This moment, being the first team to ride across the finish line of the Absa Cape Epic and standing at the top of the podium at the award ceremony - the South Africans Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes from the Scott Factory Racing Team are savoring it today. The two set off early on the fourth stage and steadily increased their gap to the pursuers. In the end, they finished three and a half minutes ahead of the chasers and also secured the red leader's jersey in the African classification for the first time. "We really wanted to ride for a stage win today," confirmed brand manager Joggie Prinsloo, "I'm glad they didn't 'burst'." However, the chasers with all the favourites, including Investec-Songo-Specialized, Bulls, both Topeak-Ergon teams and Multivan-Merida, are making no serious effort to catch the breakaway riders. They limited themselves to checking each other, as Scott-Factory was over 50 minutes behind the leaders in the overall standings.

At the second feed station, all the favorites are still close together, with Buys and Beukes two minutes ahead. The 111-kilometre loop in the mountains around the stage town of Worcester is once again very demanding on the equipment. Sharp-edged stones and lots of thorns mean that the 1,200 or so participants have to battle with numerous flat tires and technical defects. Unfortunately, Urs Huber, the Swiss partner of four-time Epic winner Karl Platt, was also caught out. Despite the puncture sealant in the tubeless tires, the rear wheel kept leaking air before aid station 3, so that they had to let the leaders go. Robert Mennen (Topeak Ergon) has the same problem, but his rear wheel holds and he rides with the Bulls riders for the last 15 kilometers of the race, just behind the second leading group. Together with Multivan-Merida's José Hermida and Rudi van Houts, they roll to the finish.

The Novus OMX Pro Team with Fabian Giger and Martin Gujan were struggling on the day. "Unfortunately, I already struggled to keep up with the leaders on the first climb. So we had to ride almost all the way to the finish line on our own," explains Martin Gujan. The pair are still fifth in the overall classification, but their lead over the sixth-placed team Meerendal-Centurion-Vaude with Jochen Käss (GER) and Danjel Geismayr (AUT) has shrunk from eight to three minutes. The two Swiss riders Simeon Niederer and Florian Bolt from the Sherpa-Tensing-Pedalerie put in an exceptionally strong performance on this day. Only half an hour behind the world marathon leaders, the two amateurs finished in a respectable 20th place. Rick Reimann (SUI) and his German Cube Factory team partner Louis Wolf finished the fourth stage in 25th place.

Simeon Niederer and Flo Bolt chase through the bushes. Mathys Beukes and Philip Buys secure the first South African stage win at this year's ABSA Cape Epic. Fotos© Sophie Smith and Nick Muzik/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS

Continuation of the dominance
The Sasol women's classification is once again a clear-cut affair. Ariane Kleinhans (SUI) and marathon world champion Annika Langvad (DEN) from RECM-Specialized-Team have recovered well after yesterday's feat of strength and are riding away from the front again. "We have extra thick tires and haven't had a puncture so far," said a delighted Ariane Kleinhans, "that and the fact that we can start with the fast men in the A group will help us a lot. We'll try to keep up with the fast men for as long as possible." Even a crash by Langvad shortly before the finish doesn't upset the dominant women. In the end, they were again more than twenty minutes ahead of second-placed Team Ascendis-Health with Jennie Stenerhag (SWE) and Robyn Lee de Groot (RSA). Birthday rider Esther Süss (SUI) and her partner Alice Pirard (BEL) gave themselves a podium finish for their birthday.

Eliminator world champion Kathrin Stirnemann from Team World-Bicycle-Relief has bad luck. She had to abandon the race after breathing problems, while Norwegian mountain bike legend Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja continued the stage alone. Milena Landtwing is also caught out. Stomach problems force the woman from Graubünden to retire.

Birthday girl Esther Süss on her way to third place. Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad continue their incredible dominance. Photos© Damien Schumann and Gary Perkin/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS

Fast Masters
The Masters classification is a remake of the previous day: Nico Pfitzenmaier and Rob Sim (Dorma/Robert Daniel) are once again clawing seconds off the lead of overall leaders Bart Brentjens and Abraao Azevedo (Betch.NL Superior). "If it remains ten seconds per stage, and we still have three stages, we'll stay ahead," says Bart Brentjens humorously. The first Olympic mountain bike champion (Atlanta 1996) creates the Absa-Tape-Epic: he repairs his broken shoe with yellow tape from the route markings. Pfitzenmaier and Sim finish in an excellent 13th place in the overall classification. This puts them ahead of several professional riders.

Outlook stage 5, Worcester - Wellington, 117 kilometers/2,500 vertical meters
The second longest stage of the 2015 Absa-Cape-Epic now follows with 117 kilometers and 2,500 meters of elevation gain as the peloton crosses over from Worcester to the penultimate stage town of Wellington. After a flat section to warm up, the first climbs of the Fonteinjies mountains begin. The first tough climb, called Powerlines, will pull the peloton apart. After the descent, the route runs along the Breede River and then over the infamous Bain's Kloof Pass, a national monument in South Africa. The tarmac climb is followed by the singletrack of Welvanpass, a real playground for technical riders. The finish line is set up on the campus of the Wellington University of Technology. The estimated time for the fastest riders is just under 5 hours.