{"id":13722,"date":"2022-02-10T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T11:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2022\/02\/10\/lill-and-strauss-team-up-for-2022-absa-cape-epic-r8379\/"},"modified":"2023-03-20T08:52:26","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T06:52:26","slug":"lill-and-strauss-team-up-for-2022-absa-cape-epic-r8379","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/lill-and-strauss-team-up-for-2022-absa-cape-epic-r8379\/","title":{"rendered":"Lill and Strauss team up for 2022 Absa Cape Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\tIn 2021, the Absa Cape Epic was dominated by Sina Frei and Laura Stigger. The pair raced to eight wins in a row and the overall title; but their victory was no walk in the park, due to the pairing of Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss who claimed second overall and first in the Absa African Women\u2019s jersey competition.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Lill and Strauss finished second in 2021 and have their eyes set on the top step of the podium in 2022_Photo by Sam Clark.jpeg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1696401\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"182wfsqcu\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1506244087_LillandStraussfinishedsecondin2021andhavetheireyessetonthetopstepofthepodiumin2022_PhotobySamClark.0b544b73d56e32488e71cb541f2c04f1-1.jpeg\" title=\"\"><em>Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill in the Absa African jerseys at the 2021 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Kelvin Trautman.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe last time an all-South African team won the Absa Cape Epic was in 2007 when Anke Moore and Yolande De Villiers won the women\u2019s title. Both Lill and Strauss have two second place finishes at the Absa Cape Epic and 2022 could potentially be the year that the first all-South African team wins the elite women\u2019s category since its elevation to equal prize money and UCI points, to the men\u2019s category, in 2014. \u00a0<br \/>\n\t\u00a0<br \/>\n\t\u201cIt feels good to have the support of the MTB community in South Africa and many people backing us. Our sponsors are all so supportive and will be proud of us no matter what,\u201d explained Lill on the pressures ahead of the 2022 event. \u201cThe most pressure we have is the pressure we put on ourselves, which I feel is really healthy.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss have teamed up as Faces Rola for the 2022 Absa Cape Epic_Photo by SamClark.jpeg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1696400\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"7ptj7mc97\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1225149081_CandiceLillandMariskeStrausshaveteamedupasFacesRolaforthe2022AbsaCapeEpic_PhotobySamClark.140d783d5b5e47969993155572d288fa-1.jpeg\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n\t<em>Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss have teamed up as Faces Rola for the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Sam Clark.<\/em>\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\tMariske Strauss echoed Lill\u2019s sentiments:\u202f\u201cI\u2019d have to agree with Candice, we focus on what we can do and try execute our plan as smoothly as possible and adapt to the challenges as they present themselves. As top athletes we tend to already put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be at the top of our game. The local support and \u2018expectations\u2019 I find more motivating than added pressure. It\u2019s an honour and privilege to race in our own country and the extra support we get from the local communities is such a special experience even more so as an all-South African team.\u201d\u00a0<br \/>\n\t\u00a0<br \/>\n\tSuccess at the Absa Cape Epic doesn\u2019t just happen. Teams seeking spots on the podium put in countless hours of work ahead of the race; Lill and Strauss are one such team. Since the 2021 event, the pair has competed in several other stage races and have come out on top, most notably at the Tankwa Trek where they claimed victory by over an hour.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill in the Absa African jerseys at the 2021 Absa Cape Epic_Photo by Kelvin Trautman.jpeg\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" data-fileid=\"1696402\" data-ratio=\"66.67\" data-unique=\"pq5vrelf0\" style=\"height: auto;\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/647179078_MariskeStraussandCandiceLillintheAbsaAfricanjerseysatthe2021AbsaCapeEpic_PhotobyKelvinTrautman.6134f2d150a9f085c9569c667c47801f-1.jpeg\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n\t<em>Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill in the Absa African jerseys at the 2021 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Kelvin Trautman.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cI haven\u2019t done anything vastly different to my previous years\u2019 preparation. I believe in smart, effective, and consistent training over time. I have done a bit more strength work in the off season, which will hopefully serve me well,\u201d elaborated Lill on her pre-Absa Cape Epic training. \u201cMariske and I have a strong partnership and we have learned to work well together through all sorts of adversity, which I think is a vital part of success at the Absa Cape Epic. A huge part of winning is believing you can win, and I know we are both in a space where we believe we can.\u201d \u202f\u00a0<br \/>\n\t\u00a0<br \/>\n\t\u201cLike Candice, winning the Absa Cape Epic is definitely a dream of mine. I have had two second places and two thirds so I am still aiming for the top step,\u201d said Strauss. \u201cAchieving this goal alongside Candice would make it extra special. The Absa Cape Epic is such an amazing platform where we get to compete against the best in the world, and we get amazing publicity and an equal platform for media exposure; it\u2019s really world-class and I cannot wait for the racing to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2021, the Absa Cape Epic was dominated by Sina Frei and Laura Stigger. The pair raced to eight wins in a row and the overall title; but their victory was no walk in the park, due to the pairing of Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss who claimed second overall and first in the Absa [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[24],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-13722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-cape-epic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13722","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=13722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62169,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13722\/revisions\/62169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13722"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=13722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}