Absa Cape Epic 2019 - Stage 1 - Untamed Landscapes

The all-Swiss pairing of Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing won the 111km Stage 1 of the 2019 Absa Cape Epic in emphatic fashion on Monday 18 March. Nino Schurter and Lars Forster finished in a time of 04:24:04 to extend their overnight lead to 3.33 over Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini of Cannondale Factory Racing, who finished second. The Team BULLS Legends outfit of Alban Lakata and five-time champion Karl Platt, rounded out the podium. There was a tacit admission from their nearest rivals that the mountain biking-road riding combination of Annika Langvad and Anna van der Breggen have already almost done enough to ensure their rivals are racing for second in the Women’s category at the Absa Cape Epic. After just two days of racing at the Absa Cape Epic, the Investec-songo-Specialized duo have already opened up a massive five-minute 42-second lead over Kross-Spur Racing’s Ariane Lüthi (Switzerland) and Maja Wloszczowska (Poland).

2019 Stage 1 Results

Men
1. Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing 4-1 Nino Schurter (SUI) 4-2 Lars Forster (SUI) 04:24.04,6
2. Cannondale Factory Racing 3-1 Manuel Fumic (GER) 3-2 Henrique Avancini (BRA) 04:26.56,5 +2.51,9
3. BULLS Legends 2-1 Karl Platt (GER) 2-2 Alban Lakata (AUT) 04:28.13,8 +4.09,2

Women:
1. Investec-songo-Specialized 50-1 Annika Langvad (DEN) 50-2 Anna van der Breggen (NED) 05:09.11,4
2. Kross-Spur Racing 53-1 Ariane Lüthi (SUI) 53-2 Maja Wloszczowska (POL) 05:12.19,0 +3.07,6
3. Summit Fin 54-1 Candice Lill (RSA) 54-2 Adelheid Morath (GER) 05:14.31,8 +5.20,4