Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller (GHOST Factory Racing), the women's winners of the 2024 Absa Cape Epic, swept the stage clean, with Matt Beers and Howard Grotz (Toyota Specialized Ninety-One) the closest over 11 minutes ahead of their rivals and took a convincing victory.

After the prologue and seven stages, Beers and Grotz, who now have two titles, were 25:22:17. Nino Schluter and Sebastian Fini (World Bicycle Relief) were 11:36 behind the overall winner, Hans Becking and Wout Alemán finished 31 seconds behind.

"Everything is crazy. To win three Absa Cape Epics. I don't know what to say. It feels like yesterday that I won my first Epic," Beers said. He won his first with Jordan Salow in 2021, last year with Christopher Blevins, and for the third time with American Grotz.

"It's a complete whirlwind," the South African said in a race media release. 'I've been blessed with good partners and really good people. All my partners have been great. I'm very lucky to have great people in my life."

Beers and Grotz won two stages on their way to the men's overall win and moved into the overall lead on stage 4. While Terpstra and Koller were perfect from day one of their race debut, never relinquishing the lead, the top two women were somewhat competitive in the overall time.

The GHOST Factory Racing team finished in 30:56.22, with Mona Mitterwalner (who was battling illness that week) and Candice Lill (Cannondale Factory Racing) 8:36 back. And the gap to third place was even bigger, with 2022 winners Sofia Gomez Villafane and Samara Shepherd (Toyota Specialized Ninety-One) nearly 36 minutes behind the winners.

"The Cannondale and Specialized teams fought very hard this week," said Sheppard. 'I was really exhausted, so it's great to be standing here as the winner of the Absa Cape Epic.'

Considering it was their first attempt at the grueling 603-km race that climbs 16,050 meters, let alone the top step of the overall podium, the eight stage wins along the way far exceeded their expectations.

"It's like a dream. It's totally unbelievable. When I planned the Absa Cape Epic race, I honestly didn't expect this. I never thought I would be able to finish my first Epic like this."

"It was a tough week and a great race. I worked hard but had fun. What a week it was."