America-Argentina team of Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez Villafane win the 2022 Absa Cape Epic, while South African duo, Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss, claim runners-up medals on Sunday, 27 March.
Batten and Gomez, who came into the race as first-time Cape Epic entrants, moved into first place in Stage 1 last Monday.
With perfect stage race tactics throughout the event, they finished 12-and-a-half minutes ahead of second-placed Lill and Strauss.
Speaking after the race, Lill said: “That was a dream race today. We fought really hard on that last climb to get an advantage. I could tell Sofia was struggling, although we were struggling too! Mariske and I went all in from the start today and it really paid off.”
Strauss added saying that it was an emotional finish. “I started getting really emotional with 10km to go. I knew we had it but was battling the emotions. I just had to keep pedalling.”
BMC MTB Racing’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Robyn de Groot (riding her last Cape Epic as a pro), placed third in the general classification.
Leading 2022 Absa Cape Epic Results, on Sunday, 28 March, 2022:
1. Sofia Gomez Villafane & Haley Batten 33:41.11,7
2. Candice Lill & Mariske Strauss 33:53.47,7
3. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot & Robyn de Groot 34:28.17,7
4. Mari Rabie & Hayley Preen 35:05.27,7
5. Ariane Lüthi & Amy Wakefield 35:33.36,8
Photo 1 Caption: South African duo, Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss, celebrate their 2022 Absa Cape Epic runners-up victory on Sunday, 27 March. Photo: Cape Epic (Instagram)
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