NAD finishes strong after epic battle
Team NAD Pro's Nico Bell and Matt Beers lined up for the most prestigious mountain-biking stage race in the world, The Absa Cape Epic, ready and in the shape of their lives.
It commenced on March 17 in the Mother City and after seven stages of gruelling racing, finished on March 24 at Val de Vie in Paarl.
The goal from the outset was to win the African Jersey and a top 10 overall. Unfortunately disaster struck the day before the race, when Beers fell ill with a tummy bug.
The team started the prologue in good form, claiming the red Absa African Jersey from the gun. There was a time on stage two where finishing the race seemed impossible, but they pulled together and managed to finish the stage.
“It was a very tough week for me – fighting illness while trying to race is very difficult. I am so grateful for Nico, who never gave up on me,” said Beers.
During the race, the NAD Pro duo found some pace and speed and it showed in the results. During stage five, Beers was back on form and the the team were able to finish 11th overall and the first SA team.
In the final stages of the race, Bell and Beers rode incredibly well and consistently finished in the top 10 overall.
“Overall it was a massive challenge for us. A massive thank you to our amazing support system for keeping the spirits high and keeping us as positive as possible throughout the challenging and trying week. We walked away without the African Jersey this year, but we had some great stages and finished third in the African Jersey category,” said Bell and Beers.
Former rider of Team Valencia, Amy Beth McDougall, partnered with Candice Lill. McDougall joined Team Dormakaba at the start of the 2018 season. They won the inaugural African women’s special jersey after the final Cape Epic stage finished at Val de Vie. At the time of going into the second-last stage, McDougall and Lill were over two hours ahead of Nolands Spar Ladies’ Hannele Steyn and Jeanie Dreyer, which put them in a comfortable position for the jersey.
McDougall told inthebunch it was a real honour to wear the jersey.
“We are super proud. It’s been a battle, but Candice has been amazing – pushing when I needed to be pushed, and pulling when I needed to be pulled.” The pair finished second on the last stage and fourth overall with a total time of 31:48,17.
Samantha Sanders, also a former rider of Valencia, tackled the Epic with Carmen Buchacher (Team Dormakaba).
They placed overall sixth in the women’s category with a time of 31:56.25,1.
