STAGE 1 of the Absa Cape Epic took place in Oak Valley yesterday: In a day of drama and heavy rain, Christoph Sauser (SUI) Monday laid down a significant marker in his bid to become the first person to win the Absa Cape Epic five times. <br />The Swiss master and his Czech teammate Jaroslav Kulhavy (Investec-Songo-Specialized) showed great form on the 113km Stage 1 as they overcame a puncture to finish the day almost a minute ahead of Sauser’s great rival, Karl Platt of Germany, who is riding with Swiss strongman Urs Huber. <br /> <br />Bad luck struck another of the pre-race favourite teams, Topeak Ergon’s defending champion Kristian Hynek of the Czech Republic and Austrian Alban Lakata, when they had to repair two punctures and swop a wheel at a tech zone. They managed, however, to recover and finish fourth, some four minutes behind Sauser and Kulhavy. <br /> <br />The Women’s category continued to be dominated by the Swiss/Danish combination of Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad (RECM), who already have a 20-minute gap over their closest challengers. <br /> <br /> <br />Results Stage 1: <br /> <br />1st place: Team Investec-Songo-Specialized – Christoph Sauser (SUI) und Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE) <br />2nd place: Team BULLS – Karl Platt (GER) und Urs Huber (SUI) <br />3rd place: Team Multivan Merida – Rudi van Houts (BEL) und Jose Hermida (ESP)
