The sweltering sun and an abundance of dust turned the 26km Absa Cape Epic prologue into more of a challenge than had been anticipated but German Manuel Fumic and his Brazilian partner Henrique Avancini blitzed the course to take the leaders’ yellow jersey into Monday’s Stage 1.In the women’s race South African Robyn de Groot and her German teammate Sabine Spitz (Ascendis Health) laid down a marker with a dominant performance. Several riders collapsed after dismounting over the finish line as temperatures reached the mid-30° C mark.Avancini and Fumic’s lightning 1:01:52 time trial was nearly matched by Olympic gold medallist Nino Schurter and his Swiss countryman Matthias Stirnemann (Scott-SRAM), but they eventually fell back by 1min 30sec.The favourites are expected to make their mark on the longer stages ahead. On Monday they will tackle a tough 101km course that starts and finishes in Hermanus and they will mostly have been happy with their ride on Sunday.Trek-Selle San Marco’s ...
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