Unstoppable. In a league of her own. Annika Langvad (Specialized Racing) spins her cranks in the sunshine and pleasant temperatures at the Mantra tou Kampiou Picnic Place with a power and dynamism that even her competitors respect. The Dane opened up a gap in the shortened starting lap. From then on, you can count the seconds that she puts between herself and her pursuer Erin Huck, which then turn into minutes.

In the end, she was 2:57 minutes ahead of the US American Huck (Construction Zone), who snatched second place in the overall standings from Langvad.
"That was a very, very good preparation for the season," says Langvad with a smile. "Of course my legs weren't as fresh today, but I had a good basic pace. I enjoyed the technical sections."

It felt very different to last year, when she didn't have as much time to train and even less to relax due to completing her dental degree. "It was a shame with the defects on the first two days, but it was also a good experience. The surface is similar at the Cape Epic and you also get into situations like that."

Erin Huck is focusing her attention on finishing on the overall podium. "I knew that Annika would pass me and only looked at the gap to the back," explained Huck, whose main rival in this respect is U23 world champion Sina Frei (Ghost Factory Racing), who was fifth on the day (+4:38) but posed no threat.
"For me, the four days are very good," commented Erin Huck on the bottom line.

Van der Breggen's crash

A Dutch duo rode behind her until halfway through the race. Overall leader Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans) had an unfortunate crash on the opening lap. "I clicked off the pedals and rolled over," explained the Olympic road champion after the first cross-country race of her career. "That was a stupid crash. After that I was a bit more cautious because I didn't know why it happened. But I still enjoyed it."

Her compatriot Anne Tauber (CST Sandd American Eagle) was no longer able to hold her off, but her overall victory was no longer in danger despite being 4:01 minutes behind Langvad (1:13:47). She remains 2:13 minutes ahead. This makes Anna van der Breggen a successor to Marianne Vos, who won the Afxentia in 2013. A result she had not expected at all. Nevertheless, she speaks highly of her mountain bike rivals.

"I have great respect for the girls in mountain biking. Some things are the same as in road cycling, but it's also very different. I've seen some good climbers who could also be good on the road. In any case, it was an absolutely great experience for me and I'm glad I did it," concludes van der Breggen.

Anne Tauber is beaming about her first podium finish. The young Dutchwoman crossed the finish line 3:37 minutes behind. "More explosive races like cross-country, that suits me better and the riding technique too. It was only the second stage race of my career and I saved myself some energy on the last two days," says Tauber about her third place on the final stage. She finished eighth in the overall standings.

Lars Forster has everything under control

It is the Dane Sebastian Fini Carstensen (CST Sandd American Eagle) who takes the lead at the start of the men's race, splitting the peloton apart. The yellow jersey of Lars Forster (BMC Racing) can be seen on his rear wheel. The Swiss doesn't take the lead because he has Howard Grotts (Specialized Racing) behind him and wants to maintain his 42-second lead in the overall standings.

Grotts shows his qualities on the climb and closes the small gap to the two leaders. "I attacked on the third lap, but Lars and Sebastian came back," explains the American, who is not quite as fast as Forster and Carstensen in the technical sections.

Thus, the trio will go into the final lap together. While Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) is not feeling well on this day and therefore gives up the fight for the overall podium places after two laps, Titouan Carod (BMC Racing) is getting stronger and stronger. The Frenchman sees the leading group ahead of him on the penultimate lap and invests to catch up. He goes into the final lap 15 seconds behind.

There, his team colleague Forster had to bow to Grotts' pressure on the climb and Carod caught up with Grotts, while Fini was no longer able to follow Carstensen.

Last climb: Grotts on his way to a second stage win

Grotts uses the final climb to open up the decisive gap and secure his second stage win. "I'm really happy with the race here," said the US champion, who won by four seconds. "It was a great battle over four days. I had a lot of fun at my premiere in Cyprus and it was certainly very good preparation for South Africa."

This is also the case for Lars Forster, even if it wasn't enough for him to win a stage. "The overall classification is what counts," says Forster. "Howard was incredibly strong on the mountain, luckily not so fast on the downhill. From the penultimate lap onwards, I felt very confident with my 40-second lead." He is very happy with his condition. "Now it's all about recovery and then it should be fine for the World Cup."

Carod with "very good legs"

Sebastian Fini Carstensen finished third on the day (+0:15) and third overall. "I felt good right from the start today and knew it was going to be my day. That's why I did a lot of lead work at the start. I'm very happy with third place, it's a very promising start to the season," commented Carstensen.

Titouan Carod, who had actually been expected to be among the best on the previous days, shrugs his shoulders. "Over two hours of racing, that's too long for me," he says, explaining why he was one of the beaten riders on the two long-distance stages. "Today I was held up from my starting position, but I had very good legs. I'm very satisfied for the first cross-country race of the season."

Conclusion: attraction for many world-class bikers

After four days of top-class sport, the organizers have drawn a positive conclusion. "The Afxentia has long since established itself in the calendar and has attracted many world-class riders. It was great to see that we also had two US riders in the field and on the podium this time and that one rider, Olympic road champion Anna van der Breggen, enjoyed the four days so much."

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