Cannondale Factory Racing’s Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini and Investec Songo Specialized’s Annika Langvad and Kate Courtney made it two wins in a row on Stage 2 in Robertson, but there was nothing similar in the way the respective men’s and women’s races unfolded.
Fumic and Avancini needed to edge ahead in a four-way sprint to claim their victory at the end of the demanding 106km stage, while the Songo women’s pair attacked 30 kilometres from the finish and built a lead of over four minutes in their race.
The pressure that comes with wearing the yellow jersey was obvious in the faces of Fumic and Avancini ahead of a stage that was expected to favour the diesel engines of the marathon racers. However, a new-found sense of maturity is paying off for the exuberant duo, who spent most of the day conserving energy and riding smart.
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That paid off when they were able to claim victory in the final mad dash for the line, just ahead of Nicola Rohrbach and Daniel Geismayr (Centurion Vaude), Alban Lakata and Kristian Hynek (Canyon Topeak) and Francesc Carretero and Luis Pinto (Buff Scott MTB).
The day was not without earlier drama however with first Rohrbach and Geismayr experiencing a mechanical early in the stage. Their back-up team of Markus Kaufmann and Jodok Salzmann were on hand to assist with a rear-wheel change – a move that would ultimately keep them in third position on the general classification.
But the big losers on the stage were yesterday’s runners up, Jaroslav Kulhavy and Howard Grotts. The Investec Songo Specialized pair made their intentions known when they attacked on the appreciably steep and loose “One-Two-Three” combination climb, a move only Canyon Topeak and Centurion Vaude were able to follow.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/cape-epic-2018/stage-2/results
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