{"id":13563,"date":"2022-03-23T17:21:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T17:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2022\/03\/23\/faces-rola-sprint-to-victory-on-stage-3-of-2022-absa-cape-epic-r8406\/"},"modified":"2023-03-20T08:52:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T06:52:07","slug":"faces-rola-sprint-to-victory-on-stage-3-of-2022-absa-cape-epic-r8406","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/faces-rola-sprint-to-victory-on-stage-3-of-2022-absa-cape-epic-r8406\/","title":{"rendered":"Faces Rola sprint to victory on Stage 3 of 2022 Absa Cape Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\tCandice Lill and Mariske Strauss (Faces Rola) rode a brilliant tactical race at the Absa Cape Epic today in the\u00a0CM.com\u00a0Women&#8217;s category to claim the 101km Stage 3.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tAfter a few up and down days at the event, Lill and Strauss were finally able to put together the complete performance for their first-ever Absa Cape Epic stage win as a team.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACE22_S3_Sam Clark_8549.jpg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1698284\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"6awl6salf\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1640580300_ACE22_S3_SamClark_8549.763d9ee59f9a78e791db5ae04a46e2c1-1.jpg\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n\t<span style=\"color:#7f8c8d;\"><span style=\"font-size:12px;\"><em>Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill during stage 3 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Elandskloof in Greyton to Elandskloof in Greyton, South Africa on the 23rd March 2022. Photo Sam Clark\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe victory also puts them into second place in the\u00a0CM.com\u00a0Women&#8217;s category general classification. Sofia G\u00f3mez Villafane and Haley Batten (NinetyOne-songo-Specialized), second on Stage 3, still lead overall by 10 minutes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe racing started to take shape on the rolling hills out of the Elandskloof race village when Hayley Preen and Mari Rabie (Private Client Holdings) upped the tempo on a climb.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe rest of the women were reluctant to chase the break, allowing Preen and Rabie to build a two-minute gap. The gap was eventually closed by NinetyOne-songo-Specialized and Faces Rola ahead of the 60km mark, with all three teams then riding together for the rest of the stage.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACE22_S3_Sam Clark_8594.jpg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1698285\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"trt6qln5u\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/148736276_ACE22_S3_SamClark_8594.e08d5fc7e0fa05f392976ad239b4c810-1.jpg\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n\t<span style=\"color:#7f8c8d;\"><span style=\"font-size:12px;\"><em>Sofia Gomez Villafane and Haley Batten during stage 3 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Elandskloof in Greyton to Elandskloof in Greyton, South Africa on the 23rd March 2022. Photo Sam Clark\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tVictory prospects were looking good for Private Client Holdings until the final climb of the day when Lill decided to attack. Strauss appeared to be struggling a little bit with the pace but went with Lill as Faces Rola and NinetyOne-songo-Specialized passed Private Client Holdings.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACE22_S3_Sam Clark_8421.jpg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1698287\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"dvprd36wf\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1758661550_ACE22_S3_SamClark_8421.aedb1f89164cc772504fe158d2ae66ac-1.jpg\" title=\"\"><span style=\"color:#7f8c8d;\"><span style=\"font-size:12px;\"><em>Mari Rabie and Hayley Preen during stage 3 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Elandskloof in Greyton to Elandskloof in Greyton, South Africa on the 23rd March 2022. Photo Sam Clark\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"article_body_aunit\" id=\"div-gpt-ad-1628069077697-0\" style=\"min-width: 300px; min-height: 250px;\">\n\t<script>\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1628069077697-0'); });\n  <\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n\tOn the steep up-and-downs heading to the finish, there was some cat and mouse riding between the leading teams, with Lill and Strauss both ultimately managing to get ahead of Batten and Villafane on the final singletrack. Faces Rola tactics had worked a charm and the South African riders were able to sprint home for a famous stage win.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t&#8220;That was so good!&#8221; said Strauss.&#8221;It feels so good to win this stage. Today was all about executing our plans; it finally came together for us. All our strategy kicked in. We found our flow early into the stage and just rode well until the end.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tLill admits that letting riders of the quality of Preen and Rabie race ahead was risky but Faces Rola had faith in their tactics.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACE22_S3_Sam Clark_8733.jpg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1698289\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"2moci49mu\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/34879576_ACE22_S3_SamClark_8733.2c8f75a6f7fa229bf6f0963361172069-1.jpg\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n\t<span style=\"color:#7f8c8d;\"><span style=\"font-size:12px;\"><em>Photo Sam Clark\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACE22_S3_Sam Clark_8806.jpg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1698288\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"n64pcy001\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1808151026_ACE22_S3_SamClark_8806.fe34412adda2b572c9051177ef7e7a4b-1.jpg\" title=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:12px;\"><span style=\"color:#7f8c8d;\"><em>Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss after stage 3 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race from Elandskloof in Greyton to Elandskloof in Greyton, South Africa on the 23rd March 2022. Photo Sam Clark\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t&#8220;I said to Mariske we can&#8217;t let Hayley and Mari get too far ahead because they are such good riders. They were so strong today, but we stuck with them and managed to make our move near the end. The race was a lot of fun and very tactical, a very cool day on the bike. Mariske and I did our homework on the stage; we knew the finish was tight and that you needed to be in front going into the last stretch. We managed to execute our plan and from there we were able to take the stage.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDespite losing the lead after such a strong ride, Private Client Holdings enjoyed the day in front of the bunch. &#8220;That was a great day out,&#8221; said Mari Rabie. &#8220;We always knew we would build into the race; it was a really great ride and so much fun to ride together with the other women&#8217;s teams at the front. I think it&#8217;s awesome to have two all-South African teams in the top three on a stage at the Absa Cape Epic.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tStage 4 is a shorter 82km stage on the trails in and around Greyton. NinetyOne-songo-Specialized will hope to further consolidate their\u00a0CM.com\u00a0Women&#8217;s category lead, but with Lill and Strauss firing on all cylinders, they won&#8217;t have it all their own way.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<strong>Tune in to the Live Broadcast of Stage 4 from 08:30 on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cape-epic.com\/\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.cape-epic.com\/<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<strong>Absa Cape Epic Stage 3 Results:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t1) Faces Rola | 04:50:35.3\u00a0<br \/>\n\t2) NinetyOne-songo-Specialized | 04:50:38.2\u00a0<br \/>\n\t3) Private Client Holdings | 04:53:12.6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss (Faces Rola) rode a brilliant tactical race at the Absa Cape Epic today in the\u00a0CM.com\u00a0Women&#8217;s category to claim the 101km Stage 3. After a few up and down days at the event, Lill and Strauss were finally able to put together the complete performance for their first-ever Absa Cape Epic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[76],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-13563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-absa-cape-epic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62144,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13563\/revisions\/62144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13563"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=13563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}