Fumic and Avancini continue Cape Epic winning run on stage 1

Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing XC) extended their Cape Epic lead on stage 1 as Jaroslav Kulhavy fell with 5km to race but was able to remount and cross the line with Investec-Songo-Specialized teammate Christoph Sauser in second place. Third place went to Jochen Kaess and Markus Kauffmann (Centurion Vaude).

In the women's race, Esther Suss and Jennie Stenerhag (Meerendal CBC) proved too strong for Ascendis Health duo Robyn de Groot and Sabine Spitz by almost nine minutes.

"Our plan was to get to the front and stay there. That way we could control the pace," Fumic said. "The plan worked very well for us today. It was hot out there, very hot, but we came out on top and are very pleased."

Fumic and Avancini now hold a 2:41 minute lead over Kulhavy and Sauser with Schurter and Stirnemann third at 5:24 minutes.

Suss and Stenerhag hold a substantial lead of 8:52 minutes over de Groot and Spitz while pre-race favourites Ariane Lüthi and Adelheid Morath (Spur) are well down at over 23 minutes on GC. However, Suss and Stenerhag aren't counting their chickens just yet.

"We are now in the lead but so much can happen through the whole race. We must look after ourselves and not worry about the other riders and how they are riding," said Suss.

Stage 2 of Cape Epic was due to take place from Hermanus to Greyton over 102km with 2350 metres of climbing. Due to "projected" extreme heat, the stage has been shortened to 62km and will now finish in Caledon.

Brief Results