Absa Cape Epic (South Africa) - Press Release: Speed Company Racing’s Georg Egger and Lukas Baum made history at the Absa Cape Epic by becoming the first team in the history of the event to chase down the overall leaders on the Grand Finale stage and claim the crown for themselves.

Never before in the Absa Cape Epic has the race lead changed shoulders on the final stage - the closest finish to date was in 2007, where Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm just about hung on for the win, a three-and-a-half minute victory over future Tour de France star Jakob Fuglsang and Roel Paulissen (Cannondale-Vredestein). After eight days of yellow-jersey yo-yo, the German pair won their first of three titles together, but only after a brutal final stage into Lourensford Wine Estate.

Fast-forward 15 years, and the air of inevitability on Grand Finale start line in Stellenbosch extended beyond the can-do minds of the race’s 2022 underdogs. Team Speed Company Racing had been talking up their chances of winning the event outright since a surprise second-place finish in the opening Prologue in Lourensford, seven days before. The German upstarts quickly became crowd darlings; privateers in the biggest mountain bike race in the world taking the racing to the factory teams, winning stages and hearts with their aggressive approach to each stage.

Stage 7 Results:

1. Speed Company Racing: 02:46:34.3
2. SCOTT-SRAM MTB-Racing: 02: 48:19
3. Santa Cruz: 02:48:19.8

General Classification:

1. Speed Company Racing: 27:44:06.5
2. Canyon Northwave MTB: 27:47:09
3. Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized : 27:54:45