{"id":62369,"date":"2023-03-25T16:18:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-25T14:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/?p=62369"},"modified":"2023-03-26T18:23:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T16:23:22","slug":"new-leaders-in-mens-and-womens-race-after-dramatic-stage-6-at-absa-cape-epic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/new-leaders-in-mens-and-womens-race-after-dramatic-stage-6-at-absa-cape-epic\/","title":{"rendered":"New leaders in men\u2019s and women\u2019s race after dramatic Stage 6 at Absa Cape Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) moved back into the overall lead after finishing second on the stage. They sit 90 seconds ahead of Beers and Blevins with one day of racing to go. Lukas Baum and Georg Egger (ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company), after a day of wild weather and high drama, sit in third overall, five-and-a-half minutes off the lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht regain the Yellow Jersey during stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the CM.com Women\u2019s Category, Kim le Court and Vera Looser (Efficient Infiniti Insure) claimed a hat-trick of stage wins by winning Stage 6, riding into the overall leaders Orange jersey in the process. Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill (e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo) finished fourth on Stage 6, losing more than 30 minutes to the new category leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vera Looser and Kim Le Court take the leaders jersey during stage 6 of the 2023 Cape Epic. Photo by Dom Barnardt \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both the men\u2019s and the women\u2019s races were heavily impacted by mechanical issues for the leading teams, on a day of racing that many elite riders called one of the toughest ever. Rain fell throughout the 73km stage, turning climbs into sticky streams of clay and singletrack descents into treacherous mud baths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 33km into the CM.com Women\u2019s Category race, Wakefield broke the rim on her back wheel after hitting a hole and was forced to ride 8km to the next tech zone without a rear tyre. Up until that point, Wakefield, Lill, Looser and Le Court were riding together comfortably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill during stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo Sam Clark \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Amy Wakefield in a pensive mood after mechanical mishaps on the mountain. Photo by Dom Barnardt \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The broken rim changed everything and from that moment on, Wakefield and Lill dropped further and further behind, eventually finishing 39 minutes after stage winners Looser and Le Court. The new Orange jersey leaders will start the final stage with a 25-minute lead over Wakefield and Lill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the men\u2019s race, ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company also suffered from a mechanical issue around 40km into the stage, causing them to drop off the lead bunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Georg Egger and Lukas Baum after stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before their mishap, Baum and Egger had been riding at the front of the Stage 6 race with Blevins and Beers. Those four riders had taken control when Nino Schurter had to drop back to assist the ailing Andri Frischknecht.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baum and Egger\u2019s setback clearly reignited the fire in Frischknecht, though, and he and Schurter were able to race home for second. The time lost by Baum and Egger allowed Schurter and Frischknecht to leapfrog them into the overall lead once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht during stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beers and Blevins looked in control throughout their Stage 6 ride. The American started the day by rising early to watch his beloved LA Lakers play. His team won and Blevins noted on that start line that the Lakers’ success was a good omen. That turned out to be the case as he and Beers dominated the day, looking strong even before Baum and Egger were forced to stop for repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did see Lukas and Georg stop,\u201d said Blevins. \u201cWe heard something but we weren\u2019t entirely sure what happened so we just kept our heads down and carried on racing. That\u2019s just the Cape Epic, though, anything can happen, especially in the conditions we had today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christopher Blevins during stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo Sam Clark \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Blevins said the key to success in the wet for the team was to stay smooth and stay upright on the bike. \u201cIt was just brutal out there. We had the right tyres on but it\u2019s so difficult to race in those conditions. It was so muddy and going down the singletrack was incredibly slow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing\u2019s Andri Frischknecht echoed Blevins\u2019s comments. \u201cWow. That was super tough,\u201d he said. \u201cI struggled to keep pace at the start but then started to feel better as the day went on. Once we passed Lukas and Georg, I was motivated to get back into yellow. I just want to say kudos to everyone who finished that stage because it really was tricky out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Looser and Le Court in the CM.com Women\u2019s Category, the emotions of the stage win, moving into the Orange jerseys and just finishing the stage was almost too much, with Le Court fighting back the tears in the post-ride interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vera Looser during stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo Sam Clark \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went through the same ditch as Amy,\u201d said Le Court. \u201cI was just lucky. It\u2019s probably my hardest day on a bike. I just tried to keep safe the whole ride, but I still almost fell a few times. I think the tears might just be the mud coming out of my eyes, but I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vera Looser said it was a dream come true to start the final day wearing the overall leader Orange jerseys. \u201cTo pull it off today was really special. It was muddy, sticky, bouncy, dodgy, windy – we really had to work hard out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a sizeable lead going into the 80km Stage 7, Looser and Le Court are taking nothing for granted. \u201cIt\u2019s still a long 80km,\u201d said Looser. \u201cI won\u2019t get too excited until we cross that finish line,\u201d added Le Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Kim Le Court and Vera Looser after stage 6 of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic. Photo Sam Clark \/ Cape Epic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2023 Absa Cape Epic Stage 6 Results:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men\u2019s category:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne: Matthew Beers, Christopher Blevins \u2013 03:26:48.9<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. SCOTT-SRAM MTB-Racing: Nino Schurter, Andri Frischknecht \u2013 03:30:56.2 (+00:04:07.2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Bulls Mavericks: Alban Lakata, Axel Roudil-Cortinat \u2013 03:33:46.7 (+00:06:57.7)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    CM.com Women\u2019s category:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Efficient Infiniti Insure: Kim le Court, Vera Looser \u2013 04:30:02.9<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. NinetyOne-songo-Specialized: Sofia Gomez Villafane, Katerina Nash \u2013 04:43:00.7 (+00:12:57.8)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Cannondale Vas Arabay: Greete STEINBURG, Monica Yuliana CALDERON MARTINEZ \u2013 04:46:00.2 (+00:15:57.3)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      2023 Absa Cape Epic General Classification After Stage 6:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Men\u2019s category:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. SCOTT-SRAM MTB-Racing: Nino Schurter, Andri Frischknecht \u2013 23:07:54.8<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne: Matthew Beers, Christopher Blevins \u2013 23:09:27.2 (+00:01:32.4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Orbea X Leatt X Speed Company Racing: Georg Egger, Lukas Baum \u2013 23:13:27.0 (+00:05:32.2)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        CM.com Women\u2019s category:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Efficient Infiniti Insure: Kim le Court, Vera Looser \u2013 29:08:28.7<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. e-FORT. net | SeattleCoffeeCo.: Amy Wakefield, Candice Lill \u2013 29:33:41.4 (+00:25:12.7)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. NinetyOne-songo-Specialized: Sofia Gomez Villafane, Katerina Nash \u2013 29:35:48.7 (+00:27:20.0)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          View the full Stage 6 results here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) moved back into the overall lead after finishing second on the stage. They sit 90 seconds ahead of Beers and Blevins with one day of racing to go. Lukas Baum and Georg Egger (ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company), after a day of wild weather and high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":62370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[76,24],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-62369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-absa-cape-epic","tag-cape-epic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62369","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=62369"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62383,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62369\/revisions\/62383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62369"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=62369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}