The co-favorites for overall victory, Christoph Sauser and Frantisek Rabon, finished in ninth place, a good three minutes behind. Four-time winner Karl Platt (GER) and his Swiss partner Urs Huber are in sixth place. Both teams have easier problems on the very technical course, which is 23 kilometers long and has an elevation gain of 900 meters. Sauser crashes and Rabon's chain falls off. Urs Huber slips in a bend shortly before the finishing straight, crashes, but is able to continue unharmed. The German duo of Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Käss rode strongly, taking fourth place ahead of the Swiss-South African combo of Nino Schurter and Philip Buys.

On the technically demanding course with a high proportion of singletrack and steep sections on the hills of Durbanville, the pros are fighting for seconds and positions on the next long race day. Former world champion José Hermida (ESP) is delighted that he was able to achieve his goal from last year: "I wanted to win the prologue so that we could put on the leader's jersey straight away. We've achieved that and I'm looking forward to Monday". His Dutch partner Van Houts confirms the good teamwork: "We took turns all the time and were always able to set the pace. I was constantly on pulse 180, but it was worth it."

In the women's race, the favored duo of Ariane Kleinhans (SUI) and marathon world champion Annika Langvad (DEN) made a clear statement, although Langvad fell on the steps of the manor house at the Meerendal winery shortly after the start. With over two minutes, they finished well ahead of Esther Süss (SUI) and Sally Bigham (GBR). Switzerland's Milena Landtwing and her Dutch partner Hielke Elferink finished in fourth place behind Jennie Stenerhag (SWE) and Theresa Ralph (RSA).

The Swiss flag is also represented in the mixed category. Sarah Koba and Dutchman Karl Zoetemelk took second place ahead of South Africans Cherise Stander and Theo Blignaut. The German Anni Hellstern and the Czech Peter Vesel rode to first place. The Swiss Bärti Bucher also achieved second place together with the South African Doug Brown in the Grand Masters category.

Votes from the riders
Lukas Fluckiger (SUI, BMC Mountainbike-Racing): "It was as we had hoped. Martin rode off strongly and I just had to keep up. I was already suffering a little. In the second half my legs got into the rhythm. We still have seven days to go and will continue to fight".

Frantisek Rabon (CZE, Meerendal Songo Specialized): "It was super hard today, I couldn't breathe properly and Christoph Sauser rode a very fast race, harder than anything we've done in training. I'm sorry that I slowed him down a bit today, but I just couldn't do any more."

Annika Langvad (DEN): "Fortunately, nothing happened in my crash. Now I'm really awake and I can laugh about it. We are both in good shape and want to defend our lead over the next few days."

Esther Süss (SUI): "I had good legs, it was a good start today."

Outlook for stage 1: Robertson - Robertson
The first stage of the Absa Cape Epic is often described as the toughest. This is also the case in 2014 for the 108-kilometre route, which starts at the Arabella vineyard near Robertson. Three long climbs characterize the route, the surface is often rough and bumpy - real mountain biking in one of the most beautiful areas of South Africa, the beginning Karoo. The majority of the almost 2500 meters in altitude are in the middle section of the stage. The 1200 riders can expect light rain and temperatures between 19 and 22 degrees when they set off on the route.

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