Annika Langvad and Anna van der Breggen (Investec-songo-Specialized), winners over the first five days of racing at the Absa Cape Epic, suffered their first defeat on Friday when they finished four minutes behind Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath (Summit Fin).
The win for Lill and Morath, who are second overall, closes the general classification gap to 21 minutes but leaves the Investec-songo-Specialized pair still firmly in control in the race for overall honours that await at Val de Vie Estate on Sunday.
In the men's race, Nino Schurter and Lars Foster of Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing grabbed back the yellow leaders’ jersey by claiming second place behind local boys Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes of PYGA Euro Steel on Friday's Queen Stage, which finished at the century-old Stellenbosch University.
These two teams broke away early and rode a six-minute lead into overnight leaders Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing), who ended fourth on the stage behind Damiano Ferraro and Samuele Porro (Trek Selle San Marco).
Schurter and Forster now take a 5:13 lead over Cannondale into the final two days of racing.
Brief Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candice Lill (RSA) / Adelheid Morath (Ger) Summit Fin | 5:20:42 |
| 2 | Annika Langvad (Den) / Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Investec-songo-Specialized | 0:04:00 |
| 3 | Jennie Stenerhag (Swe) / Mariske Strauss (RSA) Silverback - Fairtree | 0:12:00 |
| 4 | Sabine Spitz (Ger) / Nadine Rieder (Ger) Meerendal WIAWIS Rotwild | 0:16:00 |
| 5 | Ariane Lüthi (Swi) / Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) Kross-Spur Racing | 0:22:00 |
| 6 | Theresa Ralph (RSA) / Sarah Hill (RSA) Galileo Risk | 0:31:00 |
| 7 | Sonya Looney (USA) / Catherine Williamson (GBr) FreakShow SCOTT | 0:36:00 |
| 8 | Hannele Steyn (RSA) / Katja Steenkamp (RSA) Land Rover Jaguars | 1:30:00 |
| 9 | Hildegarde Cronje (RSA) / Auralia Edwards (RSA) Hils&Rails | 2:18:00 |
| 10 | Jeanette Treherne (RSA) / Vivienne Turvey (RSA) T and T | 2:23:00 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annika Langvad (Den) / Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Investec-songo-Specialized | 23:09:42 |
| 2 | Candice Lill (RSA) / Adelheid Morath (Ger) Summit Fin | 0:22:00 |
| 3 | Ariane Lüthi (Swi) / Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) Kross-Spur Racing | 0:52:00 |
| 4 | Jennie Stenerhag (Swe) / Mariske Strauss (RSA) Silverback - Fairtree | 1:00:00 |
| 5 | Sabine Spitz (Ger) / Nadine Rieder (Ger) Meerendal WIAWIS Rotwild | 1:20:00 |
| 6 | Theresa Ralph (RSA) / Sarah Hill (RSA) Galileo Risk | 2:32:00 |
| 7 | Sonya Looney (USA) / Catherine Williamson (GBr) FreakShow SCOTT | 3:13:00 |
| 8 | Hannele Steyn (RSA) / Katja Steenkamp (RSA) Land Rover Jaguars | 6:37:00 |
| 9 | Jeanette Treherne (RSA) / Vivienne Turvey (RSA) T and T | 10:05:00 |
| 10 | Hildegarde Cronje (RSA) / Auralia Edwards (RSA) Hils&Rails | 10:23:00 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Buys (RSA) / Matthys Beukes (RSA) PYGA Euro Steel | 4:19:29 |
| 2 | Nino Schurter (Swi) / Lars Forster (Swi) Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| 3 | Damiano Ferraro (Ita) / Samuele Porro (Ita) Trek Selle San Marco | 0:06:00 |
| 4 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) / Henrique Avancini (Bra) Cannondale Factory Racing | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| 5 | Roberto Bou Martin (Spa) / Alberto Losada (Spa) Tbelles - ProtourBCN | 0:09:00 |
| 6 | Tony Longo (Ita) / Gregory Brenes (CRc) 7C CBZ WILIER 2 | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| 7 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) / Fabian Rabensteiner (Ita) Trek-Selle San Marco 2 | 0:10:00 |
| 8 | Sebastian Fini (Den) / Martins Blums (Lat) CST Sandd | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Francesc Guerra Carretero (Spa) / Enrique Morcillo Vergara (Spa) BUFF SCOTT MTB | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Urs Huber (Swi) / Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) BULLS Heroes | 0:13:00 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) / Lars Forster (Swi) Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing | 19:20:25 |
| 2 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) / Henrique Avancini (Bra) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:05:00 |
| 3 | Damiano Ferraro (Ita) / Samuele Porro (Ita) Trek Selle San Marco | 0:15:00 |
| 4 | Urs Huber (Swi) / Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) BULLS Heroes | 0:21:00 |
| 5 | Alan Hatherly (RSA) / Matthew Beers (RSA) SpecializedFoundationNAD | 0:34:00 |
| 6 | Francesc Guerra Carretero (Spa) / Enrique Morcillo Vergara (Spa) BUFF SCOTT MTB | 0:37:00 |
| 7 | Kristian Hynek (Cze) / Petter Fagerhaug (Nor) Canyon | 0:44:00 |
| 8 | Karl Platt (Ger) / Alban Lakata (Aut) BULLS Legends | 0:45:00 |
| 9 | Louis Meija (Col) / Johnny Cattaneo (Ita) 7C CBZ WILIER | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Tony Longo (Ita) / Gregory Brenes (CRc) 7C CBZ WILIER 2 | 0:47:00 |
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