Songo-Specialized's Sauser and Stander make it three in a row with time trial stage win

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Switzerland's Christoph Sauser and his South African teammate Burry Stander (Songo-Specialized by DCM) are on a three-stage winning steak after finishing first in the stage five time trial. They completed the tough 27km course in a time of 1:05.15 and are now seven minutes and six seconds behind the leaders, having closed the gap for the last three days. They were followed by another South African Kevin Evans and his Austrian partner Alban Lakata (Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon) in a time of 1:06.26 with the German Bulls 1 Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm in third place in a time of 1:06.29.

Max Knox and Brandon Stewart of DCM Chrome finished in 10th place today (1:10.47) and successfully defended the African leaders' jerseys. They remain in the 11th place overall (18:58.18).

During today's time trial of this year's race, participants rode for only 27km and climbed a total of 860m. Teams set off at 30-second intervals, in reverse order, according to their overall ranking. The route formed 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 was extremely demanding. However, the relatively short time spent in the saddle today, gave riders a chance to recover and prepare for what is yet to come.

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Stander and Sauser speed to fastest time for the day

Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander of Songo-Specialized by DCM were the first to cross the finish line of the stage five time trial, keeping themselves in third position overall (18:17.56). They were followed by Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata Team MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon, who remain in second position overall (18:17.05). The Bulls Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm are still in the overall lead (18:10.50).

The Flückiger brothers of Trek World Racing, Mathias and Lukas, remain in fourth place overall (18:36.50) with Bart Brentjens and Jelmer Pietersma of Trek-Brentjens in fifth place overall (18:37.07).

"We knew it's going to be hard to do a time trial in the middle of a stage race," said winner Sauser. "Luckily, I recovered well from yesterday. Burry felt even better, but he was so excited about this one-hour stage, that I could already feel it this morning.

"We were going very fast today, and I knew we were in the lead. Today was quite dusty behind Burry, and I was kind of riding blind going into the downhills. I'm probably slightly better at the downhills so can take more risks. It was ideal that I was behind him, although normally it's better if the weaker one follows in the downhill and can catch up right away in the uphill." Sauser believes racing at the Cape Epic starts from the very first day. "Tomorrow you can have a big mechanical and the race is over. We'll still go for every stage win and ride as if there's no tomorrow."

Overall leader Platt jokingly said that if the course was longer, perhaps he and his teammate could have caught up with Sauser and Stander. "We're like family and joking with each other all the time. We're all such fierce sportsmen and always show respect when someone's faster. Today was a fun course. The downhill was very fast, and I really like that. I was also feeling very strong - a bit nervous at the start - but once we took off my whole body just wanted to go.

"Now our time begins - our legs recover well and our bodies are in the rhythm of the race. Tomorrow is a long stage but we'll be going at full blast from now on. The race starts now - and it's open."

Second place for the stage, Evans added, "With the time trials you give your everything, so the other guys are obviously stronger. We came second to two World Champions and don't feel too bad. It was a good race."

"I suffered a bit today as my legs are still sore, but Kevin is feeling strong," said Evans' teammate Lakata. "Perhaps he could've gone for victory today, but you have to stay together and today was just not my day. We still have three days to go and hopefully tomorrow we'll do better."

Tim Böhme of the second Bulls team in the race finished in fifth place today (1:07.28). "I enjoyed today as it gave us the opportunity to show that we could also ride fast. We could race at our own pace and go at full speed. We didn't need to fix bikes for our teammates. Although the trial ride is not without pain and suffering, we had fun - it was nice! With the one-minute interval between the start of riders, we could also see what was going on ahead of us. It was more difficult to see the riders behind you."

José Hermida of Multivan Merida, again finished in fourth place today (1:06.35) and remains in 10th position overall. "Today's course was cross country, which I really enjoyed - in fact, I think everyone enjoyed it. I could find myself again and we just needed to find good places to push. After the first 6km, we took off. The course was challenging and we had fun. I don't really care about a podium finish, the fun we had was the podium."

Three in a row for the Noergaard sisters, too

Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard (team Rothaus-CUBE) won the women's race for the third stage in a row, finishing in a time of 1:28.57. They remain in first position overall (22:55.54). They were again followed by Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Ivonne Kraft (team Sludge Ladies) in a time of 1:29.24, who are placed second overall (23:05.03). In third place were Giuliana Vitali and Tamara Horn (team bike2help.ch - Big Tree), who finished in a time of 1:33.18, placing them in third position overall (24:58.16). Julia Skea and Carla Rowley of Team RBS Biogen finished fifth in a time of 1:44.54 (fourth position overall - 25:30.39).

"We cycled with our heads on today and were actually prepared to give up two minutes to the Sludge Ladies," said Kristina Noergaard. "We're much better with the longer stages and were quite surprised to hear that we finished before them. Today was one of the most beautiful stages of the race and very enjoyable."

"It was also very nice to sleep a bit late. We had a nice breakfast consisting of eggs and juice early this morning and went back to sleep again for about two hours," said her sister Anna-Sofie.

Three wins for (sound familiar?) for Bucher and Süss

Bärti Bucher and Esther Süss (Wheeler - BIXS) secured their third stage win in a time of 1:19.21 and remain in second place overall (21:18.37). They were followed by Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (MTN Business Qhubeka) in a time of 1:19.28 who remain the overall leaders in their category (20:53.53). Nico Pfitzenmaier and Sally Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team finished in third place (1:21.34) and are placed third overall (21:37.08).

"Today's time trail was a great race. It offered the best of cross country riding and it was beautiful to ride - hard but also fun," said Süss.

Yolande Speedy of MTN Business Qhubeka said it was "so nice to have a later start. The course was good and quite technical. Of course we would've liked to take the win, but had a good go at it. The longer stages ahead will suit us well."

"At one stage we could see Esther and Bärti up ahead, but we couldn't catch up with them," said Speedy's teammate Cordes. "We knew we were losing a bit of time, but in this race what you do one day you pay for the next. We didn't want to risk too much and rode quite conservatively."

"This was definitely one of the most beautiful courses I've ever seen. The landscape was amazing and it can't get any better than is,' said Pfitzenmaier. "There's a fierce battle in the mixed this year and I really do believe this category will grow. It's a very dynamic form of riding - male and female - and very competitive."

His teammate Sally Bigham was not feeling well the last two days. "Yesterday I was dehydrated even before the start of the race and we missed one water bottle. Today I have my strength back and am feeling so much better. Today's course was truly amazing - awesome. I look forward to the next stages and we'll be taking each day as it comes. Of course we'll try our hardest, but the competition is very strong this year."

Wilson, Mclean defend overall lead among masters

Cyclelab's Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean defended their leaders' jerseys again today by winning the fifth stage in 1:14.43. They remain in the overall lead in the masters (20:38.44). They were again followed by Adrian Enthoven and Gary Marescia (Cycle Lab Jag Foundation) in 1:18.34, who are placed second overall (21:53.12). In third place were Corrie Muller and Robert Sim of the Big Tree Masters, with their third podium finish in the year's race (1:18.54). They are placed fourth overall (22:59.27). Pieter van Rooyen and Milan Spolc of Oleander finished in fourth place (1:20.40) and are placed fifth overall (23:09.04). Geof Blance and Malcolm Mcleod of R & R Sport New Zealand are in third place overall in a time of 22:46.15.

Stage 6

Stage 6 will take riders from Worcester to Oak Valley, a distance of 123km and 2,240m of climbing. After a neutral convoy out of Worcester, riders will soon be hugging the shores of Brandvlei Dam. Then the ups and downs begin; retracing some of the 2009 route in reverse. Some might remember this as mostly uphill and it is still uphill, even ridden the other way!

Climbs here are short but some gradients reach 26 percent. Cyclists will notice that they are heading towards a radio mast far away on top of a hill in the distance. A dead-straight chute takes the field down to the canals, through the orchards, then into some singletrack and finally over the wall of the vast Theewaterskloof Dam.

The race then takes a short-cut through a hidden valley to Porcupine Hills before reaching the foot of another monument of the Cape Epic, the Groenlandberg Cape Nature conservation area. Dr Evil has found a new way for riders to conquer this beautiful beast. Part 1 follows a steep dirt road up to Water Point 3, but the crest still lies on the horizon. Part 2 takes riders into virgin Epic mountain biking territory and deep into nature.

The going is tough and slow on washed-out, sandy, lumpy tracks. While the gradient decreases, the effort is intensified all the way to the Groenlandberg saddle. This brings views of the beautiful Elgin Valley, and the treat of the day, as fast and smooth singletrack in Thandi and Oak Valley takes the cyclists towards home for two nights. Wise souls will save something for the end - it's not at all downhill to the finish. This may well be the hardest day in this year's race.

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

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