Stevens Racing, made up of German Johannes Sickmeuller and Switzerland's Christian Heule, won Stage Six of the 2006 ABSA Cape Epic. It was their first podium finish after finishing strongly on a route that swept through from Greyton to Hermanus.

It was after another powerful attempt that, along with team Stevens Racing with Johannes Sickmueller (GER) and Christian Heule (SUI), Mixed team adidas/ WE Cycles/ Bianchi with Anke Erlank (RSA) and Fourie Kotze (RSA), finally achieved their goal and won a stage.

Early in the race, Silvio Bundi (SUI) of the leading team Specialized ripped off his derailleur. "In the first downhill a small stick got caught between my spokes of my wheel. Fortunately we were able to fix it, but it cost us about seven minutes.

When we got back onto our bikes we knew we would have to ride very hard to close the gap. At the second watering point we had already narrowed the lead by thee minutes and eventually we caught up with the front bunch before we reached the third water point."

The tough final climb was made even more strenuous by the fact that the leading teams started to attack. Today it was team GT Mr. Price with Marc

Bassingthwaighte and Arno Viljoen that made the bold first move of trying the break away in the technical climb. Stevens rider Christian Heule responded immediately stepping up the pace to follow them. Johannes was left behind with the rest of the pack. "We were pushed to our limits during that climb," said Silvio. "Christian was very strong in the ascents today. They really deserved to win the stage that?s why we gave way at the finish line. We were also a bit tired from pushing so hard to catch up with them. We only had about 20 minutes to recover and the race was on again." "It was really hard today, like almost every stage," said Christian Heule. "I am very impressed by the amateurs that participate in this race. We are pros; it is our job to ride our bikes. And we have five to six more hours time to regenerate. It is really cruel, by the time we have showered, have had our massage and go to eat some of these guys are still coming in. I admire their dedication and passion." Results Stage 6:

Men:
1 Stevens Racing: Johannes Sickmeuller (GER) and Christian Heule (SUI) ? 04:16:30
2 Specialized: Christophe Sauser (SUI) and Silvio Bundi (SUI) ? 04:16:30
3 adidas Raleigh: Kevin Evans (RSA) and Mannie Heymans (NAM) ? 04:17:39
4 Rocky Mountain Business Object: Karl Platt (GER) and Carsten Bresser (GER)? 04:17:39
5 GT Mr Price: Marc Bassingthwaite (NAM) and Arno Viljoen (NAM) ? 04:21:51

Women:
1 adidas-Fiat-Rotwild: Sabine Grona (GER) and Kerstin Brachtendorf (GER) ? 05:37:55
2 Mountainbike Revue: Elisabeth Hager (AUT) and Sandra Lettner (AUT) ? 05:48:25
3 Swisslis: Christine Wyss (SUI) and Sarah Koch (SUI) ? 05:51:54
4 Homebrew Lite: Anna Sutton (UK) and Joanne Marie King (AUS) ? 05:59:24
5 I & J ? Hermanus Cycles: Estelle Labuschagne (RSA) and Nadia Nell (RSA) ? 06:29:53

Masters:
1 Absa Business Banking Services: Linus van Onselen (RSA) and Geddan Ruddock (RSA) ? 04:37:04
2 dennis mccann: Ergee du Toit (RSA) and Corrie Muller (RSA) ? 04:42:51
3 Marsilio Projects: Tony Conlon (RSA) and Lieb Loots (RSA) ? 04:54:15
4 UnitedBikers.be: Nico Vanaken (BEL) and Andre Hendrickx (BEL) ? 04:58:39
5 Centra Harvest: Christian Stabell Eriksen (NOR) and Ole Kristian Silseth (NOR) ? 05:03:17

Mixed:
1 adidas/WE Cycles/Bianchi: Fourie Kotze (RSA) and Anke Erlank (RSA) ? 04:38:09
2 GHOST International: Jorg Scheiderbauer (GER) and Anna Bayliss-Scheiderbauer (GER) ? 04:44:15
3 radys.com: Dolores Maechler (SUI) and Severin Rupp (SUI) ? 04:47:08
4 Scott: Patric Mosterd (RSA) and Yolande de Villiers (RSA) ? 05:09:05
5 X-Fusion: Louise Kobin (USA) and Eric Warkentin (USA) ? 05:16:33