Another day of dominance for Sauser/Kulhavy in Cape Epic stage 3

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Christophe Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy (Investec-Songo-Specialized) won their third stage in a row of the 2015 Cape Epic, and although they only added 26 seconds to their lead over the defending champions Kristian Hynek and Alban Lakata (Topeak Ergon) their 7:22 lead in the standings will be unassailable if the pair keep riding the way they have.

Deep sand and baking heat were the two biggest obstacles in the 128km stage from Elgin Valley to Worcester. Kulhavy suffered a slow lead halfway through the stage, but lost little time. He and Sauser waited until the final 15km to ride away from the field. powering away on the last 15km to register a 25 second win and extend their overall lead to more than seven minutes.

Hynek said the stage was a “really tough one … I thought a transition might be easier." He and his partner took solace in the fact that they kept the leaders to less than half a minute, and still see an opportunity to turn their race around. “Today was really close and it’s still an open race,” Hynek said. “We’re fighting, we’re really strong and we’re good climbers.”

Four time winner Karl Platt of Germany and Switzerland’s Urs Huber dropped from second to fourth Platt punctured badly a couple of kilometres from Water Point 3 and ended up riding on his rim to the tech zone.

“I think we lost about three-and-a-half minutes there,” said Platt. They also lost contact with the front group and by the end were nearly seven minutes back from Sauser.

Multivan Merida’s Jose Hermida of Spain and Rudi van Houts of the Netherlands also moved past the Bulls into the top three in spite of the former suffering from stomach problems.

A notable performance yesterday was that of Topeak Ergon support team Robert Mennen (Germany) and Jeremiah Bishop (USA), who finished third overall. The American said later that they had helped Lakata get back to the front group when he dropped back and “we rode our hearts out”.

Langvad and Kleinhans overcome hour-penalty

In the women's race, it was Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans who put on the show of the day, overcoming the devastation of a penalty on the prior day that added nearly an hour and a quarter to their overall time. Starting the day fourth overall, they hammered to the front, riding with one of the main elite men's groups to a top 20 in the entire field for the stage and pulling on the race's leader's jersey once more.

“We were very motivated when we started this morning,” Langvad said. “We needed to put ourselves onto another level, and we did that.”

The pair now lead by more than nine minutes over Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn de Groot of Team Ascendis.

The result of Kleinhans and Langvad was the best performance for a women's team in the history of the Cape Epic. “It was tough and flat, and nowhere near as entertaining as Stage 3. Some sections were so sandy that it felt like we would never get anywhere,” Kleinhans said. “It was a mentally tough day for us too, especially after the time penalty. It was our intention to claw back as much time as possible, though we didn’t expect to do it in one day. We didn’t want to risk anything, though we were motivated to do well.”

Six-time cross country world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja and her partner Kathrin Stirnemann of Team World Bicycle Relief finshed second on the day, though it did little to improve their position in the overall.

“We’re very happy to be up in second place for the stage,” said Dahle Flesja. “This is where the racing is and for the first time in the Cape Epic we felt like we were in the race. It was a long, sandy day and some places it felt like we weren’t moving at all.”

Stirnemann has been struggling with illness all week, but it looks like the pair are cranking up the pace. “We didn’t push too hard today, but we got into it eventually,” said Dahle Flesja.
“I’m just happy to be at this event and to be part of it at last. It’s so cool and we are having a lot of fun. I think my job now will be to go and tell everyone else about the Cape Epic.”

Thursday’s Stage 4 is a 111km loop, starting and finishing in Worcester, and during which riders will gain a total of 2 000 vertical metres. It also promises to be a rugged affair.

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