‘Race for red’ hots up in Absa Cape Epic

By their own admission Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes (Scott Factory Racing) took a “long shot” gamble by breaking away early in Wednesday’s 111km Stage 4 of the Absa Cape Epic.

But it was a gamble that paid off handsomely and saw them winning the stage and donning the red Absa African special jersey.

“We finally got the red jersey … that is what we came for,” said an elated Buys. “There are still three days of racing to come and the trails are becoming more fun, so we are excited for the racing to come.” He added that “today was very special, not only because of the win but because we are now in that red jersey.”

Matthys Beukes and Philip Buys of Scott Factory Racing in a break away during stage 4 of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic. // Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS.

RED-E Blend’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock wore the Absa African special jersey on Wednesday’s stage but had to give it up after finishing eight-and-a-half minutes behind Buys and Beukes . They are now two minutes behind in the overall standings.

KwaZulu Natal’s Rourke Croeser and Travis Walker (USN) are lying third in the race for red.

Meanwhile, the race for the Dimension Data Masters category continues to be a thrilling one, with Dutch mountain biking legend Bart Brentjens and his Brazilian teammate Abraao Azevedo (BETCH.nl-Superior) just one minute and 26 seconds ahead of South Africans Nico Pfitzenmaier and Robert Sim (Dorma/Robert Daniel).

The local team won Wednesday’s category race by just 12 seconds and have battled to shake off the Dutch/Brazilian combination.

“It was so tough today … we tried to get away the whole time,” said Pfitzenmaier. “On the uphills and downhills we tried to drop them, but Bart just kept going. It is really hard racing this.”

Brentjens responded: “It’s a battle. We were behind the whole day because I just did not feel great – I fell on my handle bars yesterday so my ribs were quite tender today.” he said. “I broke my shoe and had to do some damage control so, all in all, not a good day. We are still in the lead though and that is important.”

The Grand Masters race was again donated by Swiss strongman Barti Bucher and Austrian Heinz Zoerweg (Meerendal BIXS KTM), who now lead by nearly 50 minutes from South Africans Greg Andersen and Andrew Mclean (Ascendis Health)

The Mixed category again went to ETIS’s Peter Vesel of Slovenia and Ivonne Kraft of Germany, with South African Nizaam Essa and his British partner Catherine Williamson (Asrin Cycling) having an excellent day to come home second. The Slovenian/German combination are now 22 minutes ahead overall in the category.

Kraft said afterwards: “Today was a tough stage. To win and still be in the lead is the goal though, so we are happy. We came to the Epic for the overall victory in the Mixed category so we are achieving what we set out to do thus far.”

In the Exxaro special jersey contest Phillimon Sebona and Jan Motshioa (Exxaro PWC) have extended their lead over Exxaro/EOH’s Rilamulele Gadabeni and Tovhawani Mavundavhi to nearly 19 minutes.

There was bad news though for pre-race favourite for this jersey, Sipho Madolo, who pulled out with a badly-injured knee. He had been riding with Azukile Simayile in Team Investec-Songo-Specialized.

Dimension Data Masters stage results

1. Dorma / Robert Daniel 61-1 Nico Pfitzenmaier (South Africa) 61-2 Robert Sim (South Africa) 4:39.24,2

2. BETCH.nl-Superior 60-1 Bart Brentjens (Netherlands) 60-2 Abraao Azevedo (Brazil) 4:39.36,9 +12,7

3. Assos Werksmannschaft 258-1 Daniele Nardello (Italy) 258-2 Karl Zoetemelk (France) 4:48.30,5 +9.06,3

Grand Masters stage results

1. Meerendal BIXS KTM 65-1 Barti Bucher (Switzerland) 65-2 Heinz Zoerweg (Austria) 5:02.40,4

2. Ascendis Health 66-1 Greg Anderson (South Africa) 66-2 Andrew Mclean (South Africa) 5:11.05,4 +8.25,0

3. Pitstop1Sport24hrs 69-1 Waleed Baker (South Africa) 69-2 Glen Haw (South Africa) 5:20.44,6 +18.04,2

Mixed stage results

1. ETIS 71-1 Peter Vesel (Slovenia) 71-2 Ivonne Kraft (Germany) 5:14.32,1

2. Asrin Cycling 70-1 Nizaam Essa (South Africa) 70-2 Catherine Williamson (England) 5:18.36,5 +4.04,4

3. Dietrich/Rocky Mountain 73-1 Carsten Bresser (Germany) 73-2 Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) 5:18.51,5 +4.19,4

Absa African special jersey stage results

1. Scott Factory Racing 7-1 Philip Buys (South Africa) 7-2 Matthys Beukes (South Africa) 4:19.19,0

2. USN 11-1 Rourke Croeser (South Africa) 11-2 Travis Walker (South Africa) 4:27.42,1 +8.23,1

3. RED-E Blend 36-1 Darren Lill (South Africa) 36-2 Waylon Woolcock (South Africa) 4:27.52,2 +8.33,2

Exxaro special jersey stage results

1. Exxaro PWC 82-1 Phillimon Sebona (South Africa) 82-2 Jan Motshioa (South Africa) 5:10.31,4 +51.12,4

2. Exxaro / EOH 108-1 Rilamulele Gadabeni (South Africa) 108-2 Tovhawani Mavundavhi (South Africa) 5:13.53,2 +54.34,2

3. Absa Diepsloot MTB 440-1 Clement Mabula (South Africa) 440-2 Sean Baloyi (South Africa) 5:34.14,7 +1:14.55,7