Intro:

José Hermida and Rudi van Houts of Multivan Merida Biking were victorious in the Cape Epic prologue time trial with a time of 59.08 in Durbanville, South Africa, on Sunday.

Script:

The men's Cape Epic prologue time trial was won by José Hermida and Rudi van Houts of Multivan Merida Biking in a time of 59 minutes 0.8 seconds in Durbanville, South Africa, on Sunday.

The course is 14 miles long, through the hills and valleys of Meerendal Wine Estate.

The pair could only finish fourth in this event last year so they'll be dining out on their win today for quite some time.

In second place was BMC Mountainbike Racing's Lukas Flückiger and Martin Fanger, who clocked 59 minutes, 20 seconds; 12 seconds off first place.

Fanger only took part in the race as a stand-in for the injured Ralph Näf.

The German/Czech pair of Robert Mennen and Kristian Hynek helped Topeak-Ergon Racing claimed third spot, in 1 minute, 28.7 seconds.

But it's Hermida -- who's from Catalonia -- and his Dutch team mate van Houts who grabbed today's headlines. Claiming the yellow zebra-striped leaders' jerseys for tomorrow's stage 1 will have them doing the sardana.