Cape Town - With a third stage win for Karl Platt and Urs Huber (Team Bulls) in the Absa Cape Epic on Wednesday, this time the 104km Stage 3 from Tulbagh to Wellington, the duo have moved nine minutes ahead of their nearest rivals, another German-Swiss team in the shape of Centurion Vaude by Meerendal 2’s Matthias Pfrommer and Nicola Rohrbach.
The 2016 Stage 3 win is also Platt’s 17th stage victory in 12 Cape Epics.
It seems that this Cape Epic has been all about preparation for Platt and Huber, focussing on their mental preparation as much as their physical preparation for the race. Both have also spent time training and riding the trails in Wellington, which gave them a clear advantage in the last kilometres of Wednesday’s stage.
“In the last 30km we went very hard,” said Platt. “We know the trails well here, so we knew we could push and make a move the closer we got to the finish.”
Platt said the strategy for the stage was to keep it cool and also keep an eye on their nearest rivals until it was time to strike. “We put the pressure on after Bain’s Kloof Pass,” said Platt. “Simon Stiebjahn went into the trails ahead of us like a cannonball and we just followed him. There were two or three teams going into the trees at full pace, but we knew we could follow Simon and trust in his and our knowledge of the trails. It was another good day for us, and we are very happy to be home in first again.”
Two minutes back on the day were Stage 2 winners, Team Centurion Vaude by Meerendal 2. Matthias Pfrommer and Nicola Rohrbach are enjoying a solid Cape Epic debut, but admitted that after two days of furious racing the pace at the front is starting to take its toll.
We’re very happy with the second place, but the pace was fast today,” said Pfrommer. “I don’t want to say it is too fast for us, but Karl and Urs were really going. It’s a good day, but it was hard work out there.”
In the last five kilometres of Stage 3, previous winner Kristian Hynek took a nasty tumble that required medical attention to a bloodied arm on the finish line. Topeak Ergon Racing finished third on the day, but Hynek and Alban Lakata are now 11 minutes behind Team Bulls in the hunt for first place.
At the time of writing, Hynek had been sent to hospital for X-rays, after which the team will make a decision on his ability to continue in the race.
In the Absa African Special Jersey competition, Team USN Purefit’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock strengthened their grip on the red rider jersey. Finishing seventh on Stage 3, they now have a 15-minute lead on their nearest African challengers, Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell of NAD Pro MTB.
Stage Results
1. Bulls 3-1 Karl Platt (Germany) 3-2 Urs Huber (Switzerland) 4:25.54,9
2. Centurion Vaude by Meerendal 2 17-1 Nicola Rohrbach (Switzerland) 17-2 Matthias Pfrommer (Germany) 4:28.03,0 +2.08,1
3. Topeak Ergon Racing 2-1 Alban Lakata (Austria) 2-2 Kristian Hynek (Czech Republic) 4:28.48,1 +2.53,2
Overall Results
1. Bulls 3-1 Karl Platt (Germany) 3-2 Urs Huber (Switzerland) 14:22.36,1
2. Centurion Vaude by Meerendal 2 17-1 Nicola Rohrbach (Switzerland) 17-2 Matthias Pfrommer (Germany) 14:31.43,1 +9.07,0
3. Topeak Ergon Racing 2-1 Alban Lakata (Austria) 2-2 Kristian Hynek (Czech Republic) 14:33.52,1 +11.16,0
4. Trek-Selle San Marco A 13-1 Samuele Porro (Italy) 13-2 Damiano Ferraro (Italy) 14:39.55,9 +17.19,8
5. Cannondale Factory Racing 14-1 Manuel Fumic (Germany) 14-2 Henrique Avancini (Brazil) 14:46.55,7 +24.19,6
6. USN Purefit 7-1 Darren Lill (South Africa) 7-2 Waylon Woolcock (South Africa) 14:50.34,3 +27.58,2
7. Dolomiti Superbike 11-1 Periklis Ilias (Greece) 11-2 Tiago Jorge Ferreira Oliveira (Portugal) 14:52.07,0 +29.30,9
8. Bulls 2 10-1 Simon Stiebjahn (Germany) 10-2 Tim Boehme (Germany) 14:57.47,4 +35.11,3
9. Trek-Selle San Marco B 18-1 Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spain) 18-2 Fabian Rabensteiner (Italy) 14:59.55,1 +37.19,0
10. NAD Pro MTB 8-1 Gawie Combrinck (South Africa) 8-2 Nico Bell (South Africa) 15:05.13,9 +42.37,8
African News Agency