Hans Becking and Teus Ruijter have completed the eight stages of the Cape Epic and finished an excellent seventh in the general classification. The ‘DoubleDutch’ duo started Sunday, March 15, with a solid nineteenth place in the prologue at Meerendal Wine Estate behind winners Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje. In the first stage, despite bad luck, the duo surprisingly finished eleventh in Montagu after 90 kilometers. Becking’s teammates Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek won the stage.
The following day featured a ride through the rugged landscape of the Klein Karoo around Montagu. The duo handled this even better, securing a fine ninth place behind winners Luca Schwarzbauer and Sam Gaze. In the 140-kilometer stage from Montagu to Greyton, Ruijter and Becking impressed once again by staying with the race leaders for a long time. Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli won the stage, and Ruijter and Becking finished seventh.
In the fourth stage around Greyton, the men managed to improve their performance again. Once again, they stayed close to the front and had to let the leaders go with the finish in sight. Behind winners Luca Schwarzbauer and Sam Gaze, they finished fifth and climbed to sixth place in the general classification behind the Italian leaders Luca Braidot and Simone Avandetto.
Stage five ran from Greyton to Stellenbosch over 135 kilometers, and the rain and mud turned it into a true battle of attrition, which the men endured well with a seventh-place finish. In the two final stages around Stellenbosch, the duo ran out of steam. With a ninth and seventeenth place, they dropped one spot in the general classification to seventh place. A magnificent result they would have signed up for beforehand.
Italian leaders Luca Braidot and Simone Avandetto were stripped of the leader’s jersey in the final stage by the South African duo Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje. Luca Schwarzbauer and Sam Gaze claimed their second stage victory on the final day.