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Johannesburg - Stage five of this year's Cape Epic was again won in a sprint finish by the unbeatable South AfricanSwiss pair of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser, in a time of 5:06.45.
This is their fifth stage win in this year's event.
Thomas Dietsch and Tim Boehme finished in second place in a time of 5:06.46.
Hannes Genze and Andreas Kugler finished the stage in third in a time of 5:07.49, followed by Alban Lakata and Robert Mennen, who finished fourth, in 5:07.54,2.
The South African duo of Kevin Evans and David George finished in fifth place in 5:14.25.
Stander and Sauser (Team 36ONE-Songo-Specialized) remain in the lead in this category by 26 minutes and 32 seconds, while Genze and Kugler moved up one position to second place overall, with Dietsch and Boehme in third place, 1 minute and 35 seconds behind them.
Lakata and Mennen are now placed fourth overall, with Evans and George in fifth place overall.
Sauser said he was very happy with the day's racing, especially after rain hit the course early on.
"Today was very challenging. The rain stopped and then it started again; it's never been this wet at the Cape Epic before," Sauser said.
"The back-markers are going to struggle a lot in these conditions."
Stander said conditions were tricky for the second day in a row and preferred the rain to stay away.
"I prefer the heat! I took my rain jacket off with 35km to go when the sun came out. Big mistake! Soon I got so cold and I was struggling," Stander said.
"When Christoph upped the pace, I wasn't too impressed and had some choice words for him in my mind.
"I was starting to feel better though and only Dietsch and Boehme stayed with us. It was nice to ride with them because they pushed us."
Meanwhile, the Ladies category was won by Karien van Jaarsveld and Jane Nssli in a time of 6:15.11, ahead of Theresa Ralph and Nina Gssler in 6:40.52.
Sally Bigham and Esther Sss finished in third place in a time of 6:43.10. Bigham and Sss lead Ralph and Gssler by 38 minutes and 49 seconds, while Van Jaarsveld and Nssli remain in third place overall.
Bart Brentjens and Jan Weevers secured their first stage win in the Master's category in a time of 5:24.37.
The pair were followed by Enthoven and Delaney Impey in 6:15.58.
Dirk Rossignol and Ignace Spruyt finished in third place in a time of 6:22.31.
Brentjens and Weevers now lead the Masters category by 18 minutes and 1 second, with Robert Sim and Nico Pfitzenmaier in second place overall, followed by Adrian Enthoven and Delaney Impey in third.
Saturday's stage covers 85km, with a daunting 2,200m of climbing lying in wait.
