Sunday, 25th March 2007 at 3:54 pm

Absa Cape Epic: two days in…

When the top-ranked riders met up at Friday’s pre-race press conference, the realisation of just how strong the 2007 Absa Cape Epic field is suddenly hit home: Olympic medallists, World Champions, seasoned winners on the world’s mountain bike circuits. No doubt, then, that we were in for a cracker of a competition - and after the first two stages, that’s been underlined spectacularly.

Last year’s winners have split up this year, as a result of belonging to new teams - and defending that title now looks almost impossible. Silvio Bundi is down in ninth, almost ten minutes off the pace, and Christoph Sauser is 12th, a further six seconds back. That means a new winner for 2007, and at the moment, it’s Roel Paulissen and Jakob Fuglsang three minutes clear of the Bulls duo of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm at the head of the field.

Head to the back of the field, however, and minutes becomes hours in terms of time difference, with the Absa Cape Epic amateurs scrambling over two nasty introductory stages so far in an attempt to simply finish the race. Only six riders dropped out on day one, and although a few more probably will by the end of day two, the riders as a whole have negotiated a very taxing first two days with remarkable fortitude. Still six days to go; with a cracking race for first place well underway, and a very determined field in their wake, this year’s Epic is already looking particularly unforgettable.