Fourth stage win for indomitable Sauser and Kulhavy of Burry Stander - SONGO

[Matt]

With a maximum stage time of 10 hours, riders had to prepare themselves for a long stage, the last real hurdle of the 2013 Absa Cape Epic. The first 20 kilometers were primarily in the forestry plantation on the slopes of Du Toit’s Kloof, with a steady 10-kilometer climb followed by an equally long, fast descent interrupted occasionally by some soft forest single-track. The second major climb was primarily through orchards that soon gave way to mountain fynbos as the trails turned more rugged, including another single-track descent, but riders had to watch out for the handle-bar-grabbing fynbos. By the time riders crossed under the N1 national highway at the 35-kilometer mark, they completed almost half the climbing of the day. The next section was fast going along farm and gravel roads along the Drakenstein Mountains towards Franschhoek. The route made the turn towards Helshoogte Pass, as the trail hugged the steep slopes of the iconic Simonsberg Mountain. Riders passed through wine farms and the Idas Valley before passing underneath the R310 road. From here it was one last steep climb, before a descent sweetened by some more forestry single-track that took riders into the race village.

 

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