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In the CM.com Women’s category on Stage 4, Le Court and Looser were determined from start to finish.
Starting ahead of Sofia Gomez Villafane and Katerina Nash (NinetyOne-Songo-Specialized) and e-FORT.net | SeattleCoffeeCo in the Time Trial format, the Mauritius-Namibia team looked comfortable throughout.
The nature of the format is such that teams on the route have no idea what their nearest rivals are up to. Le Court and Looser raced almost flawlessly on the 47km stage, despite Looser's slight stumble on loose gravel.
“That was an amazing way to celebrate Kim’s birthday,” said Looser. “It was hard out there, two hours of full gas riding, but we hung on. We were riding along and we heard we had a one-minute lead and couldn’t believe it. Kim was in front and saying ‘come Vera, come on, come on, let’s go!’ I was saying ‘wait, wait my legs are killing me’. But we pushed on and it was a great feeling to pull it off. It’s been a very special day.”
Le Court said it was a dream to win on her birthday. “We raced at another Epic Series event and we won a stage there on Vera’s birthday, so now it was my turn! It’s been long days prior to today, so we are thrilled and slightly surprised with the stage victory.”
Wakefield and Lill were last to leave the start chute and managed to overtake Villafane and Nash, who had started two minutes ahead of them. While Wakefield and Lill didn’t set the course alight, they were still able to build on their overall lead with a smooth ride.
Once again, Villafane and Nash appeared to struggle as the stage wore on. They sit second overall in the CM.com Women’s category, more than 10 minutes behind Wakefield and Lill.
Tune in to Stage 5 of the Absa Cape Epic live broadcast from 08:30 on Friday 24 March on the Absa Cape Epic Facebook page or the Epic Series YouTube channel.
2023 Absa Cape Epic Stage 4 Results:
CM.com Women’s category:
1. Efficient Infiniti Insure: Kim le Court, Vera Looser – 02:09:32.1
2. e-FORT. net | SeattleCoffeeCo.: Amy Wakefield, Candice Lill – 02:12:24.7 (+00:02:52.6)
3. NinetyOne-songo-Specialized: Sofia Gomez Villafane, Katerina Nash – 02:14:45.5 (+00:05:13.4)
2023 Absa Cape Epic General Classification After Stage 4:
CM.com Women’s category:
1. e-FORT. net | SeattleCoffeeCo.: Amy Wakefield, Candice Lill – 18:58:09.3
2. NinetyOne-songo-Specialized: Sofia Gomez Villafane, Katerina Nash – 19:08:51.6 (+00:10:42.2)
3. Efficient Infiniti Insure: Kim le Court, Vera Looser – 19:14:39.2 (+00:16:29.9)
View the full Stage 4 results here.
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