A dramatic Cape Epic of mud, sweat and gears
An unpredictable 19th Absa Cape Epic ended after eight days of broken riders, bikes, hopes and dreams on Sunday, with three Africans wrestling through the mud, wind and rain to stand atop the podium at the Val de Vie estate in Paarl.
The record will show that Kim le Court and Vera Looser (Efficient Infiniti Insure), of Mauritius and Namibia, and SA’s Matt Beers and his American Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne teammate, Chris Blevins, won the women’s and men’s categories of the 2023 Cape Epic, but that record will tell little of the rollercoaster ride and the back stories of what may just have been the toughest and most dramatic Epic of the past two decades.
The record will also show that the final stage was won by Germany’s Georg Egger and Lukas Baum (Orbea-Leatt) and Estonia’s Greete Steinberg and Colombia’s Monica Martinez (Cannondale). But, that is by the by.
Le Court and Looser were the strongest team coming into the final stages, but they will concede they benefited from the bad luck of South Africans Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill (SeattleCoffeeCo) on Saturday’s sixth stage. After overcoming emergency surgery on an arm on Monday, Wakefield had her rear wheel destroyed by a rock and the pair lost more than 30 minutes on the day, their lead in the orange leader’s jersey they had held for most of the week vanishing in the rain and mud around Lourensford.
After winning the prologue a week ago and taking the yellow leader’s jersey, Blevins had a stomach bug and had the worst of days on the first stage in Hermanus.
The race looked done, the gap too big as Switzerland’s Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht (Scott-SRAM) took over the lead, chased by Egger and Lukas, the defending champions. As Frischknecht faded during the week, despite Schurter’s best efforts, Egger and Baum rode gung-ho to take the lead, but then suffered a mechanical on Saturday, passing the jersey to the Swiss pair.
All Beers, the 2021 winner, and Blevins had to do was beat Schurter and Frischknecht by 1 min 32 sec. On Sunday, on the finish line at Val di Vie, they did not celebrate until that minute-and-a-half had passed, confirming a victory that would have looked more certain had Blevins not suffered that stomach ailment on Monday.
“There was only one way to do it today. It was a beautiful opportunity to be able to go for it. You train and go through so much for moments like that. It was special to put it together,” said Blevins. “We heard little bits and pieces [of the time gap to Scott-SRAM], but you can never feel too comfortable. Up until the line, we went as hard as we could. It’s an honour. It really is.”
“We had to come from a dark place on the first day. I think it shows our partnership, how strong it is and how much we believe in each other. I think we were running off complete adrenaline” spent now, said and Beers. we’re pretty
Wakefield’s injury, incurred when a branch pierced her bicep and ripped it open to the muscle, has been the talk of the Epic and the story of the race. How she and Lill kept going as hard as they did for as long as they did was a testament to grit and heart. On Sunday, she was aware of what their charge at the title had meant to many.
“Yesterday, I was so bleak,” said Wakefield, who had to have four hours of surgery. “I came here to win. And, then, I saw the messages on Instagram. The number of women we have inspired, the young girls ... nothing can top that.”
“It’s been an insane week,” said Lill. “We have been through ups and downs. Looking back I think, this is sport. You have to take the highs and the lows. In every way, we were amazing teammates to each other.”
They will, they say, be back. There are few who would bet against them for 2024.