Stage five of the Absa Cape Epic saw the first stage victory by a South African pairing. Fuelled by their first podium placing yesterday, team Adidas William Simpson (Brandon Stewart and Shan Wilson) attacked in a way that most cyclists would call suicidal – Stewart attempted a breakaway at 10km, giving Wilson no choice but to follow.

“I thought that this was suicide and that he was crazy, but we had agreed before the race that I will allow Brandon to time his attacks,” Shan Wilson said. “We were very lucky, because no one responded to the attack. And by the time they realised how far ahead we were they knew it was futile to chase us. Winning a stage in such a competitive field means a lot to us.”

The other pro teams were concerning themselves with sticking together, staying away from the big bunch at the head of the field and aiming to decide the stage with a sprint. It’s not all that surprising that they didn’t chase Stewart and Wilson, when not even they expected to be able to stay out in front for over 100km.

The crowd waiting to greet the riders in Greyton went crazy when it was announced that a South African team was in the lead, and Team Adidas William Simpson was given a true heroes welcome. Wilson was visibly moved and close to tears: “It actually hasn’t sunk in yet. I can’t believe that we won the stage. Our dream has become an unexpected reality.”

“It was a great chance for them to show what they are capable of,” said Silvio Bundi of overall leaders Team Specialized. “They deserved to win, because they worked hard for it. I just hope that today’s win hasn’t cost them too much energy which will be needed in the next few days as the toughest stage is still to come.”

Sandra Lettner and Lisi Hager won the women’s category, taking over 11 minutes out of overall leaders Sabine Grona and Kerstin Brachtendorf. They’re still more than 45 minutes ahead, though. No change in the mixed category, with Anna and Jörg Scheiderbauer (Ghost International) once again on top of the podium. They were only a matter of seconds ahead of Anke Erlank and Fourie Kotze, though.

Stage results

Men

1. adidas William Simpson: Shan Wilson (RSA) and Brandon Stewart (RSA) – 03:52:18
2. Rocky Mountain Business Object: Karl Platt (GER) and Carsten Bresser (GER) – 04:03:26
3. Team Specialized: Christophe Sauser (SUI) and Silvio Bundi (SUI) – 04:03:26

Women

1. Mountainbike Revue: Elisabeth Hager (AUT) and Sandra Lettner (AUT) – 05:01:04
2. adidas-Fiat-Rotwild: Sabine Grona (GER) and Kerstin Brachtendorf (GER) – 05:12:39
3. Go Fast Girls: Barbara Kreisle (USA) and Christina Begy (USA) – 05:13:46

Masters

1. Absa Business Banking Services: Linus van Onselen (RSA) and Geddan Ruddock (RSA) –
   04:10:36
2. dennis mccann: Ergee du Toit (RSA) and Corrie Muller (RSA) – 04:17:20
3. Marsilio Projects: Tony Conlon (RSA) and Lieb Loots (RSA) – 04:17:21

Mixed

1. GHOST International: Jorg Scheiderbauer (GER) and Anna Baylis-Scheiderbauer (GER) – 04:10:30
2. adidas/ W E Cycles / Bianchi : Fourie Kotze (RSA) and Anke Erlank (RSA) – 04:10:34
3. radys.com: Dolores Maechler (SUI) and Severin Rupp (SUI) – 04:26:01

Overall standings after Stage 5

Men

1. Sauser/Bundi – 22:07:13
2. Sickmueller/Heule – 22:20:22
3. Platt/Bresser – 22:21:23

Women

1. Grona/Brachtendorf – 28:56:50
2. Hager/Lettner – 29:41:37
3. Kreisle/Begy – 31:54:54

Masters

1. van Onselen/Ruddock – 24:24:53
2. Du Toit/Muller – 25:10:54
3. Conlon/Loots – 25:44:38

Mixed

1. Baylis-Scheiderbauer/Scheiderbauer – 24:38:11
2. Erlank/ Kotze – 25:26:30
3. Meachler/ Rupp – 25:32:30