Absa Cape Epic 2010 - and the winner is.....

The Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas, now in its seventh year, has kicked off at Diemersfountain wine estate outside Wellington and finished after 8 days and 722 km later at the Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West.  1200 athletes from 50 countries have participated in the annual 8-day mountain bike team stage race through South Africa’s Western Cape. Each participating team consists of two riders and starts in one of four different categories Men, Ladies, Mixed and Masters (both riders must be 40 years or older).

 

Mountain bikers come all the way from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sweden the USA and Venezuela to join the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas. A new route is designed each year and the race is entirely off-road. Within eight days, the 600 two-person-teams have to cycle 722 gruelling kilometres and climb some 14 635 vertical metres on their bikes, which is the equivalent of riding twice up Mount Everest! To deserve the honourable ‘Absa Cape Epic Finisher’ title, the participants have to complete the time trial and all seven stages. The 2010 race will see a 27 km time trial stage on day five in Worcester. The teams will set off at 30-second intervals in reverse order, according to their ranking on the GC. The Absa Cape Epic finishes at Lourensford Estate in Somerset West, on Sunday 28 March.

The Bulls Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm walked away with top honours as overall winners of this year’s exciting Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas. With a ten minute and 51 second lead time on Sauser and Stander (Songo-Specialized by DCM) at the start this morning, the Bulls finished the last 8 days of the Magical and Untamed Mountain Bike Race of 722km in an overall time of 29 hours, 47 minutes and 46 seconds. In second place were South African Burry Stander and his Swiss team mate Christoph Sauser (Songo-Specialized by DCM) in 29:57.49,7 and in third place the South African/Austrian duo of Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata (MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon) in 30:12.30,0.

The Bulls Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm also won the Absa Cape Epic in 2007 and 2009, and Karl Platt won in the inaugural year (2004) with Mannie Heymans from Namibia. He is the most successful participant in the history of the race having won four times and placing on the podium six times.  Max Knox and Brandon Stewart of DCM Chrome walked away with the Leader Jersey of Best African Team in 31:45.08,0.   Multivan Merida’s José Hermida and Rudi van Houts were first to cross the finish line in the final stage of this year’s Absa Cape Epic in a time of 2:40.32,4.  This was their second consecutive podium finish and they ranked sixth overall (30:44.56.8). They were followed by Rabobank Giant Off Road team Emil Lindgren and Fabian Giger, also with their second podium finish in this year’s race (2:42.18,1). In third place were Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander of Songo-Specialized by DCM in 2:44.12,8 with the Bulls Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm in fourth place (2:44.59,6). Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata (MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon) finished fifth in 2:50.17,5.

 

Danish sisters top ladies team
The Danish sisters Kristine and Anna-Sofie Noergaard (team Rothaus-CUBE) finished in 37:31.03,3 and won their category, having also taken top honours in five of the eight stages in this year’s race. In second place overall in this category were Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Ivonne Kraft (Team Sludge Ladies) in a time of 38:01.15,6 and in third place were Giuliana Vitali and Tamara Horn (team bike2help.ch – Big Tree) in 41:10.43,9.  Says Anna-Sofie Noergaard of team Rothaus-CUBE: “It was great to win. Today we rode carefully and safely as we didn’t want to take any chances. The other ladies really fought for a stage win and deserved it. Now I can’t wait to join my family and see my son again. It’s been a long week away from them, but I enjoyed the race very much.” Adds her sister Kristine: “It feels fantastic to finish the race and also to have won. South Africa and its people have been fantastic. The course this year was great – still tough but not as bad as we expected. Tonight we really want to celebrate and hope we still have some energy to do so.”  Says Hannele Steyn-Kotze of the Sludge Ladies: “This is my home town and it was really nice to finish first. We knew it would take a lot but I so wanted to thank my family and friends for their support by winning this stage. Today I rode with my heart. This was my seventh Absa Cape Epic, but next time I’ll be doing it just for fun, and without the pain.” Adds Ivonne Kraft: “It’s great to be finished. We’re very happy. It was a fair race against the Danish sisters and we won. It’s great to know we’re done and that we’ve finished together. This was my fourth Absa Cape Epic and from experience I know that if you’re still friends with your partner, you’ve done well.”

 

MTN Business Qhubeka receive top honours in mixed category
Yolande Speedy and Paul Cordes (MTN Business Qhubeka) won their category in an overall time of 34:29.32,3, having also won five of the 8 stages in this year’s race. They were followed by Bärti Bucher and Esther Süss (Wheeler – BIXS) in 35:17.00,9 with Nico Pfitzenmaier and Sally Bigham of the Adidas Big Tree team finishing in third place overall (35:51.45,2).  Yolande Speedy of MTN Business Qhubeka says: “This is the first time that I’ve won the final stage and it’s fantastic winning overall. I had goose bumps coming in – it was great to see the crowds and get their support. Today was a hard day. Nico and Sally were riding really well and it was only at the portage section that we caught them. I can’t wait to get some resting off the bike and look forward to the celebrations tonight.” Her team mate Paul Cordes adds: “It was a good feeling to win in our category and so great to finish such a hard event. It was nice with the tents, crowds and Mike Mike (the Absa Cape Epic’s voice at the start and finish Mike Hamel) at the finish line and a really good week for MTN Qhubeka with Kevin also finishing in third place.” Ester Süss of the Wheeler – BIXS team says: “It was a long eight days and I was very happy to cross the finish line in one piece. I need to improve some of my riding skills and hopefully I can work on it this summer and be better next year.” Adds Bärti Bucher: “It was great to finish in second place and hopefully we’ll be back next year.”

 

Cyclelab top Masters
Cyclelab’s Shan Wilson and Andrew Mclean won the Masters category in this year’s Absa Cape Epic in a time of 33:49.55,0. They were followed by Adrian Enthoven and Gary Marescia (Cycle Lab Jag Foundation) in 35:52.46,3 with Corrie Muller and Robert Sim of the Big Tree Masters (36:23.29,4) in third place overall.
Says Shan Wilson of Cyclelab: “This was my third attempt at the Masters and I suppose it’s third time lucky. For the last two years I finished in second place, and I’m very happy with the first place this year. My legs are sore today, but it was so nice to finish at Lourensford with the crowds and activity here.”

And the winner is… saddle sores
According to Doctor Basil Bonner, the chief medical officer of the Medi Clinic private hospital division of the Absa Cape Epic, the most common injuries or conditions that needed medical care during this year’s Magical and Untamed African MTB Race included dehydration (62 patients), saddle sores (300 patients) and strappings (145 patients). Twelve riders incurred fractures during the event. Dr Bonner and his team saw 1030 patients during this year’s Absa Cape Epic, with an average of 171 per day (excluding minor injuries).

Absa Cape Epic passes hygiene tests with flying colours
A hygiene consultant from Swift Micro Laboratories was travelling with the Absa Cape Epic to inspect hygiene practices. Swabs (from surfaces and hands) as well as food samples were taken and tested to ensure safe food was served on the tour. Swift’s business is founded on microbiological expertise and industry leading customer service to provide the most reliable, affordable solution for food/product safety. In 2001, Swift became one of the first microbiological laboratories in South Africa to upgrade its accreditation status to the new ISO 17025 standard, to keep up with international testing standards. The company has since emerged as one of the country’s most respected microbiological laboratories in the Food, Cosmetic, Pharmaceutical and allied industries. Swift Micro Laboratories ensures that all the breakfast and dinner meals that are served to Absa Cape Epic cyclists and crew are safe to eat. “We have food testers that analyse the meals according to relevant pathogens. Tests vary depending on the meal, but generally three to four tests are done. Before we start we have a look at the common pathogens for the food type and test from there,” explains Anza Bester, a business development manager for Swift.