In the penultimate stage of this year's Absa Cape Epic, some new faces competed for the men's stage win, while the overall standings were largely unchanged for the men and women's events.

In a surprise stage finish, the Full-Dynamix Rsm team — Sweden's Fredrik Kessiakoff and Italy's Massimo Debertolis — took top honors for the first time during this year’s event. Hot on their heels was the USN/adidas team, Brandon Stewart and Max Knox, who arrived seven seconds later.

The second-placed Bulls team, Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm , was fourth, followed closely by race leaders Cannondale Vredestein, Roel Paulissen and Jakob Fuglsang.

Mixed team rider Yolande De Villiers leads the Rocky Mountain team in stage 7 of the Cape Epic

Photo: Sven Martin/SPORTZPICS

For stage 7, Cape Epic riders enjoyed a 91km route from Hermanus to Grabouw. Several of the competitors commented on the fun singletrack on the stage.

“It was almost like a reward for the suffering we had to endure the days before," said Hannes Genze of Alb-Gold Mountainbike.

Womens leaders Pia Sundstedt and Alison Sydor during stage 7

Photo: Sven Martin/SPORTZPICS

Cannondale Vredestein’s Paulissen said he talked with fellow competitors about coming back Sunday, after the epic concludes, to ride some of the singletrack again. “Today the level of single-track was very close to that of a mountain bike World Cup. However we only went at 80 percent so we were cruising it,” he said.

In the women's race, the Rocky Mountain team of Pia Sundstedt and Alison Sydor won the stage and increased their overall lead over the Trek/VW team of Susan Haywood and Jennifer Smith.