With two stage wins and one 2nd place, the team celebrated the most successful day at this year`s Absa Cape Epic.
Oak Valley, South Africa. The Cross Country specialists of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing swept today`s podiums at the Absa Cape Epic, the World`s toughest multiple day mountain bike stage race. Andri Frischknecht together with partner Michiel van der Heijden won the 4th stage ahead of team mates Matthias Stirnemann and Olympic Champion Nino Schurter. The SCOTT-SRAM`s Young Guns, Schurter`s and Stirnemann`s “Back-up”-team, now moved from 9th to 5th overall, Schurter and Stirnemann moved to 2nd with a time difference to Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini of 1.42 min. Their closest rivals, Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy, are now 33 sec behind on third. Andri Frischknecht is the 2nd youngest ever stage winner in the history of the race.
Dream Team- SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing`s team members are all winners today. Michiel van der Heijden, Andri Frischknecht, Nino Schurter, Jenny Rissveds, Thomas Frischknecht & Matthias Stirnemann.
Photography: Michal Cerveny, Jochen Haar, Greg Beadle & Nick Muzik
“We never ride with a plan – we just like to ride,” said Schurter. “Today it worked out very well for both our teams, so that’s fantastic. The last big climb was terrible, very sandy, but both our teams seemed to manage it best and we were able to get away. I am extremely proud to celebrate such a great victory with this incredible team.”
Andri Frischknecht was thrilled with the result. “We are very happy and very surprised. When we looked at the stage – 112km – our main aim was just to survive. But this stage win is amazing. Riding with Nino and Matthias was great motivation. We stayed with a big group for most of the race, when we managed the last sandy climb quite well, we started to think that we could take the stage. It was horrible up the climb, but we made it!” Van der Heijden adds: “It`s great to win a stage at this amazing race, especially when racing it the very first time.”
Jenny Rissveds and Thomas Frischknecht continue to dominate the Mixed Category. The SCOTT-SRAM Next Level team have won the fifth consecutive day, even extending their comfortable lead by 25 min. Both Rissveds and Frischknecht have tightened their grip on the Mixed category with another stage and are nearly 25 minutes ahead of Grant Usher and Amy Beth McDougall. It is Rissveds’ first Absa Cape Epic and she is clearly enjoying the experience: “Another long and demanding stage in the books. But we`re fit and all went well. The biggest challenge is just ahead with tomorrow`s Queen stage, so the entire team has an intense afternoon of active regeneration ahead.”
Stage 4 was a 112km trek from Elandskloof near Greyton to Oak Valley Wine Estate in Elgin. It was a day that most expected marathon Pros to make their move and knock the cross-country kings off their perch. Instead, it was the day of the XC specialists: Nino Schurter threw down the gauntlet, and in doing so helped guide his younger team of Frischknecht (the 2015 Swiss U23 cross-country champion) and Van der Heijden (the 2014 U23 XC World Champion) to a surprise stage victory.
The day started cool and overcast – a relief for the riders who have baked in the high temperatures since the Prologue – but as has been the case since the start, the race pace was hot again. For most of the day the elite bunch stayed together, until the surprise leaders of Hector Paez and Max Knox emerged at the front of the pack. The pair appeared strong and three hours into the day’s racing they had forced a gap of 45 seconds between them and the chasing pack.
The Botrivier Pass, though, had the final say in the matter, as teams took strain up the sandy climb. Both SCOTT teams managed the climb best, while once over the top Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy suffered a torn sidewall.
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