As the 20th edition prepares to get underway, we celebrate the fact that there’s another record-sized women’s field and that a South African is among the title favourites and set to break the more than 10-year victory drought for the host country at the Absa Cape Epic.
By Joanne Badenhorst
The last South African woman to win the Absa Cape Epic was Yolande Speedy in 2013. It’s been a long time coming, but it appears as if Candice Lill (pictured above right) is poised to claim the most coveted crown in mountain bike stage racing this year. Of course, this is mountain biking and nothing is certain until the finish line on the final stage, but everything points in Lill’s favour, including her teammate, team support, build-up form and confidence.
After becoming accustomed to racing professionally as a privateer, Lill has never enjoyed the full support that comes from a Factory Team. However, since she is partnered with Mona Mitterwallner (left of intro image), one of the world’s top mountain biker racers, she will benefit with Cape Epic support from the Austrian’s Cannondale Factory Racing team. This includes mechanical support, accommodation and food and transport, which may all seem small, but which all add up when you are racing at your physical limit for eight consecutive days at one of the toughest sports events in the world.
Mitterwallner is currently ranked fourth in the world, while Lill’s recent podium finishes in a series of races in Greece sees her at a career high of 17th. They won’t be going into the Cape Epic as strangers either. They paired up to win all four stages and the overall title at the four-day Tankwa Trek stage race last month in conditions similar to what they will experience at the Cape Epic over the next week.
The fact that Mitterwallner and Lill were the gold and silver medallists respectively at the 2023 UCI Marathon World Champs on a particularly tough course is well known. They have the pedigree. What isn’t is a given though is avoiding drama in a race that’s notorious for crushing dreams. Although much of the Cape Epic route these days takes place on purpose-built mountain bike trails, the dry, loose surfaces across different types of rock, sand and sometimes mud can throw curve balls with alarming accuracy.
Lill experienced that last year when, with a 13-minute overall lead on the penultimate stage, teammate Amy Wakefield suffered a broken rear rim. The pair lost almost 40 minutes to eventual winners, Kim le Court and Vera Looser as well as a shot at the overall win, settling for second place overall.
That was Lill’s fourth consecutive second place finish in the Absa Cape Epic! You feel that it must be time for the double-Olympian XCO racer to finally pull on the winner’s jersey in a race that’s defined the pinnacle of the endurance segment of the sport for most of her life in her home country.
With a total of 180 women in the race though, there’s more depth than ever before. Of those 180 women, 66 are racing in Mixed teams and the other 114 are in all-women’s pairs. Last year there were 12 UCI Women’s teams, this year, there are an impressive 19. There are really only three teams on paper that look most likely to challenge Mitterwallner and Lill for the title.
The Specialized Factory Racing team comprises Sofia Gomez Villafane of Argentina and Samara Sheppard of New Zealand. Gomez Villafane won the 2022 edition and finished third last year. Based on her winning the overall title at the 2023 Lifetime Grand Prix off-road series in the USA, she’s probably the world’s most accomplished off-road endurance racer (mountain bike and gravel) putting Sheppard, who finished sixth at the 2023 UCI Marathon World Champs, under some pressure on her debut Cape Epic.
Vera Looser, the Namibian that won the 2023 title, is back. This time with a new teammate, Alexis Skarda as Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM. While relatively unknown outside of the USA, Skarda is real-deal racer in her home country. She’s the current national marathon champion and was runner up to Gomez Villafane in the 2023 Lifetime Grand Prix series. Although a Cape Epic novice, Skarda will have the experience of three-time finisher, Looser, to lean on.
The only other team that looks like it may be in contention for the win is the Ghost Factory Racing team of Anne Terpstra of the Netherlands and Nicole Koller of Switzerland. Both are Cape Epic novices, but are world-class XCO racers. Terpstra has won XCO World Cup races, while Koller has finished on the podium in several. When world-class XCO racers tackle the Cape Epic, they generally only need to manage the endurance challenge and recovery as they have natural speed and skill.
The Absa African Jersey always garners local interest. While there are several strong African women entered, many of them are racing with riders from another continent, so can’t contest the race within a race. The teams most likely to chase this crown are the #SheUntamed squad of Sarah Hill and Hayley Smith, and the Efficient Infiniti Insure pairing of Danielle Strydom and Steph Wholters.
Until 2021, there was only a Women’s category, with African Jersey and Exxaro (Development) Jersey sub-divisions. This year, there are eight categories for women – UCI Women, Amateur Women, Master Women (40-49 years), Grand Master Women (50 years +), African Women and Development Women.
The total number of female entries is 180, up from 137 last year – a 31% increase! They are made up as follows:
- UCI Women: 19 teams (38 riders)
- Amateur Women: 14 teams (28 riders)
- Master Women: 19 teams (38 riders)
- Grand Master Women: 5 teams (10 riders)
- Mixed Teams: 66 (66 riders)
The 2024 Absa Cape Epic starts on Sunday 17 March and ends on Sunday 24 March. There are eight stages that cover a total of more than 700km with over 16000 metres of vertical ascent. The race will be broadcast live daily on the Absa Cape Epic YouTube Channel. For more information, download the Epic Series App or visit the race website here.
