It seems not long ago the news that Cadel Evans and George Hincapie would race the 2017 ABSA Cape Epic had plenty of people talking. Would they win their age group? How would they go overall? And didn’t the Cape Epic ban riders with previous doping offences?
Why Hincapie was allowed to race the Cape Epic
The Absa Cape Epic attracts celebrities and sports stars that seek to take on the challenge of the ‘Untamed African Mountain Bike Race’. Each year retired road pros come to tackle the brutal event. The Western Cape is far removed from the smooth asphalt of Europe – making competing in the Cape Epic almost another sport entirely.
Cadel Evans from team BMC Absa Racing Team during stage 5 of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race held from Oak Valley Wine Estate in Elgin, South Africa on the 24th March 2017
Photo by Mark Sampson/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Two icons from the road, making the transition to the mountain for the 2018 Absa Cape Epic are Erik Dekker and Jurgen van den Broeck. While press releases would have you believe they haven’t done much mountain biking – they have. Dekker is the current national XCM Champion, and won his age group and was 3rd overall in the 2017 Crocodile Trophy.
Dekker wins the stage in A3, and Martin Wisata finished 3rd in the category!
Dekker, a four-time Tour de France stage winner and the ex-LotoNL Jumbo sports director, has reignited his competitive spirit as a Masters category rider. “A year ago I was also convinced that I want to experience the adventure. Later on it became a race as well! Now both are possible” he began. “A year ago I was looking for a mountain biking experience. I have followed the Absa Cape Epic for years, but I was sure that if I wanted to compete in it I’d have to learn a lot to be ready to race eight days. Mountain biking is more than just biking! So I took some time to gain experience” Dekker reflected on his journey thus far. He told us of his plans to race the Cape Epic while at the Crocodile Trophy – clearly he had the right sensations.
“During 2017 I gained more experience and I was getting really excited about mountain biking. In July I became Dutch XCO champion in the Masters category. After that I rode my first multiple stage race in Poland. I loved it, although it was very hard. Then in September I participated in the Crocodile Trophy, which was my big goal for 2017. I finished third overall, and won in the Masters category and I managed to win a stage, even beating the elite riders! I was very proud! Following the Crocodile Trophy Maikel Govaarts [an accomplished Dutch Masters’ XCO mountain biker and 2016 Absa Cape Epic finisher] asked me to ride with him in the 2018 Absa Cape Epic” Dekker continued.
Twp BM(c)Tim De Waele
“This year winners, Cadel Evans and George Hincapie, proved that there is a big competition in the Masters category. And that is what I like; competition, fight, race! Our goal is to be competitive in the Masters category and compete for a podium. We are also looking forward to battling with the 1996 Olympic Champion Bart Brentjens, a MTB legend in my home country Holland” he concluded.
Brentjens doesn’t seemed too stressed.
While Dekker has been retired since 2006, van den Broeck has only just hung up his road racing cleats. Having announced his intension to retire at the end of the 2017 season, the Belgian is moving into a new phase in his life. But like Dekker his competitive spirit remains fierce. “Taking part in the Absa Cape Epic was something I have always dreamed of doing after my retirement, because I really love cycling and staying in good shape. My primary goals are to really enjoy the race and the country, because I have been told that South Africa is really beautiful; but I will also be trying for a good result…” van den Broeck smiled.
Taking part with his brother Kurt, van den Broeck is all too aware that the training conditions in Belgium are going to be very different to what they will face in South Africa come March next year. “I really do not have experience in real mountain biking” he confessed. “I do a lot in Belgium, but that is totally different to real racing. That difference makes the challenge so nice. We will build up as well as possible at home, maybe also with some training further south in Europe if we can. But when it is not too cold you can still do good training in Belgium, so I’m sure we will come in top shape to the start of the Absa Cape Epic.”
Cycling: 70th Tour of Spain 2015 / Stage 17
VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen (BEL)/
Burgos – Burgos (38,7Km)/
Time Trial Contre la Montre Tijdrit / Vuelta Tour d’Espagne Ronde van Spanje Rit Etape /(c)Tim De Waele
Van den Broeck was once seen as a potential Grand Tour winner, but a series of injuries meant he never quite fulfilled that potential; though he did race to fourth position in the 2010 Tour de France. His all-round ability honed first as a general classification contender and then as a super domestic for Steven Kruijswijk at LotoNL Jumbo makes van den Broeck a potentially powerful mountain bike stage racer. Just how he and his brother will fair in the elite category next year remains to be seen though. At just 34 years of age, and given Christoph Sauser and Karl Platt’s Absa Cape Epic success into their late thirties, van den Broeck could well be quietly building towards success off road.
How do you expect these two teams to fare in the Cape Epic?