Cycling News and Race Results

Sunday’s final stage of the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic wasn’t the procession it was expected to be as defending champions and overall leaders, Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser, attacked their rivals on the 64km leg from Oak Valley to Lourensford to win a sixth stage and claim their second successive overall win as teammates.

Burry Stander (RSA) and Christoph Sauser (SUI) of the 36One-Songo-Specialized team showed just what complete mountain bike racers they are when they overcame wet, cold and muddy conditions to win Stage 5 of the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic on Friday.

South African Burry Stander and his Swiss teammate, Christoph Sauser (36One-Songo-Specialized) tightened their grip on the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic on Thursday when they won the 105km Stage 4 and extended their overall lead.

The route took riders over 105km with 2 600m of climbing from Caledon back to Caledon. Two major climbs jabbed upwards on the day’s route profile. The first was the loose, long and steep Babylonstoren. Then it was the brutal, stony ascent to Charlie’s Heaven and riders should have been used to false peaks by now.

South African Burry Stander and his Swiss teammate Christoph Sauser of the 36One-Songo-Specialized team appear set to successfully defend their ABSA Cape Epic title after winning Stage 3 on Wednesday, the 2012 edition’s queen stage over 143km from Robertson to Caledon.

After winning the ABSA Cape Epic's short opening prologue stage by the narrowest of margins on Sunday, South African Burry Stander and Swiss Christoph Sauser (36One-Songo-Specialized) put in a dominant display on Monday’s tough first stage proper to win the day and secure a commanding nine-minute lead overall with six days remaining.

As the race’s history tells us, stage one is always a rude awakening for the riders. Combining the length, the climbing, the severity of the trail surfaces and the speed of fresh-legged hares at the front of the field - all was a shock to the system, even for the best prepared. Three major climbs loomed ahead of the athletes.

The ninth edition of the race kicked off with a 27-kilometer prologue at Meerendal Wine Estate in the Durbanville Wine Valley – mountainbiking Mecca on Cape Town’s doorstep.

Burry Stander became the first South African to win the ABSA Cape Epic when he and Swiss teammate, Christoph Sauser, racing for 36One-Songo-Specialized raced to a dominant win in the world’s most prestigious mountain bike stage race one year ago.

The 2011 winners of the Absa Cape Epic, Christoph Sauser (35) from Switzerland and Burry Stander (24) from South African will be back this year to defend their title, racing together as team 36ONE-Songo-Specialized.