Cape Epic heats up on Stage 3
Leaders come under pressure and Wallace continues to improve as fatigue builds in South Africa
Photo by:
Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
After four days on course, racing at the 2021 ABSA Cape Epic is heating up. Both literally, with temperatures soaring into the mid-30s Celsius, and figuratively, with race favourites under pressure in both the men’s and women’s race.
Canada’s Cory Wallace is looking cool under pressure, with his team moving into the top-20 despite a mechanical on Stage 3.
Canyon Northwave on the move
The 2021 Cape Epic’s Queen Stage may have passed, but racing isn’t getting any easier. Stage 3 hit racers with 2,100m of elevation gain spread out over 91 kilometres. This year’s most difficult climb, Fanties Pass, topped out at 20 per cent grade with an average of 14 per cent sustained for the final two kilometres. Stage 3’s second major climb was made all the more difficult as it came 70 km deep into the day’s racing.
Canyon Northwave’s duo of Andreas Seewald and Martin Stosek used Fanties Pass to launch their attack on race leader’s Jordan Sarrou and Matthew Beers (NinetyOne-Specialized-Songo). By the time Seewald and Stosek hit the finish line they’d earned their first Cape Epic stage win and cut the Specialized team’s GC lead down to 1:43.
Trek-Pirelli’s Italian duo of Samuele Porro and Fabian Rabensteiner crossed the line 2.5 seconds behind the Canyon Northwave pair to take second with Bulls’ two teams in third and fourth on the day.
On the women’s side, team Faces CST put their own podium chances in jeopardy with an early crash. Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss were able to rejoin the leading group, only to be trailed off the back as the group ascended Fanties Pass. It was once again NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized’s star studded duo of Laura Stigger and Tokyo Olympic XCO medallist Sina Frei taking the win, their fourth in four days. That pair pushes their GC lead over second place team, Salusmed’s Ariane Luthi and Robyn de Groot, into double digits. Stigger and Frie are now 11:15.6 in the lead.
Cory Wallace climbs into top-20
Consistency is paying off for Canada’s Cory Wallace and his South African teammate Craig Boyes. The pair moved into 19th overall after Wedensday’s racing, despite mechanical difficulties. The inter-continental teammates had been riding further up the field with NinetyOne-Specialized-Songo’s second team of Christoph Sauser and Alex Malacarne until a mechanical dropped them back in the field. Wallace and Boyes recovered to finish 21st again and continue steadily moving up the ranks. They are now one of the few top teams that are staying in the race’s tent village instead of bringing private campers along the route.
