DURBANVILLE — World under-23 mountain bike champion Burry Stander notched up his first major victory in a cycling road race, when he outsprinted David George and Kevin Evans to finish the second stage of the Pick n Pay Cape Argus Giro del Capo in the Western Cape yesterday.

His time for the 143 km stage, held in cool conditions, was three hours, 21 minutes and 53 seconds.

Stander, who hails from Port Shepstone on the south coast, was part of the 21-man group of riders who managed to make a clean getaway from the bunch of 200 starting the three-lap stage.

The breakaway occurred immediately after the sprint to the first hot spot in the middle of Durbanville at the end of the first lap.

The leading group steadily opened the gap between themselves and the chasing group to over three minutes as they negotiated the two remaining laps of the 48 km circuit, which incorporated the three stiff climbs up the steep slopes of Vissershok.

The stage ended in the traditional sprint to the finish on a downhill gradient, with Stander’s Specialised team-mate, Christoph Sauser, jumping into the lead, followed by Evans and George.

But it was Stander who got to the line first with his trademark explosive finish. “It’s my first major road win,” said an elated Stander. “But it was the stage my team and I most wanted to win. Sausi and I were both in the mix near the end, and when he jumped off the front, Kevin and the others took the bait. I got on to Kevin’s wheel with 200 m to go, and then managed to pass him and David just before the line. I guess I must have a stronger kick!”

Stander took not only the stage two honours, but also became the overall race leader and will wear the traditional pink jersey for today’s 171 km third stage at Paarl.

Evans, the SA 2010 road time trial champion and winner of last weekend’s Sani2C MTB Classic, takes over the Powerade King of the Mountain jersey. The stage one winner, Austrian Rene Haselbacher, will wear the Pickfords Points jersey.

Giro del Capo Stage 2 — Durbanville (143km) (RSA unless stated): 1 Burry Stander (SPE) 3:21:53, 2 David George (SAF) same time, 3 Kevin Evans (MTN Energade) same time, 4 Waylon Woolcock (MED) 3:21:57, 5 Ian McLeod (MTN) same time, 6 Tiaan Kannemeyer (HOP) same time, 7 Johannes Kachelhoffer (MED) 3:21:59, 8 Rene Haselbacher (AUT, SAF) 3:21:59, 9 David Garrett (DGU), 10 Shaun Ward (CLS) same time.

General classification: 1 Burry Stander (SPE) 5:52:29, 2 Rene Haselbacher (AUT, SAF) 5:52:37, 3 David George (SAF) 5:52:37, 4 Kevin Evans (MTN Energade) 5:52:38, 5 J Kachelhoffer (MED) 5:52:43, 6 Tiaan Kannemeyer (HOP) 5:52:47, 7 Ian McLeod (MTN) 5:52:47, 8 Waylon Woolcock (MED) 5:52:47.