The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results

by | Mar 26, 2023 | Bike Race Reports, Bike, Bike Events & Racing, Sports

Catch the 2023 Cape Epic results and racing news from the finale, Lourensford to Val de Vie!

It has been highly eventful week of racing! Illness, crashes, mechanicals, jersey changes. Everything we love about the Cape Epic, it delivered!

Clawing their way back over 6 days after a terrible Stage 1, Matt Beers and Chris Blevins left it all out on the mountains to take their maiden victory as a duo and South African Beers’ 2nd ever title! To see a South African on the top step of the World’s biggest mountain bike stage race is hard to put words to. Matt and Chris had us all behind them, cheering them on to victory and they delivered against the challenges they faced. Kudos boys!

Cape Epic Results Stage 7
Matthew Beers and Christopher Blevins win the 2023 Absa Cape Epic Photo Sam Clark / Cape Epic

Despite her horrible arm injury sustained on Stage 1, Amy Wakefield and partner Candice Lill looked to be untouchable as their lead extended stage after stage until the tragedy of mechanical issues changed the storyline. Le Court and Looser never gave up the fight and when the moment presented itself, they were there to capitalise on the opportunity! The Namibian and Mauritian combo earned themselves the illustrious title and will be celebrating the victory for a long time to come!

Cape Epic Results Stage 7
Kim Le Court and Vera Looser win the 2023 Absa Cape Epic! Photo Sam Clark / Cape Epic

The African Jersey in the Men’s race seemed destined to Phil Buys and Alex Miller from the start. The PYGA EuroSteel team were nearly faultless across the 8 days and would finish within the top 10 men’s teams on GC. Great work lads!

Cape Epic Results Stage 7
Philip Buys and Alex Miller celebrate after stage 7 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo Sam Clark / Cape Epic

2023 Cape Epic Results – Overall and African Jersey

Cape Epic Results Stage 7
Overall Men Top 10 Cape Epic 2023
The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Overall Women Top 10 Cape Epic 2023
The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Overall African Jersey Men Top 5 Cape Epic 2023
The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Overall African Jersey Men Top 5 Cape Epic 2023
The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Exxaro Jersey Men Top 5 Cape Epic 2023

Entries to the 2024 Absa Cape Epic open on 27 March on https://www.epic-series.com/capeepic

Absa Cape Epic 2023 Stage 7 Recap

Press Release: Cape Epic

Cape Town, South Africa (26 March 2023) – Matt Beers and Christopher Blevins (Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne) won the 2023 Absa Cape Epic at Val de Vie Estate in Paarl on Sunday, 26 March. In the CM.com Women’s category, Vera Looser and Kim le Court (Efficient Infiniti Insure) are the 2023 Champions. 

The Men’s race on Stage 7 of the Absa Cape Epic – the Grand Finale – was won by Lukas Baum and Georg Egger (ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company). In the CM.com Women’s race, Greete Steinburg and Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez (Cannondale Vas Arabay) took stage honours. 

All eyes, though, were on the overall standings when the final day of racing began at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West. Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) started Stage 7 in the yellow Ciovita leader jerseys, 90 seconds ahead of the second-placed Blevins and Beers and five-and-a-half minutes ahead of 2022 winners, Egger and Baum. 

Cape Epic Results Stage 7
Riders during stage 7 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West to Val de Vie, Paarl. Photo Sam Clark / Cape Epic

Frischknecht has had to dig deep all week on the brutal climbs of The Untamed African Mountain Bike Race, so it was no surprise that the early attack from the chasing teams came on the very first “Saddle” climb out of Lourensford. Schurter countered, but SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing had no answer to the power of Beers and Blevins as the South Africa-United States combo powered away. From that moment on, SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing continued to fall back.

Beers and Blevins rode alone for much of the first 20km, with Baum, Egger and Singer Racing (Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn) joining the lead bunch before the climb up Botmaskop. Also in attendance was lone Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne 2 rider, Tristan Nortje, riding in support of his A team. 

That was the status of the Men’s race until the final 20km, when Baum and Egger made a surprise surge for the finish line. They couldn’t drop the Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne team or Singer Racing and all three teams made it to the Val de Vie Estate finish area together.

Frey and Stiebjahn, content to ride hard but not interfere in the general classification race, looked to have set themselves up for a stage win – until Martin Frey inexplicably went flying over the handlebars on the home stretch.

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Christopher Blevins and Matt Beers break away during stage 7 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic

Stiebjahn powered ahead, not realising his partner was in a heap on the grass. The crash allowed Baum and Egger to take stage honours, with Beers and Blevins calmly rolling over the line, ready for the official timer to kick in.

Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne knew they’d put some time into the lead of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing, and sensed it was enough for the overall win, but it was only when the time passed a minute-and-a-half, with Schurter and Frischknecht nowhere to be seen, that they knew the 2023 Absa Cape Epic title was theirs. 

“We knew from last night that there was only one way to win today, and that was to go for it right from the start,” said Christopher Blevins. “We train so hard for these races and went through so much this week; it’s very special and satisfying when it all comes together like it did today. We heard bits and pieces of news from the route, so we knew we were ahead but you never really know. The only answer is to keep going as hard as you can. We suffered out there from start to finish but it’s worth it and such an honour to win the Absa Cape Epic.”

Matt Beers, now a two-time champion of the Absa Cape Epic, was thrilled with the performance and the crowd support. “That was a great win, not just the ride today, but the entire week. We had to come from a really dark place after battling on Stage 1 and I think that just shows how strong our partnership is and how much we believe in each other. We both really helped each other this week. There was so much crowd support out there for us; I think we rode that last stage on pure adrenalin. I am completely spent now.”

In the CM.com Women’s category, the efforts of the week seemed to finally take their toll on Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill (e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo). After a freak accident and subsequent surgery for Wakefield, and the drama of the broken rim on Stage 6, the e-FORT. net | SeattleCoffeeCo pair dropped off the pace early into the Grand Finale. 

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
The lead ladies with Kim Le Court and Vera Looser during the final stage of the 2023 Absa Cape. Photo by Dom Barnardt / Cape Epic

Orange jersey wearers Looser and Le Court led the stage throughout the 80km, alongside eventual stage winners Steinburg and Calderon (Cannondale Vas Arabay). There was little incident to speak of in the Women’s race, with the leading two teams seemingly happy to ride together. Once on the Val de Vie Estate finish stretch, Le Court and Looser dropped back slightly, allowing Cannondale Vas Arabay to take the stage.

“This is amazing,” said Steinburg of the team’s stage win. “This is our first season together and to win the Grand Finale of the Absa Cape Epic is something incredibly special. We started well, stuck with the leaders and just kept going.”

The 2023 Absa Cape Epic Champion in the CM.com Women’s category, Kim Le Court, could barely get her words out. “We did it” was all she could muster as champagne sprayed all around her. 

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Kim LeCourt and Vera Looser win the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic

“This is such an amazing feeling,” added Looser. “It’s been a long hard week and we had to dig really deep, but we made it. I think we need a week or two to let it sink in!”

Taking a moment to compose herself, Le Court added, “we had a reasonable time gap this morning, so we knew we just had to ride well and stay consistent. We were happy to let Cannondale Vas Arabay do the work at the front. We did say to them ‘if you guys do the work you can have the glory of the stage win and we’ll have the glory of the overall win’.”

For Wakefield and Lill, it was a brutal week of emotions but they still managed to finish the final stage with smiles. “Yesterday I was so bleak,” admitted Wakefield. “But then I looked at all the messages on social media and I was in tears. I was so touched by the support. You couldn’t make up the things that happened to us this week, but we just kept going.”

Lill added succinctly, “It’s been an insane week. We’ve been through all the highs and lows.” Proof, yet again, that anything can happen at the Absa Cape Epic.

2023 Absa Cape Epic Stage 7 Results:

Men’s category:
1.    Orbea X Leatt X Speed Company: Georg Egger, Lukas Baum –  03:07:26.4

2.    Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne: Matthew Beers, Christopher Blevins – 03:07:36.7 (+00:00:10.3)

3.    Singer Racing: Simon Stiebjahn, Martin Frey – 03:08:22.7 (+00:00:56.2)

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
Mens stage 7 podium (L-R) Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne, ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company and Singer Racing of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Lourensford Wine Estate to Val da Vie Estate, Paarl, South Africa on the 26th March 2023. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic

CM.com Women’s category:
1.    Cannondale Vas Arabay: Greete Steinburg, Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez – 04:02:50.5
2.    Efficient Infiniti Insure: Kim le Court, Vera Looser – 04:03:08.9 (+00:00:18.4)
3.    e-FORT. net | SeattleCoffeeCo.: Amy Wakefield, Candice Lill – 04:10:20.8 (+00:07:30.3)

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
The womans podium(L-R) Efficient Infiniti Insure, Cannondale Vas Arabay and e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo during stage 7 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Lourensford Wine Estate to Val da Vie Estate, Paarl, South Africa on the 26th March 2023. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic

2023 Absa Cape Epic General Classification After Stage 7:

Men’s category:
1.    Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne: Matthew Beers, Christopher Blevins – 26:17:04

2.    Orbea X Leatt X Speed Company: Georg Egger, Lukas Baum – 26:20:53.5 (+00:03:49.5)
3.    SCOTT-SRAM MTB-Racing: Nino Schurter, Andri Frischknecht – 26:21:15.6 (+00:04:11.5)

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
The mens overall podium(L-R) ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company, Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne and Scott-SRAM MTB Racing during stage 7 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Lourensford Wine Estate to Val da Vie Estate, Paarl, South Africa on the 26th March 2023. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic

CM.com Women’s category:
1.    Efficient Infiniti Insure: Kim le Court, Vera Looser – 33:11:37.7
2.    e-FORT. net | SeattleCoffeeCo.: Amy Wakefield, Candice Lill – 33:44:02.3 (+00:32:24.6)
3.    NinetyOne-songo-Specialized: Sofia Gomez Villafane, Katerina Nash – 33:54:55.4 (+00:43:17.7)

The African Riders Dominate The 2023 Cape Epic Results
The overall womens podium (L-R) e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo, Efficient Infiniti Insure and NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized during stage 7 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Lourensford Wine Estate to Val da Vie Estate, Paarl, South Africa on the 26th March 2023. Photo by Nick Muzik/Cape Epic

View the full Stage 7 results here.

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