Cape Epic Stage 3: Blevins wins again but can’t shake Schurter
Wakefield and Lill start to move clear of competition in women's contest
Wednesday was the first transition stage of the 2023 Cape Epic, but no easy stroll. 100 km of singletrack and rough doubletrack packed in a brutal 2,300m of elevation gain. Hometown advantage appeared to help as three of the four stage winners hailed from South Africa.
Christopher Blevins and Matthew Beers earned a third win in four days of racing. But the South African and U.S. teammates couldn’t shake Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht to steal the leader’s jersey.
On the women’s side, the all-South African duo of Candice Lil and Amy Wakefiled used the big day in the saddle to start opening a gap to defending Cape Epic champion, Sofia Gomez Villafane and her partner, Katerina Nash.
Canadians at Cape Epic
After four days of racing, and three full-length stages, Pivot Cycles-OTE duo of Marc-André Fortier and Felix Belhumeur are finding a rhythm in South Africa. After finishing 33rd on Wednesday, the Quebec racers are sitting 29th, 1:31:50 behind Schurter and Frischknecht.
Former Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España winner Vincenzo Nibali has just started his debut Absa Cape Epic. He's riding with Samuele Porro for team "Italian Friends". #capeepic #untamed pic.twitter.com/pYRHn29ZJ3
— capeepic (@CapeEpic) March 19, 2023
The Shark stalks in South Africa
One of the more interesting sub-plots at this year’s Cape Epic is the off-road quest of recently-retired Tour de France winner, Vincenzo Nibali. Racing with Italian marathon specialist and Cape Epic veteran, Samuele Porro, The Shark moved up to sixth overall after Stage 3. As the roadie gets comfortable in the Cape Epic peloton, racers in front of team “Italian Friends” will surely start hearing echoes of “Dun-dun. Dun-dun. Dun-dun” following them through the singletrack.
Blevins and Beers take a third stage win, but still no leader’s jersey
Christopher Blevins and Matthew Beers (Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne) earned a third win in four days of racing at the Cape Epic. But their success only moves them up to fourth overall after the one day they didn’t win, Stage 1, saw them move slightly down the standings.
“It’s crazy to get stage wins at the Absa Cape Epic,” Beers said after the Stage. “Two years ago I wouldn’t think that this was possible. I know the area well from other events, so Chris and I knew when to kick. It’s very satisfying. Stage racing is all about communication and I think Chris and I have nailed that so far this week.”
The Specialized team comfortably took the win Wednesday, but couldn’t shake race leaders, Scott-SRAM. At the end of the 100-km stage, Schurter and his new Cape Epic teammate, Andri Frischknecht only conceded a handful of seconds in the GC race.
South Africans to the front
For Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill (e-Fort.net SeattleCoffeeCo), the second-straight long day of racing proved to be an opportunity to solidify their lead. Lill is the reigning South African marathon champion. She took over that title from 2o22 national champion, Wakefield. Racing together, the two South Africans are proving to be a force to be reckoned with at the Cape Epic.
After winning Stage 2, Lill and Wakefield knew exactly when to be on the front to extend their lead with another win in Stage 3. They now sit eight minutes up on NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized’s duo of Sofia Gomez Villafane and Katerina Nash.
“We sensed that they were battling to keep up with us,” said Lill. “So around 70km we attacked. We passed Sofia and Kate and put the hammer down. They caught us at first but then on the next climb, we managed to pull away. Both Amy and I know these trails so well, so we knew exactly what was coming and what we needed to do. We looked at the route this morning and thought today is the day where we can make time if we feel good.”
Early stage winners, Kim Le Court and Vera Looser (Efficient Infinity Insure) sit in third, 19 minutes behind. Not close, but not too far away to take advantage should either of the front-runners have a bad day. And, at the Cape Epic, bad days are highly probable, if not inevitable.
