Cory Wallace on verge of top-20 after Cape Epic’s Queen Stage
Canadian's S.African advenutre race already taking unexpected turns
Photo by:
Nick Muzik/Cape Epic
Canadian 24Hour world champion Cory Wallace is in South Africa racing the iconic Cape Epic stage race this week. After a prologue and two stages, Wallace and his race partner Craig Boyes of South Africa are on the verge of cracking into the top-20 of a stacked international field.
Wallace and Boyes were 35th in Tuesday’s Queen Stage, a 91-kilometre jaunt through Witzenberg Valley. Along the way, the stage included a brutal 2,100m of elevation gain through the challenging South African terrain. The Canadian/South African team’s consistent riding over the first three days is paying off, as steady riding in unpredictable race conditions is slowly moving them up the standings.
Wallace and Boyes now sit five spots ahead of Lachlan Morton and Kenneth Karaya (EF Education-Nippo), who are 26th after Tuesday’s racing.
Unpredictability starts before the Cape Epic prologue
ABSA Cape Epic is a notoriously difficult, and beautiful mountain bike stage race. With long days racing blind through the rugged South African, attrition comes in the form of mechanical woes, fatigue and the occasional stomach bug. For Canada’s endurance specialist, the challenges started before the first start gun fired.
Wallace was originally supposed to race with Christiaan van Rensburgn (Realty Dynamix p/b Powerbar), but the South African broke his collarbone pre-riding the day before the race. Boyes, van Rensburgn’s teammate, stepped up at the last minute to take his place.
International elite show form early in South Africa
2020 XCO world champion Jordan Sarrou and his teammate, Matthew Beer (NinetyOne-songo-Specialized) lead the men’s race. The French/South African pair have a 2:13 lead over Canyon Northwave’s Andreas Seewald and Martin Stosek.
NinetyOne-Sono-Specialized’s young powerhouse duo of Sina Frei and Laura Stigger lead the women’s race. The pair have won all three race days so far and appear to be distancing the rest of the field each day. Ariane Luthi and Robyn de Groot (Salusmed) trail by 7:32 after two stages and a prologue.
Five stages of racing remain in the 2021 ABSA Cape Epic.
