Platt pedals his way to a yellow jersey birthday gift
by Jonathan Ancer,
2016-03-15 05:00:00.0
KARL Platt celebrated his 37th birthday in style on Monday, winning Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic — and keeping himself in the yellow jersey.
"It was the best present I could give myself," said the German mountain biker, who with his Team Bulls teammate, Swiss strongman Urs Huber, continued their hunt for ultimate victory on Sunday — and keeping Platt on track for a record-equalling fifth Cape Epic title.
However, Topeak Ergon Racing’s Alban Lakata of Austria and Czech teammate Kristian Hynek, who finished 38 seconds later in second place, signalled their intent with a strong finish.
It was a day of gruelling racing in heavy dust and heat as the Bulls and Cape Epic first-timers Periklis Ilias and Tiago Ferreira (Team Dolomiti Superbike) went out hard. The tactic paid off for Platt and Huber, who won the 108km Tulbagh-to-Tulbagh stage in a time of 4hr 32min 12sec. Dolomiti Superbike finished third, after taking a wrong turn near the end.
Platt said that despite the dust, there was lots of great single track that made the racing enjoyable.
"I’m happy with the win on my birthday, though I could think of a few more relaxing things to be doing — maybe a nice glass of wine instead."
Lakata and Hynek felt the pace was too fast at the start and then decided to hold back.
"It was very dusty and we couldn’t see anything and didn’t want to take risks early on," said Lakata. "When we got to the final water zone, we had enough in the tank, so decided to put the hammer down."
In the women’s category, Ascendis Health’s South African-Sweden pairing of Robyn de Groot and Jennie Stenerhag beat defending champions and favourites Annika Langvad of Denmark and Ariane Kleinhans of Switzerland (Spur-Specialized) for the second day.
De Groot and Stenerhag Health crossed the line in a time of 5:22.18.
"We saw the helicopter, then we saw Ariane (Kleinhans) and thought maybe we can go for a stage win," said De Groot of their passing Spur-Specialised in the final 2km of the stage.
Up until then, De Groot and Stenerhag feared they had lost their Sasol Women’s category leader’s jersey.
England’s Sally Bigham and German Adel Morath of Topeak Ergon were third in the category.
USN Purefit was the first South African team home, crossing the line nine minutes in front of Team NAD Pro MTB — to climb into the red of the Absa African Special Jersey. The team’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock both declared that it was one of the race’s toughest stages yet. Lill said that in addition to battling dust and heat, he took strain on the uneven climbs.
"When it’s bumpy, rocky and loose, it’s difficult to get momentum — that’s where it hits me."
Gert Heyns of Team Spur, who started the day in the red Absa African Special Jersey alongside James Reid, was forced to withdraw from the race with flu. The third-placed team in the category are the Masters pairing of Adrian Enthoven and Nic White of Team White Inc, who finished second in the stage’s Masters category after a dramatic sprint finish with Dutch Team Van de Haterd Mtb.
WINDING IT UP: Urs Huber, left, and Karl Platt win the Absa Cape Epic prologue on Sunday. Picture: EPA/KIM LUDBROOK
KARL Platt celebrated his 37th birthday in style on Monday, winning Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic — and keeping himself in the yellow jersey.
"It was the best present I could give myself," said the German mountain biker, who with his Team Bulls teammate, Swiss strongman Urs Huber, continued their hunt for ultimate victory on Sunday — and keeping Platt on track for a record-equalling fifth Cape Epic title.
However, Topeak Ergon Racing’s Alban Lakata of Austria and Czech teammate Kristian Hynek, who finished 38 seconds later in second place, signalled their intent with a strong finish.
It was a day of gruelling racing in heavy dust and heat as the Bulls and Cape Epic first-timers Periklis Ilias and Tiago Ferreira (Team Dolomiti Superbike) went out hard. The tactic paid off for Platt and Huber, who won the 108km Tulbagh-to-Tulbagh stage in a time of 4hr 32min 12sec. Dolomiti Superbike finished third, after taking a wrong turn near the end.
Platt said that despite the dust, there was lots of great single track that made the racing enjoyable.
"I’m happy with the win on my birthday, though I could think of a few more relaxing things to be doing — maybe a nice glass of wine instead."
Lakata and Hynek felt the pace was too fast at the start and then decided to hold back.
"It was very dusty and we couldn’t see anything and didn’t want to take risks early on," said Lakata. "When we got to the final water zone, we had enough in the tank, so decided to put the hammer down."
In the women’s category, Ascendis Health’s South African-Sweden pairing of Robyn de Groot and Jennie Stenerhag beat defending champions and favourites Annika Langvad of Denmark and Ariane Kleinhans of Switzerland (Spur-Specialized) for the second day.
De Groot and Stenerhag Health crossed the line in a time of 5:22.18.
"We saw the helicopter, then we saw Ariane (Kleinhans) and thought maybe we can go for a stage win," said De Groot of their passing Spur-Specialised in the final 2km of the stage.
Up until then, De Groot and Stenerhag feared they had lost their Sasol Women’s category leader’s jersey.
England’s Sally Bigham and German Adel Morath of Topeak Ergon were third in the category.
USN Purefit was the first South African team home, crossing the line nine minutes in front of Team NAD Pro MTB — to climb into the red of the Absa African Special Jersey. The team’s Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock both declared that it was one of the race’s toughest stages yet. Lill said that in addition to battling dust and heat, he took strain on the uneven climbs.
"When it’s bumpy, rocky and loose, it’s difficult to get momentum — that’s where it hits me."
Gert Heyns of Team Spur, who started the day in the red Absa African Special Jersey alongside James Reid, was forced to withdraw from the race with flu. The third-placed team in the category are the Masters pairing of Adrian Enthoven and Nic White of Team White Inc, who finished second in the stage’s Masters category after a dramatic sprint finish with Dutch Team Van de Haterd Mtb.
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