Replay & Results: Cape Epic Stages 6 & 7 - An Intense Finish to 8 Grueling Days of Racing
Words: Cape Epic
Fabian Rabensteiner (ITA) and Wout Alleman (BEL) of Wilier-Pirelli rode an absolutely flawless race to win Stage 6 of the Absa Cape Epic. Speed Company Racing’s Lukas Baum (GER) and Georg Egger (GER) finished second on the day, but more importantly, they did some damage to the overall lead of Canyon Northwave MTB and Andreas Seewald (GER) and . The all German team will start the Grand Finale on Sunday just 2:45 behind the yellow jersey leaders. The race for the Absa Cape Epic is wide open going into the final day. In the women’s team NinetyOne-songo-Specialized of Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) and Haley Batten (USA) won their third stage at the Absa Cape Epic 2022. They now lead Faces Rola’s Candice Lill (RSA) and Mariske Strauss (RSA) by over 16 minutes going into Sunday’s Grand Finale. It was another two-team battle with NinetyOne-songo-Specialized and Faces Rola riding away from the other women’s teams early into the day’s racing. The two leading teams swapped places throughout the 76km stage, with NinetyOne-songo-Specialized finally managing to shake off Faces Rola with around 10km to go. Attacking the twisting singletrack descents as a unit, NinetyOne-songo-Specialized was composed and comfortable on the final few kilometres.
Stage 6 Results
Men
1st. Fabien RABENSTEINER & Wout ALLEMAN 03:16:04.9
2nd. Georg EGGER & Lukas BAUM +00:01:15.4
3rd. Daniel GEISMEYR & Cameron ORR +00:03:50.5
Women
1st. Haley BATTEN & Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE 04:01:04.8
2nd. Candice LILL & Mariske STRAUSS +00:00:39.8
3rd. Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT & Robyn DE GROOT +00:11:11.6
Stage 6 replay:
OVERALL Standings after Stage 6
Men
1. Andreas SEEWALD & Martin STOSEK 24:54:46.8
2.Georg EGGER & Lukas BAUM +00:02:45.7
3. Matthew BEERS & Christopher BLEVINS +00:07:40.3
4. Hans BECKING & José DIAS +00:20:14.7
5. Urs HUBER & Simon SCHNELLER +00:30:37.5
Women
1. Haley BATTEN & Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE 30:13:51.5
2. Candice LILL & Mariske STRAUSS +00:16:29.7
2. Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT & Robyn DE GROOT +00:38:10.7
4. Mari RABIE & Hayley PREEN +01:12:12.8
5. Ariane LUTHI & Amy WAKEFIELD +01:16:16.8
Words: Cape Epic
The men race was wide open as the overall leaders Canyon Northwave MTB of Andreas Seewald (GER) and Martin Stosek (CZE) started struggling on Stage 6. Speed Company Racing of Georg Egger (GER) and Lukas Baum (GER) rode strong over the last days and narrowed the gap to 2 minutes 45 seconds. The German newbies knew about their chance and so they attacked from the very beginning today. Speed Company Racing came up with a ride of their lifetime on this decisive last stage. They crossed the finish line first and are not only the winners of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic men's race, but also managed to overturn the deficit to claim the Absa Cape Epic 2022 title ahead of Canyon Northwave MTB who finished only in fifth today. In the women’s race it was Candice Lill (RSA) and Mariske Strauss (RSA) of Faces Rola who won the Grand Finale and claimed second place in the general classification. The dominant team riding in the orange leader jerseys for almost the entire race was NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized’s Haley Batten (USA) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG). They rode it safe today and finished in second to claim the overall win in the Absa Cape Epic 2022 with ease.
Stage 7 Results
Men
1st. Georg EGGER & Lukas BAUM 02:46:34.3
2nd. Nino SCHURTER & Lars FORSTER +00:01:44.6
3rd. Maxime MAROTTE & Keegan SWENSON +00:01:45.4
Women
1st. Candace LILL & Mariske STRAUSS 03:23:22.4
2nd. Haley BATTEN & Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE +00:03:57.7
3rd. Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT & Robyn DE GROOT +00:12:53.0
Stage 7 replay:
FINAL OVERALL RESULTS
Men
1. Georg EGGER & Lukas BAUM 27:44:06.9
2.Andreas SEEWALD & Martin STOSEK +00:03:02.4
3. Matthew BEERS & Christopher BLEVINS +00:10:38.5
4. Hans BECKING & José DIAS +00:30:00.1
5. Urs HUBER & Simon SCHNELLER +00:42:47.3
Women
1. Haley BATTEN & Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE 33:41:11.7
2. Candice LILL & Mariske STRAUSS +00:12:32.0
2. Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT & Robyn DE GROOT +00:47:06.0
4. Mari RABIE & Hayley PREEN +01:24:14.0
5. Ariane LUTHI & Amy WAKEFIELD +01:52:25.1
Author Info:
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Fantastic performance by Speed Company Racing, the really mixed it up!
Also: great coverage with insightful commentary by Annika Langvad and finally a meaningful application for e-mopeds.
It would be a bucket list trip, 30-60 days in SA riding all of those great trails.
The coverage continues to get better every year including Annika's 2nd year behind the Mic.
I hope they start covering more of the Epic Global MTB Series. I'd especially like to see the Swiss Epic and the Pioneer.
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