German rider Karl Platt and Swiss champion Urs Huber start the first stage of the prestigious "Tankwa Trek" stage race near Ceres in the Western Cape as defending champions. With a lead of around two and a half minutes, the pair lay the foundations for another overall victory. On the second day, too, the pair leave nothing to chance and take their second victory with a lead of over four minutes on the South Africans Waylon Woolcock and Hendrik Kruger. On the third stage, Huber and Platt were not only able to maintain their time cushion, but also extend it slightly thanks to their clever riding style. The German-Swiss pairing won the Tankwa Trek for the second time - now almost nine minutes ahead of the South Africans Woolcock and Kruger. Third place went to Nico Bell and Gawie Combrinck - also from South Africa.

Fasnacht/Looser strong, the other Swiss unlucky

Manuel Fasnacht and Konny Looser have made a solid start to the season. The two Swiss riders finished in tenth, eighth and seventh place overall. The race meeting of Fasnacht and Looser was not planned beforehand. Looser's actual team partner Matthew Beers fell ill a few days before the race. Manuel Fasnacht, who happened to be in South Africa for training, therefore stepped in at short notice.

At the start of the race, it looked as if Nicola Rohrbach and Lukas Flückiger would also be among the front runners. With second place in the first stage, they succeeded. On the second day, however, the two were first set back by a rear wheel defect and a little later thrown out of the race due to Flückiger's stomach problems. Even before the start of the second stage, the New Zealander Sam Gaze forfeits - also due to illness. Christoph Sauser, his team partner and coach, completes the remaining two stages alone and out of competition.

Süss top - Hug strong

A first decision is made right at the start of the first stage: Swiss marathon champion Ariane Lüthi drops out of the race at the first feed zone. She had been ill the days before and did not recover in time for the start of the first stage. Together with the German Adelheid Morath, she was considered the top favorite.

However, Lüthi's withdrawal is not a free ticket to victory for Esther Süss, but the tension surrounding the expected duel between the favored teams is gone. Together with Jennie Stenerhag from Sweden, Süss rides to a clear victory. The Swiss-Swedish duo repeated this on the second day of racing. However, the South Africans Mariske Strauss and Yolande de Villiers, who had previously been in second place, prevented a hat-trick for Süss and Stenerhag and won the final stage by a clear margin - but not so clear that they could pose a threat to the overall leading duo. Esther Süss and Jennie Stenerhag thus win the Tankwa Trek with a lead of over eleven minutes over Strauss/de Villiers. Almost 30 minutes behind are third-placed Vera Adrian (NAM) and Candice Lill (RSA).

Four fourth places for the Swiss rider Cornelia Hug and the Dutch rider Hielke Elferink, who lives in Switzerland - fourth place in each of the three stages and therefore also fourth place in the overall classification. The Tankwa Trek serves as training for the Cape Epic. Like Süss and Stenerhag, Hug and Elferink will be competing together in the world's most important mountain bike stage race.

www.tankwatrek.co.za
Results "Momentum Health Tankwa Trek"