Batten and Gomez-Villafane respond to Cape Epic attacks to secure lead
New winners and a battle for the lead on the men's side
Photo by:
Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
On the penultimate day of Cape Epic racing, the pressure was on. With time running out, Faces Rola’s Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss were looking to make one final play against Specialized’s leading duo of Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez-Villafane.
Likewise in the men’s race, race leaders Canyon Northwave found themselves under pressure from all sides with just one day of racing remaining.
Women: Batten and Gomez-Villafane battle to solidify lead
NinetyOne-Specialized-Songo’s U.S.-Argentine pair of Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez-Villafane have held onto the women’s leaders jerseys since Stage 1 of the 2022 Cape Epic. On Saturday, they fended off yet another attack from Faces Rola’s duo of Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill. The all-South African team poured on the pace from the gun, looking to shake the eminently solid Specialized leaders.
It was not to be, though. Batten and Gomez-Villafane fended off the offensive, then responded with their own burst of speed to take Saturday’s stage victory.
“That was crazy today,” said Haley Batten. “It was a real battle of the trails; there was so much singletrack. Just from that point of view, it was probably the hardest stage we have done at this year’s Absa Cape Epic.”
“It was just go, go, go the minute the race started today,” Batten added. “Candice and Mariske were really moving; it was such a good battle out there, we really enjoyed it. But it was pretty dang hard!”
Specialized extend their lead by 39 seconds. With one day of racing remaining, they have a solid 16:29 advantage over Faces Rola.
In third on the stage and in G.C. is Team BMC. The pair of Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Robyn de Groot have battled all week, fluctuating between stage wins and time losses, depending on the day. Saturday was a steadier day, with the pair establishing their third place overall.
Men: New winners and shaken leaders
The men’s race strategy looked much the same as the women’s, but with a twist. Speed Company Racing (Lukas Baum and Georg Egger) were intent on putting Canyon Northwave’s leader’s jersey under pressure. While they battled for the overall, Fabian Rabensteiner and Wout Alleman (Wilier-Pirelli) took advantage to escape for their first Cape Epic stage win.
Rabensteiner and Alleman attacked from the first climb. Initially, they were followed by Speed Company Racing and Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized’s Matt Beers and Christopher Blevins. The Specialized duo faded first, then Speed Company dropped off the pace as well. This left Wilier-Pirelli alone to hunt for the win.
“That was a really good day for us,” said Fabian Rabensteiner. “We were feeling good this morning so we decided to attack on the first climb. We kept a good pace, but the Speed Company Racing guys matched us and were really strong again. We were in a group for a while and that helped us save some energy; Speed Company Racing attacked at the second water point but we felt strong and got in front of them. From that moment we never looked back and just rode at our own pace to the finish. The stage was excellent, with lots of technical singletrack, which is what we like. Of the six Absa Cape Epics I have done, this is probably the best stage ever.”
Wout Alleman added, “We knew Stellenbosch would be better for us as we like the trails here. We planned to attack today because we have not had the race we wanted this week; we wanted to get a result today. Tomorrow is another chance to show our ability and we will race hard again.”
Further behind, Speed Company had Canyon Northwave under pressure. Andreas Seewald appears to be battling a rib injury. He and teammate Martin Stošek fought hard to limit their losses on Saturday. In the end, they would finish fifth. They concede crucial time to Speed Company. Canyon Northwave still hold the race lead by 2:45 with one stage remaining.
