The eleventh edition of the Cape Epic is also one of the most exciting. The leader's jersey changes hands every day. The wearers of this jersey have always been unlucky so far. This also applies to Team Bulls with Urs Huber and Karl Platt. The two had to let their rivals go after Platt's knee pain got worse at the 50-kilometer mark. Christoph Sauser and Frantisek Rabon, on the other hand, kept their promise. They turned their focus on the 134-kilometre stage from Robertson to Greyton into a victory.

In the sprint decision for victory, the German duo Kaufmann/Käss came out on top. The Topeak-Ergon-Racing team with the German Robert Mennen and his Czech partner Kristian Hynek finished third, taking the overall lead. "I'm very happy about the leader's jersey," says Robert Mennen, who was eliminated last year due to a crash caused by a small antelope. "I hope we have more luck with the yellow zebra jersey and that it stays with us for longer than just one stage."

Hannes Genze from Team Meerendal-Centurion-Wheeler crashed in the first third of the stage and injured himself. A heavily bleeding vein in his forearm knocked him and his Swiss partner Konny Looser, who was in fourth place overall, out of the race.

Women's race still open
Esther Süss (SUI) and Sally Bigham (GBR) from Team Meerendal can defend their overall lead in the women's classification with second place. Team RECM 2 with Ariane Kleinhans (SUI) and marathon world champion Annika Langvad (DEN) were alone in the wind for a long time, but managed to close the gap. "Unfortunately, we struggled to stay in the group we were in shortly after the start. I struggled with the pace and wasn't happy with myself. Then we had to work hard, but at least we were able to make up two minutes," says Kleinhans. The gap to the leading women is now a good eleven minutes. Third place in the stage classification goes to Switzerland's Milena Landtwing and her team partner Hielke Elferink. The pair remain in fourth place in the overall standings.

In the mixed category, victory went to South Africans Cherise Stander and Theo Blignaut. They are in second place overall. The other way around, Aurelie Halbwachs and Yannick Lincoln from Mauritius are ahead in the overall classification and take second place in the third stage. In ninth place overall is the Swiss mixed duo of Sabrina Compassi and Paul Bühler.

Rider voices
Christoph Sauser, Team Meerendal-Songo-Specialized: "It was like last year, everything finally worked out on the third day. The stage win and second place overall are important. I'm always very positive, but the first few days were difficult. When Karl Platt had problems at the end of the group today, I realized that we had to go. So we forced the pace from the front and were able to pull away. Frantisek was great today, Paolo Montoya and Erik Kleinhans also stepped on the gas. A backup is important, especially on the fast downhills. The mechanics also did a great job yesterday, our bikes were like new after the mud battle."

Urs Huber, Team Bulls: "I thought we'd have to pull out completely today when Karl had such bad problems with his knee. But then it went well again and in the end we had to ride slower again. Now we have to see how things look tomorrow."

Jochen Käss (GER), Team Centurion-Vaude: "We have no choice but to go for stage wins. Today we showed that we can ride at the front. We could have had a say in the overall victory, but after the huge gap after the frame break yesterday, it's hopeless. It was more fun to be in the leading group today than worrying about getting through yesterday."

Nino Schurter (SUI) Scott-Odlo-MTB-Racing-Team: "What looked like an attack wasn't one at all. We simply had a gap after the first descent and waited for the group. But on the climb, Philip Buys couldn't keep up the high pace and that was the end of it."

Lukas Flückiger (SUI), BMC-Mountainbike-Racing-Team: "Our legs didn't really want to ride at the front at the beginning. So we tried to save some energy and recover. We want to go full attack again over the next two days."

Annika Langvad (DEN), Team RECM 2: "It was very tough due to the strong headwind. We were on our own for 20 to 30 kilometers, only towards the finish were we able to take turns with a men's team in the lead. In the end, we were able to step on the gas again and kept the two-minute gap to Süss/Bigham."

The highlights and winners clip from the third stage

Outlook to stage 4: Greyton - Greyton
The fourth stage of the Absa Cape Epic makes a loop in the mountains around the fruit and wine-growing town of Greyton, which lies around 140 kilometers east of Cape Town. The route rides through the Sonderend Mountains with altitude differences of 200 meters. Steep climbs alternate with wonderfully flowing single tracks. The course rides through one of South Africa's historic towns, Genadental, where the country's first mission station was established. On "only" 88 kilometers there are 1800 meters of altitude to overcome.

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