Cape Epic - NE

South Africa, April 22-28, 2006

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Race 5 - April 26: Swellendam - Greyton

South Africans Shan Wilson and Brandon Stewart win 5th stage

Stage five of the Absa Cape Epic saw the first victory of a South African pairing and the first time in the history of the Magical + Untamed African MTB Race that a team managed to maintain a lead for 100 kilometres. Fueled by their first podium placing yesterday, team adidas William Simpson with Brandon Stewart and Shan Wilson of Durban and Cape Town respectively, attacked in a way that most cyclists would call suicidal. At kilometre 10 Brandon hit the gas and tried to break away from the pack. Shan had no other choice but to follow. “I thought that this was suicide and that he was crazy, but we had agreed before the race that I will allow Brandon to time his attacks”, Shan Wilson said. “We were very lucky, because no one responded to the attack. And by the time they realised how far ahead we were they knew it was futile to chase us. Winning a stage in such a competitive field means a lot to us.”

While South Africa’s heroes rode at their pace, fast and consistent, sharing the work, the riding of the pack behind them resembled a ‘stop-and-go’. Whenever the top men hit a single trail they increased the speed to break up the bunch which at certain times consisted of up to 50 riders; once this was done they slowed down again. “We are about eight elite pro teams who try to break away from the pack and ride together. That way we can take it easy, stop at the watering points together, have a ‘team pee’ or slow down if one of us has a mechanical problem”, Karl Platt explained. “You actually don’t attack when another team is in trouble; it is against cycling ethics and will not be tolerated, almost like an unwritten code. This is a lesson in cycling that everyone has to learn one day. Besides, it is so much more fun to finish a race in a sprint. You work out your tactics beforehand and if you win all the better. Since The Cape Epic is a stage race, it actually doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work perfectly every day as long as it doesn’t affect your overall results.”

When Mike Mike made the announcement that two South African teams were amongst the top 5 and that a South African team was in the lead the spectator crowd in Greyton went crazy: they were banging on the branding boards that lined the finish chute, clapping their hands, cheering, singing and generally working each other into a frenzy. The moment the blue jerseys of Shan Wilson and Brandon Stewart appeared around the corner, the atmosphere peaked. Team adidas William Simpson were given a true heroes welcome. Shan was visibly moved and close to tears. “It actually hasn’t sunk in yet. I can’t believe that we won the stage. Our dream has become an unexpected reality.”

“It was a great chance for them to show what they are capable of”, said Silvio Bundi (SUI) of team Specialized and it was an unspoken agreement today amongst the leaders to allow adidas William Simpson to shine. “They deserved to win, because they worked hard for it. I just hope that today’s win hasn’t cost them too much energy which will be needed in the next few days as the toughest stage is still to come.”

Today’s brave attack was strongly reminiscent of the inaugural Epic’s stage five from Swellendam to Greyton when team Imperial Logistics with the two Kenyan riders David Kinjah and Davidson Kamau who had just learned how to ride a mountain bike a few weeks prior, surprised the leader bunch by hitting the gas early into the race to break away. They managed against all odds to maintain this lead right up until a few kilometres from the finish when the leader bunch – including Shan Wilson - caught up with them. In the final sprint they had to admit defeat and allow the more experienced riders to overtake them.

“When Shan and Brandon broke away today, we wanted to follow them, but our legs wouldn’t allow us”, David Kinjah recapped. “This stage brought back memories of our first Epic. Since then the race has become so much more competitive. I’d say the level of competition has increased by at least twenty percent. And we are not trained well enough to match the pace of the top teams. People expect so much from us. In order to compete seriously with the dedicated professionals we would need to make a serious commitment which is of course entirely sponsorship dependant.” Currently David’s and Davidson’s sponsorship is directly related to The Cape Epic and only temporary, therefore their pre event training is limited. Due to the current economic crisis in Nairobi, the two talented riders who are positioned on 10th place after five stages, don’t have the luxury of free time to train as making a living has to be their number one priority, for example David works as a bicycle mechanic. “Unfortunately there are not that many high end bikes that need proper servicing in Nairobi”, he said. Davidson works as a temp in Nairobi earning a living whenever he gets the chance, for instance occasionally in a slaughter house. Whilst some may see this as a reason to pity the Kenyans they are quite content with their status as sporting heroes when at home and exotic cyclists when abroad. “We are used to having to adjust to any circumstances”, David stated. “When I have to wear a suit and stay in a fancy hotel room I behave accordingly. We can just as easily adjust coming home to our normal lives.” David who is 34 years old has recently adopted an 18 year old orphan, Samson whom he calls ‘Samstrong’, an exceptionally talented cyclist who he hopes will carry on the legacy that he and Davidson have created.

Sandra Lettner (AUT) and mountain bike magazine editor Lisi Hager (AUT), who came to South Africa to experience The Cape Epic firsthand in order to write an authentic report, found herself on the top of the podium today, in spite of having had a bad crash in stage 4 that ripped up both of her elbows. “We didn’t even expect to place at the Epic, let alone achieve a stage win”, Lisi said. “The success of our first few days, however, seems to have given us an additional boost.” When they crossed the finish line in Greyton, Lisi and Sandra had a lead of 11.5 minutes over the female leaders Sabine Grona (GER) and Kerstin Brachtendorf (GER), who still have a comfortable overall advantage of more than 45 minutes.

Once again the husband-wife team of Ghost International, Anna Baylis- and Jörg Scheiderbauer proved to be unbeatable in the mixed division, but hot on their heels were the South African Mixed team of Anke Erlank and Fourie Kotze who despite having had such a bad day in stage 3 managed to fight their way back up to claim overall second position thus far.

The leading Masters team, Absa Business Banking Services with Linus von Onselen and Geddan Ruddock also rode a phenomenal race today gaining an additional seven minutes advantage over their competitors. Their total lead time is now 45 minutes, quite a hard gap to close. The top Masters teams behind them fought a tight battle for positions two and three which were decided in a sprint finish.

Results

Men
 
1 Shan Wilson (RSA)/Brandon Stewart (RSA) adidas William Simpson                   3.52.18
2 Karl Platt (Ger)/Carsten Bresser (Ger) Rocky Mountain Business Object              11.08
3 Christophe Sauser (Swi)/Silvio Bundi (Swi) Team Specialized                             
 
Women
 
1 Elisabeth Hager (Aut)/Sandra Lettner (Aut) Mountainbike Revue                    5.01.04
2 Sabine Grona (Ger)/Kerstin Brachtendorf (Ger) adidas-Fiat-Rotwild                  11.35
3 Barbara Kreisle (USA)/Christina Begy (USA) Go Fast Girls                           12.42
 
Masters
 
1 Linus van Onselen (RSA)/Geddan Ruddock (RSA) Absa Business Banking Services      4.10.36
2 Ergee du Toit (RSA)/Corrie Muller (RSA) dennis mccann                               6.44
3 Tony Conlon (RSA)/Lieb Loots (RSA) Marsilio Projects                                6.45
 
Mixed
 
1 Jorg Scheiderbauer (Ger)/Anna Baylis-Scheiderbauer (Ger) GHOST International     4.10.30
2 Fourie Kotze (RSA)/Anke Erlank (RSA) adidas/ W E Cycles / Bianchi                   0.04
3 Dolores Maechler (Swi)/Severin Rupp (Swi) radys.com                                15.31
 
General classifications after stage 5
 
Men
 
1 Christophe Sauser (Swi)/Silvio Bundi (Swi) Team Specialized                     22.07.13
2 Sickmueller/ Heule                                                                 13.09
3 Karl Platt (Ger)/Carsten Bresser (Ger) Rocky Mountain Business Object              14.10
 
Women
 
1 Sabine Grona (Ger)/Kerstin Brachtendorf (Ger) adidas-Fiat-Rotwild               28.56.50
2 Elisabeth Hager (Aut)/Sandra Lettner (Aut) Mountainbike Revue                      44.47
3 Barbara Kreisle (USA)/Christina Begy (USA) Go Fast Girls                         2.58.04
 
Masters
 
1 Linus van Onselen (RSA)/Geddan Ruddock (RSA) Absa Business Banking Services     24.24.53
2 Ergee du Toit (RSA)/Corrie Muller (RSA) dennis mccann                              46.01
3 Tony Conlon (RSA)/Lieb Loots (RSA) Marsilio Projects                             1.19.45
 
Mixed
 
1 Jorg Scheiderbauer (Ger)/Anna Baylis-Scheiderbauer (Ger) GHOST International    24.38.11
2 Fourie Kotze (RSA)/Anke Erlank (RSA) adidas/ W E Cycles / Bianchi                  48.19
3 Dolores Maechler (Swi)/Severin Rupp (Swi) radys.com                                54.19