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.
Stage 7 of the men’s race 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.
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 behind.
Beers and Blevins rode alone for much of the first 20 km, 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. In the final 20 km Baum and Egger made a surprise surge for the finish line. They couldn’t drop the Toyota-Specialised-NinetyOne team or Singer Racing and all three teams made it to the 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 Frey went flying over the handlebars on the home stretch. The crash allowed Baum and Egger to take stage honours, with Beers and Blevins calmly rolling over the line. Beers and Blevins knew they’d put some time into the lead of Scott-sram MTB Racing, 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. Matt Beers, is now a two-time champion of the Absa Cape Epic.
In the CM.com women’s category, orange jersey wearers Looser and Le Court led the stage throughout the 80 km, alongside winners Steinburg and Calderon (Cannondale Vas Arabay). On the finish stretch at Val de Vie, Le Court and Looser dropped back slightly, allowing Cannondale Vas Arabay to take the stage.
