South Africans Up into the Podium Positions as Cape Epic Leaders Feel the Heat on Stage 3
The elite UCI pairing of Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane won their fourth consecutive 2025 Absa Cape Epic stage on Wednesday, adding a further four minutes cushion to their Aramex UCI Women’s Category General Classification lead, but the toll on the leaders was evident on Wednesday, 19 March, 2025.
Stage 3 of the 2025 Absa Cape Epic was shortened from 90km to 78km due to a weather warning of extreme heat in the Western Cape’s Paarl region, and approximately 150m of climbing was also chopped off the stage.
The action in the Aramex UCI Women’s Category was punctuated by a series of crashes. First, Annika Langvad went down on a tight hairpin corner early into the racing and then Samara Sheppard (e-Fort x ChemChamp) endured a nasty fall which ended her race.
Langvad took another tumble on a dry and dusty single-track descent but was lucky to escape unscathed. “That was by far my worst day at this year’s Absa Cape Epic,” said Langvad. “I just felt so sketchy the entire ride.
“Today was the first day where I felt I had been away from mountain biking. I was lucky to walk away from two crashes without any major damage. It was insanely hot out there today and we really just wanted to ride conservatively. We didn’t want to push too hard. It was all about maintaining a lead today.”
Toyota | Specialized Race Leader, Annika Langvad
Langvad’s partner Gomez Villafane added that the conditions made racing tough. “The hardest part today was the lack of visibility out there.”
“It’s so dusty that you couldn’t really see much in front of you. We knew we wanted to make a move on the Queen of the Mountain climb but at the same time, we didn’t want to ride alone and time-trial the entire stage. We tried to keep it easy today. As a team we are feeling really good and I think we are getting better each day.”
Toyota | Specialized Race Leader, Sofia Gomez Villafane
Due to extreme heat, in consultation with and under the advisement of the Event Medical Director and local authorities, the Absa Cape Epic organisers took the decision to halt the shortened Stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic at 14h36 local time on Wednesday, 19 March.
Namibia’s Vera Looser and her teammate the USA’s Alexis Skarda regained their familiar second place after Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas dropped from second on Stage 2 to cross the finish line in ninth on stage 3, their loss in standings elevating the leading South African pair of Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen into Stage 3’s podium finishers and into the stage race GC top three after Wednesday.
Event organisers are continuing with standard post-stage checks and are working through results which will be communicated directly to riders at a later stage.
2025 Absa Cape Epic Aramex UCI Women’s Category Stage 3 Race Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 4:14:53
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 4:19:30 (+4:37)
3. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 4:21:58 (+7:05)
4. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 4:29:04 (+14:11)
5. Haley Smith and Ella Bloor – (MAAP) – 4:29:56 (+15:03)
Stage 2 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 2:43:14
2. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 2:45:23
3. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 2:45:38
4. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 2:47:26
5. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 2:48:25
Stage 1 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 4:43:35
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 4:49:17
3. Rosa van Doorn and Janina Wüst – Buff Megamo – 4:51:37
4. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 4:53:41
5. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 4:55:02
Aramex UCI Women’s Category General Classification
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 12:54:15
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 13:08:14 (+13:59)
3. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 13:20:16 (+26:01)
4. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 13:33:27 (+39:12)
5. Rosa van Doorn and Janina Wüst – Buff Megamo – 13:35:34 (+41:19)
Original Copy: Absa Cape Epic, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: The leading South African team of Hayley Preen and Bianca Haw celebrate their first stage podium finish at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, lying in third behind leaders Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane and second-placed Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda after stage three on Wednesday, 19 March, 2025. All Photos: Michael Chiaretta /Cape Epic
Photo 2 Caption: GC leaders Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane earn their Queens of the Mountain jerseys. All Photos: Michael Chiaretta /Cape Epic
Photo 3 Caption: Namibian Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda and USA’s Alexis Skarda regained their second place Stage finish. All Photos: Dom Barnardt /Cape Epic
Photo 4 Caption: Stage 3 second place finishers Alexis Skarda and Vera Looser, General Classification leaders Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane, and South Africa’s leading team Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen in their first podium finish for the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. All Photos: Michael Chiaretta /Cape Epic
Crédito: Link de origem