The 2022 Absa Cape Epic will go down as one of the most exciting editions of the race! The women’s race saw a three-way battle for stage wins and the strongest South African presence in many years, while the men’s race saw seven different teams win stages and a dramatic, successful final-stage GC title chase by a popular underdog team. We have a stage report and image gallery for every stage right here, should you be keen to relive the historic event.
STAGE 7
LILL, STRAUS WIN FINAL BATTLE, BUT BATTEN, GOMEZ VILLAFANE WIN WAR
South Africans Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss (Faces Rola) won the final stage in front of a passionate home crowd, but the America-Argentina team of Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez Villafane (NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized) rolled home second to claim overall victory at the 2022 Absa Cape Epic Women’s category.
Full report and image gallery.
EGGER, BAUM DELIVER HISTORIC CAPE EPIC VICTORY
The Grand Finale of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic, The Race That Measures All, which finished at the Val de Vie Estate outside Paarl on Sunday, was the scene of an upset for the ages. Speed Company Racing’s Georg Egger and Lukas Baum made history at the Absa Cape Epic by becoming the first team to chase down the overall leaders on the Grand Finale stage and claim the crown for themselves.
Full report and image gallery.
https://www.darcs.co.zaSTAGE 6
GOMEZ VILLAFANE, BATTEN GAIN WINNING MOMENTUM
The NinetyOne-songo-Specialized team of Sofia Gómez Villafane and Haley Batten won their third stage in the CM.com Women’s category at the Absa Cape Epic, tightening their grip on the overall lead in the process. They now lead Faces Rola (Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss) by over 16 minutes in the general classification going into Sunday’s Grand Finale.
Full report and image gallery.
RABENSTEINER, ALLEMAN SET STELLENBOSCH STAGE ALIGHT
Fabian Rabensteiner and Wout Alleman (Wilier-Pirelli) rode an absolutely flawless race to win Stage 6 of the Absa Cape Epic. Speed Company Racing (Lukas Baum and Georg Egger) finished second on the day, but more importantly, they did some damage to the overall lead of Canyon Northwave MTB. Baum and Egger will start the Grand Finale on Sunday just 02:45 behind the yellow jersey leaders. The race for the Absa Cape Epic is wide open going into the final day.
Full report and image gallery.
STAGE 5
BATTEN, GOMEZ VILLAFANE TIGHTEN CAPE EPIC GRIP
Sofia Gómez Villafane and Haley Batten (NinetyOne-songo-Specialized) won Stage 5 in the CM.com Women’s category at the 2022 Absa Cape Epic, tightening their grip on the overall leader orange jerseys at the same time. They now lead the event by more than 15 minutes ahead of Faces Rola (Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss), the second-place finishers on Stage 5.
Full report and image gallery.
JOUBERT, DU TOIT MAKE SOUTH AFRICA PROUD
South Africa’s Marco Joubert and Pieter du Toit (Imbuko {Type} DEV) won the 115km Stage 5 of the Absa Cape Epic after a thrilling break 70km into the stage from Greyton to Stellenbosch. The South African riders, already wearing the Absa African Men’s jerseys as the leading African men’s team at the event, rode the last 45km of the stage alone upfront with the chasing pack unable to hunt them down. It was their first-ever stage win at the Absa Cape Epic.
Full report and image gallery.
STAGE 4
DE GROOT, FERRAND-PREVOT GRAB ANOTHER STAGE WIN
Robyn de Groot and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (BMC MTB Racing) rode a blemish-free ride on Stage 4 in the CM.com Women’s category at the Absa Cape Epic to win their third stage of the event. De Groot admitted after the 82km stage that the plan was to have a self-imposed rest day, but Ferrand-Prévot’s winning mentality kicked in around 40km into the day; soon after BMC MTB Racing found themselves all alone at the front of the race.
Full report and image gallery.
BEERS, BLEVINS CRAFT TACTICALLY BRILLIANT STAGE VICTORY
Matt Beers and Christopher Blevins (Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized) won Stage 4 of the Absa Cape Epic with an unintentionally brilliant tactical finish to the 82km stage. With 5km to go Beers raced away from his partner Blevins, Speed Company Racing’s Lukas Baum and Georg Egger, and Canyon Northwave MTB’s Martin Stošek. Canyon Northwave MTB’s Andreas Seewald went with Beers and the two rode alone towards the finish.
Full report and image gallery.
STAGE 3
STAGE WIN PUTS LILL, STRAUS BACK IN TITLE CONTENTION
Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss (Faces Rola) rode a brilliant tactical race at the Absa Cape Epic today in the CM.com Women’s category to claim the 101km Stage 3. After a few up and down days at the event, Lill and Strauss were finally able to put together the complete performance for their first-ever Absa Cape Epic stage win as a team. The victory also puts them into second place in the CM.com Women’s category general classification. Sofia Gómez Villafane and Haley Batten (NinetyOne-songo-Specialized), second on Stage 3, still lead overall by 10 minutes.
Full report and image gallery.
EGGER, BAUM STORM TO DEBUT STAGE WIN
Absa Cape Epic debutantes, Georg Egger and Lukas Baum (Speed Company Racing) set off on a courageous attack and made it stick to win Stage 3 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic and move up to second place on the general classification in the process. Defending champion Matt Beers (Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized) started Stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic with an explosion of high-octane mountain biking. With riders still getting into their pedal stroke in the start chute, Beers revved away from the pack, dragging a few startled teams along for the ride.
Full report and image gallery.
STAGE 2
DE GROOT, FERRAND-PREVOT SOAR BACK INTO CONTENTION
If the story of the Men’s race was Matt Beers charging back to life after a wretched Stage 1, then the same could be said for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the CM.com Women’s category. The French superstar – a past World Champion in cyclocross, road, XCO and XCM – was rudely introduced to the realities of the Absa Cape Epic on Stage 1. But on the 123km Stage 2, Ferrand-Prévot bounced back like a champion, riding to victory on the stage alongside BMC MTB Racing teammate, Robyn de Groot.
Full report and image gallery.
SCHURTER, FORSTER SPRINT TO STAGE 2 REDEMPTION
XCO Mountain Bike World Champion Nino Schurter and partner Lars Forster (SCOTT-SRAM) finally came to the party at the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. The Swiss riders endured a third day of punctures, but this time the deflation couldn’t defeat them as they raced home in a sprint finish to claim the 123km Stage 2, from Lourensford Wine Estate to Elandskloof Farm Cottages, Greyton. Schurter and Forster, who lost time on the Prologue and Stage 1 due to punctures, were in control throughout Stage 2, sitting at the front of the men’s bunch or one or two positions back in the field during the demanding transition leg.
Full report and image gallery.
STAGE 1
CAPE EPIC DELIVERS WOMEN’S RACE DRAMA
The CM.com Women’s category racing on Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic was like a ding-dong football match where both teams forget to defend, so frequently did the lead change hands on the day. After a thrilling day on the trails, NinetyOne-songo-Specialized (Sofía Gómez Villafane and Haley Batten) claimed the stage and moved into the overall lead, and in so doing secured the orange leader jerseys ahead of Stage 2.
Full report and image gallery.
SEEWALD STOSEK CHARGE INTO CAPE EPIC LEAD
Andreas Seewald and Martin Stošek (Canyon Northwave MTB) won the 92km Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic with a controlled, well-paced ride from start to finish and claimed the Men’s category leader jerseys in the process. Riding smoothly and serenely throughout the stage, Seewald and Stošek were comfortable winners on a day when all the drama happened behind them. Living up to their Prologue promise, Speed Company Racing’s Georg Egger and Lukas Baum started brightly on the stage, as did SCOTT-SRAM’s Nino Schurter and Lars Forster.
Full report and image gallery.
PROLOGUE
DREAM CAPE EPIC DEBUT FOR FERRAND-PREVOT
Debutant Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France and South African partner Robyn de Groot (BMC MTB Racing) served notice to the rest of the CM.com Women’s category at the 2022 Absa Cape Epic with a commanding performance in the Prologue on Sunday, 20 March. Ferrand-Prévot, a multi-discipline World Champion in road racing, cyclo-cross, Marathon MTB and XCO (her last MTB World Championship title coming in 2020), set the pace on the 24km Prologue at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West and De Groot followed.
Full report and image gallery.
BEERS, BLEVINS BLITZ TO EARLY CAPE EPIC LEAD
Defending Absa Cape Epic champion Matt Beers did not come to the 2022 edition to play. Racing this edition of The Race That Measures All with American debutant Christopher Blevins for team Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized, Beers blitzed out of the start chute at the 2022 Prologue and tore into the hot, dry trails of Lourensford Wine Estate on the 24km day of racing. Beers and Blevins romped home in a time 58:06,7 to claim the first yellow jersey of the event. Second place on the Prologue went to German newcomers Georg Egger and Lukas Baum (Speed Company Racing), while Andreas Seewald and Martin Stošek (Canyon Northwave MTB) finished third.
Full report and image gallery.
