Christoph Sauser is an absolute legend in mountain biking, with performances that have dominated Olympic cross country, marathon racing, stage racing – and being an all-round mountain man on his infamous freeride tours. Although he officially retired after the XCM World Championships this year – no one seems to have told Sauser what that […]
2016 Absa Cape Epic Route Announced
The 2016 Absa Cape Epic route has been revealed and will contain more singletrack than ever before in the race’s 12-year-history. A total of 110km of the 647km route will be made up of singletrack trails as the eight-days of riding takes riders from Table Mountain to Tulbagh, Wellington, Stellenbosch and Durbanville. Although the 647km […]
Kevin Vermaak set to tackle the Absa Cape Epic
After 12 years of being the man behind the Absa Cape Epic founder Kevin Vermaak is going to experience his race from a new perspective – on a bike. Since its launch in 2004 Vermaak has grown the eight-day stage race from what was effectively a one-man operation into one of the world’s leading mountain […]
ABSA Cape Epic change women’s rules
Much has been said about equality in sport, especially cycling. Mountain biking is quite often more favourable than other disciplines – but that’s not a hard and fast rule. Beyond prize money, there is also the question about equality in the race itself. If men and women start together, is it really a women’s race […]
Our favourite moments from the 2015 Absa Cape Epic
The Cape Epic is the stand out event on the mountain bike calendar. Depending who you ask, it’s bigger than the World Championships. The event showcases the beautiful Western Cape of South Africa to the world. with 1200 riders racing across such a varied landscape, starting at dawn, the photographers and videographers do an amazing […]
Sauser takes record 5th Cape Epic title
Swiss mountain biking legend Christoph Sauser’s last Absa Cape Epic as a professional rider ended in triumph on Sunday as he inked his name into history by becoming the first person to win it five times. The 39-year-old and Czech partner Jaroslav Kulhavy (Investec-Songo-Specialized) rode conservatively to finish fifth on a sun-drenched 92km final stage […]
Rain dampens trails, not spirits at the Cape Epic
After a week of sand, rocks and long, brutal stretches of rough riding, riders at the Absa Cape Epic enjoyed something of a “fun” day out on Stage 6. Of course, fun is relative at the Cape Epic and the second last day of the race, while only 71km long, still featured 2000m of climbing […]
Specialized teams dominating the Cape Epic
With day 6 and stage 5 of the 2015 Cape Epic in the books, it’s clear that the leading teams in the men’s and women’s classification are in a class of their own. Is it their bikes, professionalism, genetic make up, drive to perform – or just their preparation and experience that put them ahead? […]
Buys and Beukes chance it and win Cape Epic stage
Stage 4 of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic, a 111km loop of the Worcester countryside, finished much like the previous stage – with riders covered in sand, cursing the heat and rocky conditions of the route. And, of course, with Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad of Team RECM Specialized crossing the line first, well ahead […]
Langvad and Kleinhans reclaim the lead
A transition stage on the Absa Cape Epic – from one race village host town to another – is sometimes regarded as being easier, but Wednesday’s 128km Stage 3 from Elgin Valley to Worcester was “very rough and really sandy”, according to race leader Christoph Sauser. Riders further back in the field also spent several […]