Highlights, Results & Analysis from the Cape Epic 2024 Stage 3
The results are in from the fourth day of racing at the 2024 Cape Epic. After another 92km of racing, Ghost Factory Racing and the Buff Megamo continue to hold the overall race leads into the fifth day.
Check out the results from stage 3 below and we will be updating this page with analysis and highlights from the fourth day of racing.
Full Race Replay:
 | Blending the buttery smooth tarmac of the recently resurfaced Bainskloof Pass with the rugged remoteness of the Waterval Nature Reserve Stage 3 is a mix of natural and manmade. An asphalt run out of Saronsberg starts the day before the course gets complex with a dual track climb into the wild. The summer sun will have slowed the waterfall to a trickle and turned Zuurvlakte to a valley of rock and sand, so be prepared for a rapid change in conditions. Kluitjeiskraal and Blueberry Hill continue the off-road climbing challenges, before Bergsig Wine Estate signals the resumption of smooth roads at the foot of Bainskloof. A loop above Andrew Geddes Bain’s most famous pass adds a sting to the tail of an otherwise manageable day, before a taste of the Wild Boar Trails introduce teams to Wellington. A route divided between asphalt and the untamed, it is the only transition stage of the 2024 race. |
Stage Results:
UCI Men:
1st. Canyon SIDI - Andreas Seewald / Marc Stutzmann: 3:40:24
2nd. Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne - Matthew Beers / Howard Grotts: 3:41:13 / +49
3rd. Orbea Leatt Speed Company - Georg Egger / Lukas Baum: 3:41:14 / +50
4th. Buff Megamo - Hans Becking / Wout Alleman: 3:41:18 / +54
5th. Wilier Vittoria Factory - Fabian Rabensteiner / Samuele Porro: 3:44:33 / +4:08
UCI Women:
1st. Ghost Factory Racing - Anne Terpstra / Nicole Koller: 4:31:27
2nd. Cannondale Factory Racing - Mona Mitterwallner / Candice Lill: 4:32:43 / +1:16
3rd. Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne - Sofia Gomez Villafane / Samara Sheppard: 4:32:44 / +1:17
4th. Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM - Vera Looser / Alexis Skarda: 4:44:00 / +12:33
5th. e-FORT PrivateClientHoldings - Léna Gérault / Hayley Preen:4:47:49 / +16:22
Story of the Stage:
UCI Women:
UCI Men:
Race Lead Tracking:
UCI Women:
UCI Men:
Top 3 Teams Time Gained/Lost Through Track Sectors:
UCI Women:
UCI Men:
Overall Results:
UCI Men:
1st. Buff Megamo - Hans Becking / Wout Alleman: 12:29:38
2nd. Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne - Matthew Beers / Howard Grotts: 12:31:25 / +1:47
3rd. World Bicycle Relief - Nino Schurter / Sebastian Fini: 12:33:25 / +3:47
4th. Orbea Leatt Speed Company - Georg Egger / Lukas Baum: 12:36:59 / +7:21
5th. Wilier Vittoria Factory - Fabian Rabensteiner / Samuele Porro: 12:41:22 / +11:44
UCI Women:
1st. Ghost Factory Racing - Anne Terpstra / Nicole Koller: 15:22:54
2nd. Cannondale Factory Racing - Mona Mitterwallner / Candice Lill: 15:25:23 / +2:29
3rd. Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne - Sofia Gomez Villafane / Samara Sheppard: 15:30:48 / +7:54
4th. Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM - Vera Looser / Alexis Skarda: 15:52:48 / +29:54
5th. e-FORT PrivateClientHoldings - Léna Gérault / Hayley Preen: 16:06:11 / +43:17
Story of the Race (After 4 Stages):
UCI Women:
UCI Men:
Author Info:
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20 Comments
- 34 0
chillescarpe
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 2:17)
How are they able to cover multiple riders in multiple teams across a vast area of track, and yet nobody can work out the best way to live cover Enduro? This is really impressive coverage
- 10 0
mi-bike
(Mar 20, 2024 at 2:25)
Multiple helicopters in the air, for one. Bigger budget than enduro events.
- 6 0
cro-magnon
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 2:42)
@mi-bike: plus mass start, makes the covering and the understanding way easier.
- 2 0
Starch-Anton
(Mar 20, 2024 at 2:57)
@mi-bike: Yeah, all about budget; even XC Marathon World Cup events don't get this coverage......15 min highlights.
- 4 1
chillescarpe
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 3:25)
@cro-magnon: But shows it can be done with live onboard and well placed cameras. And this is over a much much larger area to cover. Surely 6 stages on the same mountain is much simpler
- 6 2
danielfloyd
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 4:12)
Hear me out: golf style broadcast. Have cameras at key points along each stage, following the action of the top few riders. When something special happens on other stages, switch to a replay and say "this was a moment ago on stage 3..."
- 6 0
the-smith
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 7:14)
It's really good coverage, but if you think about it while watching, it's a completely different scenario compared to enduro. A huge amount of the race happens on double track, whether it's tarmac, graded gravel road or slightly washed out fire roads. All places where a motorcycle with a driver and cameraman can easily ride ahead of, next to, or behind a pack of riders and pass them at will like the TDF. The vast majority of it seems to take place in wide open terrain where a helicopter or drone can capture all the action easily. And for the single-track, an e-bike rider with a camera catches a lot of the action from behind the pack. These three types of coverage seem to make up 90%+ of the action, and none of them are possible with enduro.
- 2 2
endurafrica
(Mar 20, 2024 at 8:10)
@the-smith: wait for the last day, black enduro trails right from the start to the end
- 2 0
mcharza
(Mar 20, 2024 at 8:25)
@the-smith: That's true, but I don't think the ebike rider can keep up with the Enduro Pro rider on the stage 
- 1 0
Dangerous-daveo
(Mar 20, 2024 at 13:16)
Trees.
But yeah, this coverage is good. Same with pinkbike stuff.
- 1 0
boozed
(Mar 20, 2024 at 15:55)
@Starch-Anton: A few years ago I watched an XCM race, I think it might have been world champs, live with coverage basically the same as this. So they do it, from time to time at least.
- 2 0
mi-bike
(Mar 20, 2024 at 16:15)
These graphs are cool, as always, but I now want to know what happened in Sectors 4, 5(!), and 6 for the men. How do the Orbea-Laett and Toyota-Specialized teams both lose ~80 seconds, only to win back 20 seconds on Canyon-Sidi in the final sector? Punctures for Orbea/Toyota at the same time? A crash that caught riders from two teams? Or a massive attack by Canyon-Sidi? Some actual written analysis on the "Story of the Race" would be nice.
- 2 0
edspratt
FL Editor
(Mar 21, 2024 at 0:24)
Thanks, I will add some extra details and context to the future stage reports where it's needed. I believe the Canyon Sidi team launched an attack, and the other two teams decided not to follow creating big gaps through stages four and five. The team of Nino Schurter and Sebastian Fini did have a mechanical leading to their 6th-place finish.
- 1 0
dirty-sundays
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 22:46)
Compare this TV coverage to the UCI Marathon World Cup or World Championships.. oh wait you can't, because they don't have one..
- 3 1
Bikethrasher
(Mar 20, 2024 at 5:00)
Drones are the way!
- 3 1
chillescarpe
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 5:07)
Red Bull drone was following an F1 car. That was impressive!
- 2 2
mkul7r4
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 5:19)
Didn't know Matt Beer was a top tier racer!
- 6 0
swansong
(Mar 20, 2024 at 6:26)
This is actually two dudes on a tandem, the unstoppable duo of Matthew Fairbrother and Matt Beer, hence the plural Matthew Beers.
- 2 0
Canadmos
FL (Mar 20, 2024 at 6:57)
I mean, he is.
- 2 2
IntoTheEverflow
(Mar 20, 2024 at 6:19)
Go Dutchies!
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