The 2017 Absa Cape Epic started exactly as they 2016 edition ended, with Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factor Racing XC) powering onto the Meerendal Wine Estate fields to take the win.
Last year the pair claimed the final stage of the Cape Epic; this year they put their considerable cross-country talents to good use to out-race a star-studded field to claim the 26km Prologue at a blazing hot Meerendal.
2016 Olympic cross-country champion Nino Schurter and teammate Matthias Stirnemann (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) finished second, with Trek-Selle San Marco’s Samuele Porro and Alexey Medvedev taking the final podium place.
Defending champions Karl Platt and Urs Huber (Bulls) finished sixth, while returning five-time winner Christoph Sauser and Czech teammate Jaroslav Kulhavy (Investec-Songo-Specialized) were fourth on the day.
As ever, Fumic was all smiles off the bike. “We are very happy with the result,” he said. “Our plan was to put up a good time and that’s exactly what we did. Obviously the Prologue is a cross-country day and that really suits us. We targeted this day and our aim was always to be number one on the podium. But 26km is very routine for us. Tomorrow the race starts and we are hopefully be near the front for the rest of the week.”

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