2011 Absa Cape Epic Stage 2 - Hat trick for Sauser and Stander

Stage 2 - Saronsberg/Tulbagh to Saronsberg/Tulbagh (104km; 2300m of climbing)

A 12km steady upward drag took riders to a 6km climb on an ancient Voortrekker wagon trail, specially opened for the race. At the top, the 18km mark, riders already ascended almost 1000m. With the stage's major obstacle out of the way, the valley opened up ahead, with the route looping clockwise, following the buffer zone between orchards and mountainside. A look at the profile showed that the tracks were far from flat and a short section of singletrack compensated the labour of the first 50km. As it was a hot day, some riders were tempted to take a dip in one of the several dams dotted along the route as they begun to head home. After a 1.5km rise to the highpoint of the day's outing came the rewards of the hard work invested in the first climb, the unmistakable silhouette of Table Mountain was visible from the crest. Riders then descended the wagon trail towards town for a good night's rest.

VN: Master's category

The Juwi team of Carsten Bresser and Udo Boelts won the stage for the third consecutive day in 4:59.31 (overall time 10:30.14). They were again followed by Robert Sim and Doug Brown of the Robert Daniel team in 5:10.34 (overall time 10:57.09) with the Nandos team of Adrian Enthoven and Gerrie Beukes in third place in 5:23.09 (overall time 11:17.19). The Juwi team lead by 26 minutes and 55 seconds.

"We found endurance rhythm as I call it. Carsten had a flat, but everything worked out," said Bolts. "This is a mountain bike race, not a road race, so anything can still happen. One can never be too confident - the race only ends at Lourensford."

"Robert (Sim) had bad day today and I had it bad yesterday," said Brown. "Hopefully we can both feel good soon and get a podium win."

"Today started with a long, hard climb - quite technical - and the section on top of the plateau was also quite hard," said Enthoven. "The map is deceptive as it's much more difficult out there. We were riding with Ester and Bärti today and really enjoyed it. They ride consistently and smooth and it suits us well."

Gray and Don achieved the following results:

Stage Time	:	7:58.00,8
Stage Position	:	101. in Masters category and 336. in general classification
Overall Time	:	16:23.04,4
Overall Position	:	98. in Masters category and in 332. general classification