Amy Wakefield & Candice Lill Drop Down to 2nd on the Cape Epic GC After Colossal Mechanical

Team e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo has worn the cm.com orange jersey since Stage 1, slowly increasing their buffer on 2nd place to a comfortable 14-minute lead by the end of Saturday’s Queen Stage.

However, the wheels literally came off after a rock smashed Amy Wakefield’s rear wheel about 35 kilometres in, causing irreparable damage. She was left to suffer through 8 challenging kilometres, riding the bare rim to the next technical zone where a new replacement wheel awaited. The team finally left the tech zone after battling a jammed through-axle, losing 25 minutes at this point. Through perseverance, e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo crossed the finish line in 4th, disappointed to have lost the orange jersey for the first time since Stage 1.

With a 2-minute lead over 3rd place on the GC, team e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo will focus on defending 2nd place during the final stage of the 2023 ABSA Cape Epic.

Candice Lill shares how the day unfolded: “We are soldering on. Today was an extremely epic day out there. Even without the hardships we endured, it would have been a crazy, crazy race day! The conditions were even more insane than yesterday. It really was tough at points – there were times when we couldn’t even ride our bikes because they were so clogged with mud, and we would have to just walk and push our bikes… it felt like they weighed 40kgs!

“Losing orange is sad and a disappointment. We were with Kim [Le Court] and Vera [Looser] of team Efficient Infiniti Insure until about 35 kilometres. A rock was flicked up and slammed into Amy’s back wheel, blowing the tyre and damaging the rim. The rim was damaged beyond repair and I actually did not know what to do, because I’ve never had this kind of mechanical before. In the end, we tried to put a tube in and tried to fix it, but it just didn’t hold. Amy had to ride on the rim to the next tech zone about 8 kilometres away and lost a huge chunk of time [25 minutes]. We got a brand new wheel though, and I said to Ams, like with so many other moments in this race, we’ve just got to put this behind us and carry on and do our best to the line. You can’t get hung up on anything that happens during this race.

“I am really proud of us. Even though we lost a massive chunk of time, I am proud of the way that we have raced. We have shown real grit and character. Tomorrow will be another fight to the line. NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized is only 2 minutes behind us on the GC, and so tomorrow is sure to be another great race!”

Results: Absa Cape Epic Stage 6 

1st: Efficient Infiniti Insure – Kim Le Court (MUS) & Vera Looser (NAM) – 4:30:02
2nd: NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized – Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) & Katerina Nash (CZE) – +12:57
3rd: Cannondale Vas Arabay – Greete Steinburg (EST) & Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez (COL) – +15:57
4th: e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo – Amy Wakefield (ZAR) and Candice Lill (ZAR) – +39:06

The UCI Women’s GC After Stage 6:

1st: Efficient Infiniti Insure – Kim Le Court (MUS) & Vera Looser (NAM) – 29:08:28
2nd: e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo – Amy Wakefield (ZAR) and Candice Lill (ZAR) – +25:12
3rd: NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized – Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) & Katerina Nash (CZE) – +27:20

Photo 1 Caption: Team e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo’s Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill drop to second on the Cape Epic GC results table, after a rock smashed Wakefield’s rear wheel on Saturday, 25 March 2023. Photo: Wayne Reiche / Supplied

With editing by gsport