Beukes and Buys win Cape Pioneer Trek stage 5

In an effort to take back some of the time they lost on Thursday, South Africans Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes (Scott Factory Racing) blew stage 5 of the Cape Pioneer Trek apart. While they never regained any lost time, they did splinter the field from early on and won the shortened stage, out-sprinting overall leaders Simon Stiebjahn and Tim Bohme (Team Bulls).

The stage from George to Herold was shorted from 71km to 51km by the organisers following heavy rain on Thursday, which made parts of the planned route too dangerous.

Buys and Beukes lost their overall lead on Thursday’s stage, where they encountered a puncture, but vowed they’d fight every remaining metre of the event for the three minutes and 36 seconds they needed to regain the lead. But the German race leaders stuck to the Scott riders on Friday’s stage like their lives depended on it and maintained their overall lead with just one stage remaining.

Scott Factory Racing clocked a stage time of 2:13:32 with The Bulls finishing in the same time in second place. Third on the stage was the Belgian duo of Michiel van Aelbroeck and Robby de Bock (WMTB.be - Feenstra) two-and-a-half minutes later.

In the women’s race, South Africans Cherise Stander and Candice Neethling (#iride4Burry) won their first stage of the event, clocking a time of 2:38:05. They were followed home by overall leaders, Asrin Cycling’s Catherine Williamson and Alice Pirard two minutes later, with Theresa Ralph and Esther Suss of the Meerendal Wheeler team rounding out the podium places, another minute back.

In the other team racing categories, South Africans Phillimon Sebona and Jan Motsoa (Klein Karoo International) were the top Amateurs, with third-placed Brian Lennox and Hannes Hanekom (Klein Karoo Giants) retaining their overall lead. South Africans Inga de Villiers and Dalene van der Leek (LGE Mida Bells Cycling) won the Mixed category, but Germans Max Friedrich and Jana Mischance (Firebike Tomotion by Blacktusk), who were second on the stage, retained the Mixed overall lead.

Heinz Zorweg and Bartie Bucher of Team Meerendal Wheeler 2 claimed a sixth consecutive stage win and now hold an even larger masters category lead; while South Africans Johan Labuschagne and Gerrie Beukes (Klein Karoo Veterans) secured a fourth successive stage win and held on to their Veteran category lead.

In the Solo men’s division, Travis Walker (RSA – Kargo Pro Racing) won the stage in his category and extended his general classification lead, while Christine Janse van Rensburg (RSA), extended her solo women’s category lead with another stage win.

Saturday’s final stage over 86km has 1025 metres of ascent but is considered one of the easier stages of this year’s event. The route heads from Herold to Oudtshoorn via the Chandelier Game and Ostrich Farm.

Brief Results