Matt Posted October 18, 2012 Share It was a stage of turnarounds as driving rain during the latter half of the stage made for treacherous conditions as the riders made their way over 109km across the Great Karoo region from Prince Albert to De Rust with the fast, twisty singletrack descent into Meiringspoort a dominant feature. Swanepoel and Beukes clocked a winning time of 04 hours 06 minutes 07 seconds pushing overall leaders, Kevin Evans and David George (Nedbank 360Life) into a rare second place, following three consecutive stage wins. Third place went to the Westvaal Columbia team of Nico Bell and Gawie Combrinck. Evans and George still have a firm grasp on their race leaders’ Bridge Yellow Jerseys. “It felt great to win a stage. It’s especially great for Matthys as he’s been the stronger rider most of the time and this is essentially his back yard we are racing in. He pushed the pace hard through Meiringspoort near the end today and I was just hoping I could have enough left for a sprint to the line. Luckily I did,” said Swanepoel. “Kevin and David are in superb form and have a good lead, but mountain bike racing is so unpredictable. We won’t take any unnecessary risks but will keep the pressure high for the rest of the tour,” added Swanepoel. Between Swanepoel and Beukes, they won five of the six stages at the 2012 Breck Epic, one of the USA’s most prestigious mountain bike stage races. Yolande Speedy and Yolande de Villiers (Klein Karoo Chicks) upstaged overall women’s leaders Ischen Stopforth and Catherine Williamson (Bridge bizhub Ladies) to grab their first stage win of the tour. Stopforth and Williamson, the 2011 champions, still hold a 12-minute overall lead, but showed a vulnerability that has inspired their main rivals. “It was great to win today,” said Speedy, a Beijing Olympian and multiple South African women’s marathon champion. “Yolande and I have never raced together before so the first few days we were discovering each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We seem to be getting stronger as the race goes on and are now around 12 minutes behind Ischen and Catherine, which is encouraging. We’re excited for the rest of the race. “This race is amazing – it’s real mountain biking. The trails are tough at times, but always enjoyable. You’re not just charging through the bush to make up distance like some other races,” added Speedy. The biggest shift of the day was in the Mixed division, where Swiss riders Kathrin Stirnemann and Sandro Soncin (BH – Halbike – Tigers) raced to their first stage win. Second placed finishers were South African Craig Gerber and his Swedish teammate Jennie Stenerhag (Newlinesport), with German overnight leaders, Max Fridrich and Nadine Rieder (Ergon 24H Racing Team) struggling home in third after having to deal with tyre problems. Stirnemann and Soncin now lead the category into Stage 4. And in the Veteran men’s race, Nico Pfitzenmaier and Robert Sim (Robert Daniel Momsen) fell victim to more mechanical problems, which allowed the Dutch pairing of Micha de Vries and Willem van Heerdt (Cube Nutswerk 1) to win the stage and move to just over a minute behind Pfitzenmaier and Sim in the General Classification. The Swiss team of Barti Bucher and Ernst Engeli (Bix-Sherpa Tensing Pedalerie) continued their domination of the Master’s category (50-years plus), winning a fourth stage in succession and extending their overall lead. They finished an impressive sixth overall on the stage and are in sixth overall on the General Classification. At just 63km, Thursday’s Stage 4 is relatively short, but expected to be considerably tough with a total of 1 894 metres of vertical ascent. It takes the riders from De Rust to Herold over the rugged Kamanassie Mountains. Follow @BridgeCPT on twitter for regular updates. On Facebook, visit Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek 2012. See a full gallery of event images and more insight here: http://blog.capepioneer.co.za/ For additional event information, visit www.capepioneer.co.za Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek 2012Stage 3 – Prince Albert to De Rust109km; 1 555 metres ascentLeading resultsOpen Men:1 Matthys Beukes – RSA / Melt Swanepoel – RSA (Cango MTB.com) 04:06:072 Kevin Evans – RSA / David George – RSA (Nedbank 360Life) 04:06:143 Nico Bell – RSA / Gawie Combrinck – RSA (Westvaal Columbia) 04:06:414 Mattijs Eversdijk – NED / Liwald Doornbos – NED (Cube Nutswerk 2) 04:15:595 Chris Wolhuter – RSA / Oliver Munnik – RSA (Asrin Cycling) 04:16:15 Women:1 Yolande de Villiers – RSA / Yolande Speedy – RSA (Klein Karoo Chicks) 04:35:242 Ischen Stopforth – RSA / Catherine Williamson – GBR (Bridge bizhub Ladies) 04:42:273 Sarah van Heerden – RSA / Jackie Church – RSA (Wilde 2) 05:15:16 Mixed:1 Kathrin Stirnemann – SUI / Sandro Soncin – SUI (BH – Halbike – Tigers) 04:24:292 Craig Gerber – RSA / Jennie Stenerhag – SWE (Newlinesport) 04:35:253 Max Fridrich – GER / Nadine Rieder – GER (Ergon 24H Racing Team) 04:38:53 Veteran:1 Micha de Vries – NED /Willem van Heerdt – NED (Cube Nutswerk 1) 04:17:422 Robert Sim – RSA / Nico Pfitzenmaier – GER (Robert Daniel Momsen) 04:23:423 Stephan Kuhnel - SUI / Marcel Frel – SUI (Fahrrad–Schmidt Bike-Tigers) 04:35:21 Masters:1 Barti Bucher – SUI / Ernst Engeli – SUI (Bix-Sherpa Tensing Pedalerie) 04:16:462 Tony Conlon – RSA / Peter Stopforth – RSA (Marsilio Projects Masters) 04:49:583 Neville Ackermann – RSA / Charles Nienaber – RSA (Bridge Masters) 04:54:45 Solo Men:1 Timo Cooper – RSA 04:05:362 Heinz Zoerweb – AUT 04:05:423 Petrus Malherbe – RSA 04:15:10 Solo Women:1 Diana Carolin – RSA 05:16:212 Desiree Loubser – RSA 05:20:263 Dianna Ineman – SUI 05:34:49 General Classification after Stage 3Open Men:1 Kevin Evans – RSA / David George – RSA (Nedbank 360Life) 12hr 30min 34sec2 Matthys Beukes – RSA / Melt Swanepoel – RSA (Cango MTB.com) 12:41:263 Nico Bell – RSA / Gawie Combrinck – RSA (Westvaal Columbia) 12:53:494 Chris Wolhuter – RSA / Oliver Munnik – RSA (Asrin Cycling) 13:25:595 Mattijs Eversdijk – NED / Liwald Doornbos – NED (Cube Nutswerk 2) 13:47:52 Women:1 Ischen Stopforth – RSA / Catherine Williamson – GBR (Bridge bizhub Ladies) 14:54:112 Yolande de Villiers – RSA / Yolande Speedy – RSA (Klein Karoo Chicks) 15:06:363 Sarah van Heerden – RSA / Jackie Church – RSA (Wilde 2) 16:25:25 Mixed:1 Kathrin Stirnemann – SUI / Sandro Soncin – SUI (BH – Halbike – Tigers) 14:14:522 Max Fridrich – GER / Nadine Rieder – GER (Ergon 24H Racing Team) 14:15:593 Craig Gerber – RSA / Jennie Stenerhag – SWE (Newlinesport) 14:38:42 Veteran:1 Robert Sim – RSA / Nico Pfitzenmaier – GER (Robert Daniel Momsen) 13:59:242 Micha de Vries - NED /Willem van Heerdt – NED (Cube Nutswerk 1) 14:00:333 Stephan Kuhnel - SUI / Marcel Frel – SUI (Fahrrad–Schmidt Bike-Tigers) 14:46:40 Masters:1 Barti Bucher – SUI / Ernst Engeli – SUI (Bix-Sherpa Tensing Pedalerie) 13:48:162 Neville Ackermann – RSA / Charles Nienaber – RSA (Bridge Masters) 15:16:213 Tony Conlon – RSA / Peter Stopforth – RSA (Marsilio Projects Masters) 16:06:49 Solo Men:1 Timo Cooper – RSA 13:03:272 Petrus Malherbe – RSA 13:32:113 Heinz Zoerweb – AUT 13:42:45 Solo Women:1 Desiree Loubser – RSA 17:00:172 Diana Carolin – RSA 17:10:293 Dianna Ineman – SUI 17:47:36 For full results, visit www.capepioneer.co.za Ominous weather awaited the riders from the start of Stage 3 of the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Wednesday.Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker/Slingshot Media Heavy rain fell towards the latter half of Stage 3 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international stage race on Wednesday.Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker/Slingshot Media Stage 3 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage took the riders through some picturesque areas.Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker/Slingshot Media Click here to view the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashJordan Posted October 18, 2012 Share Wow, awesome photos!! 428 others 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militarac Posted October 18, 2012 Share Well done to all racers looks great race except the Bees .Will be cool to see stats who running which make of the tires as is so many punctures ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now