It was a close call for the top teams in this year?s Absa Cape Epic as they battled it out to win the second stage of this year?s event. Bart Brentjens and Jelmer Pietersma of Trek-Brentjens attained their dream of a stage win in a time of 4:08.06,4.

They were closely followed by Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm of the Bulls 1 Team (4:08.08,8), with South Africa?s Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata of the MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon team (4:08.10,7) following closely in the first sprint finish of this year?s event.

Today?s Stage 2 took riders from Ceres back to Ceres, covering a distance of 90km and 1 625m of climbing. Perceived by many as the single-track stage of the race, the landscape was vastly contrasting ? riders crossed farmlands, descended rocky scrub and navigated forest paths; all in one day. The route was in the form of a cloverleaf, with Water Point 2 and 3 both at the Eselfontein Farmhouse.

The narrow, steep and rocky climbs split the race apart, with tough climbs (the biggest being Dead Man Walking in the second loop) being fair payment for the sweeping descent. Riders also had to be careful with rocks hiding around the treacherous bends.

This was followed by more forest single-track offering temporary relief, but the last 10km, traversing farm paths, proved to be hard work. Due to the narrow trails, the organisers arranged a staggered start for today?s Stage 2, spreading the field out over an hour ? seven groups started at ten-minute intervals from 7am. until 8 am.

Men?s Category

Bart Brentjens and Jelmer Pietersma of Trek-Brentjens were the first to cross the finish line of Stage 2, putting them in third position overall (8:52.18,9). They were followed by the German Bulls 1 team Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm who are now in second place overall (8:48.16,2).

In third place were Kevin Evans and Alban Lakata of the MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon team, who are still in the overall lead by 4 minutes and 23 seconds (overall time - 8:43.53). The Songo-Specialized by DCM team of Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander finished in 14th place today (4:23.43,3) and they are in ninth place overall (9:03.00,3).

Jelmer Pietersma of the Trek-Brentjens team: ?We were initially behind, but managed to catch up with the leading riders. We?re not very fond of the climbs, but caught up on the descents. Schurter and Vogel as well as the Fluckiger brothers were a few minutes in the lead, but at the second water point we heard the Fluckigers had some problems ? I believe they broke a chain ? and at this point we realised we were riding for victory.

"Both Bart and I felt quite strong today and when we only had a few hundred meters to go, we knew we could win.? Commenting on his strong sprinting abilities, Brentjens said that if he can see the finish line, he can beat most riders.

?Today was really great with lots of single-track, but fast and small climbs all the way,? adds Brentjens. ?The Fluckiger brothers were unlucky as was Schurter and Vogel. This year?s race has some really strong contenders. As it is, the Absa Cape Epic is a hard race and very different to any other events ? one needs to use a different race tactic.

It?s push, push, push all the way ? and today?s stage was hard as you had to concentrate all the time and stay focussed. There were also some annoying sandy sections towards the end.? With regards to the possibility of winning another stage, Brentjens commented: ?The stages count together, and one gets more tired as the race goes along. At least today we finished early and can take some time to relax.?

According to Bulls Team rider, Stefan Sahm, he felt better during this stage than yesterday. ?Today was okay. The climbs and flat sections were better and there were some nice single-track. In a way we were unlucky today as we thought the Fluckiger brothers were ahead of us and didn?t realise we were fighting for first place. If we knew, we definitely would?ve pushed more. But hey, Karl always gets stronger towards the end; we have a lot of patience and can wait.? Adds Platt: ?Today was a nice stage with lots of awesome singe-track.

At the beginning of the stage, the sun shone right into our faces which made it a bit tricky as you couldn?t see the stones, only dust. We?re feeling really strong and although we finished in second place, we?ll take the jersey in the end.?

Alban Lakata, of the MTN Qhubeka Topeak Ergon team, and still in the lead overall says: ?Unfortunately we had some bad luck at the beginning as we had a puncture. I damaged my rear wheel and had to change it, but managed to catch up with the leading group. The Fluckiger brothers attacked in one of the single-track sections but also had some bad luck, as did the Bulls Team.

"The other Bulls team helped them out with a front wheel, as did our second team by assisting us when I had a puncture. It?s really good to be able to get support from your team mates. It was a tough day and also very hot. The Absa Cape Epic is always a hard race as you have to look where you?re riding and your nutrition is really important.?

Page 2: Ladies Category