The rainfall in the early morning dampens the dusty Cape Epic trails and gives them more grip again. On the trail-rich sixth stage, which starts and finishes on the CPUT campus in Wellington, two teams pull away from the field early on. These were Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy from the Investec-Songo-Specialized team and Alban Lakata with partner Kristian Hynek from the Topeak-Ergon team. The two best classified riders steadily increased their lead and crossed the finish line together at the end. Both teams are on a par until Kristian Hynek misjudges the finish bend. The lost momentum is enough for Sauser and Kulhavy to be a blink of an eye faster. "It was an exciting finish and, thanks to the early morning rain, we didn't have to swallow any dust. So the 30 kilometers or so of singletrack on the stage were a real treat," says Sauser.

In total, it is Sauser's 36th stage win since his first participation in the Absa-Cape-Epic. With his success today, he is ideally placed to become the first mountain biker to bring home his fifth overall Cape Epic victory - and also his last. Sauser will end his 20-year career after the Marathon World Championships.It's a good day for the South African teams. Starting in third place with Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes, four more local teams lined up one after the other on the day's rankings. Third-placed Buys and Beukes had their focus on something else in the morning: "Our goal was to win back the red jersey of the best African team. The fact that we reached the podium is a bonus.

Over an hour ahead
At the start of the sixth stage, Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad decide to take it easy so as not to take any unnecessary risks. Nevertheless, the two are once again unstoppable. The Swiss and South African finish a full 17 minutes ahead of Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn Lee de Groot.

Mariske Strauss and Cherie Vale from the Novus OMX Pro Team finish on the podium for the first time. The two South Africans were able to make use of their cross-country skills on the trail-heavy stage. Esther Süss and Alice Pirard were unable to compete for the podium. Süss has been vomiting all night and is correspondingly weakened. Nevertheless, the 41-year-old starts the race and fights her way through the 71 kilometers to tenth place.

Outlook Stage 7, Wellington - Meerendal Wine Estate, 87 kilometers/1,500 vertical meters
The last stage of the ABSA Cape Epic 2015 will be the toughest for a long time. The final 87-kilometre stage from Wellington to Durbanville, on the Meerendal Wine Estate, starts with a 25-kilometre flat section. Directly after the first feed zone, the main climb begins for the participants. This is followed by another flat section before the final hurdle of the 2015 Cape Epic. The legendary trails of Meerendal will lead the participants downhill to the Meerendal wine estate.

www.cape-epic.com