Absa Cape Epic 2023 - Stage 3 - News

Today is Stage 3 and it marks the first transition, from Hermanus to Oak Valley Estate. Today’s route traverses wild country nestled within pockets of manicured agriculture. 100 brutal kilometres of raw, natural trails separate the race villages. The riders have to climb 2300 meters before returning Oak Valley Estate, ahead of the time trial on Stage 4. Today’s race was decided on the very last meters in a sprint finish between four teams. Matthew Beers (RSA) from team Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne played it tactical as he pulls a head, knowing that his partner Christopher Blevins (USA) being a good sprinter. And it worked, Blevins went mental on the last meters and caught his partner. It is the second consecutive stage win for Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne. Georg Egger (GER) and Lukas Baum (GER) of team ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company follow behind with only a slight margin of 1.4 seconds. Team Wilier Pirelli Factory’s, Fabian Rabensteiner (ITA) and Wout Alleman (BEL) finished in third with 2.1 seconds deficit. Overall leaders Nino Schurter (SUI) and Andri Frischknecht (SUI) of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing miss out the podium today rolling in into fourth place but manage to retain their overall lead in the General classification with a lead of 3 minutes 12 seconds. The women’s race was dominated by overall leaders Amy Wakefield (RSA) and Candice Lill (RSA) of e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo who cruised to victory on Stage 3. It was a brilliant ride from the South African pair and they were able to extend their overall lead. NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized’s Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) and Katerina Nash (CZE) secured the second place with a time deficit of 2 minutes and 57 seconds. Team Efficient Infiniti Insure of Kim Le Court (MRI) and Vera Looser (NAM) came into third.