaces and the speed of fresh-legged hares at the front of the field - all was a shock to the system, even for the best prepared. Three major climbs loomed ahead of the athletes.

The first three-kilometre rise was littered with loose rocks and tilted to 25 percent, forcing portage, and there was a risky descent lying in wait. Then it was Hangman's Tree, which may be short, but took up to half an hour to conquer. Beautiful flowing trails then traversed the mountain ridges, showcasing breathtaking scenery.

Tortoise Peak was the third major obstacle (there were still a few lesser ones after) and riders began creeping up this slow, yet rideable five-kilometre ascent, named after its ancient residents. Riders with bar ends had to take care on the descent, with grabbing branches on the off-camber dual tracks.

For their considerable efforts, riders were rewarded with a beautiful section of trails through Nama Karoo, with a few gentle rises before finally turning east, back toward Robertson with a final rocky plunge into town.

Stage 2: Robertson to Robertson (119km with 1650m of climbing)

The route will traverse the beautiful rolling double tracks through the stony Klein Karoo, passing through the charming village of McGregor. It will be a special day out for the riders. For those who manage to avoid tunnel vision, it's a geologist's paradise with remarkable sandstone formations. Some might say this is too much fun for the Cape Epic, but riders will soon be brought back down to earth - the rocks may create beautiful formations but they're sharp. With knife-edged shale and a carpet of thorns, heavy-duty tyres are essential. After passing through Van Loveren Wine Estate on some severe vineyard hills, a district road will take the race past Ashton as they head towards the mountains for some short but steep climbs before returning to Robertson.

Full Results