Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez-Villafane win 2022 Cape Epic
Men's title comes down to final day of racing in South Africa
Photo by:
Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez-Villafane are the 2022 Cape Epic winners. The NinetyOne-Specialized-Songo pair outdueled Cape Epic veterans and the all-start team of Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Robyn de Groote to take the overall title as the classic South African stage race.
On the men’s side, a week of drama came to a boil in a hard-fought Grand Finale. New leaders emerged on a thrilling Stage 7 race.
Sofia Gomez-Villafane keeps an eye on the Faces Rola duo during Stage 7. Photo: Simon Pocock / Cape Epic
Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez Villafane celebrate their overall title victory. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
(L-R) The woman overall podium, Candice Lill and Mariska Strauss of Faces Rola, Sofia Gomez Villafane and Haley Batten of Ninety One Songo Specialized, and Robyn De Groot and Pauline Ferrand Prévot of BMC MTB. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
Women: Batten and Gomex-Villafane revel in an impecable week of racing
After a week of dueling with Specialized and BMC, Faces Rola win the final Cape Epic stage. The South African pair of Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill battled with NinetyOne-Specialized-Songo all week and Sunday’s stage was no different. For the Grand Finale, though, the Faces Rola found a way to take the stage win.
Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez-Villafane crossed the line second on Sunday, but with the elation of winning their first Cape Epic as a team. The U.S.-Argentine duo rode impressively all week, leading from Stage 1 onwards. With a double-digit lead going into the final day of racing, they could ride safely on Sunday, savouring their victory.
Faces Rola secures second overall. Team BMC’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Robyn de Groot take third.
Lukas Baum of team Speed Company Racing pushes the pace on Sunday. Photo: Simon Pocock / Cape Epic.
Georg Egger and Lukas Baum of Speed Company Racing win stage 7 and the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
Lukas Baum is greeted by his farther at the finish line. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
(L-R) The overall mens podium of Martin Stošek and Andreas Seewald of Canyon Northwave MTB, Speed Company's Lukas Baum and Georg Egger, and Christopher Blevins and Matt Beers of Toyota Ninety One Specialized during stage 7 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
Men: Grande Finale fireworks
On the men’s side, a storm was brewing. Canyon Northwave’s Andreas Seewald and Martin Stosek led for much of the week, carrying the zebra jersey’s through aggressive racing early on. By Saturday, cracks were showing in the duo’s armour. Speed Company’s Georg Egger and Lukas Baum took note, and looked to take advantage on Sunday.
The German pair had help in their quest to take down Canyon Northwave. Nino Schurter and Lars Forster (Scott-SRAM) and Maxime Marotte and Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz) were two top teams hunting for the late glory of a stage win. With Speed Company, the six riders pushed the pace all Sunday and quickly put Canyon Northwave in trouble.
As the lead group’s advantage grew, and Speed Company moved into the virtual lead on G.C., Egger and Baum, buoyed by the prospect of Cape Epic overall victory, went on the attack. The pair dropped the distinguished Scott-SRAM and Santa Cruz teams, never letting the pace slow enough that Canyon Northwave could recover.
With an incredible late-race surge, Speed Company takes the final stage win of the 2022 Cape Epic and, with that, wins the Cape Epic overall.
Canyon Northwave are forced to settle for second. Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized’s Matt Beers and Christopher Blevins take third.
