The hub for marathon mountain biking
Bikes of the 2014 Absa Cape Epic The Absa Cape Epic is always a good opportunity to get a good idea of what’s going on in the world of cross-country mountain bike technology. It’s such a testing event on both riders and kit that you get a mix of super-light and more real-world equipment, all […]
2014 Cape Epic review A big adventure What an adventure. For a very small minority of the participants, the Absa Cape Epic is a race, pure and simple. Nino Schurter, Jose Hermida, Rudi van Houts, Christoph Sauser – those guys are all racing, throwing it down every day for eight days, sprinting for stage wins, […]
The ABSA Cape Epic is a brute of a race. Once you have won the first round against the race, securing an entry, you have almost a year of mental burden. You must train, you must be prepared. Do not take the Cape Epic lightly, as it will destroy you. Finishing this race in one […]
The Absa Cape Epic is over for another year. If you’ve been riding, there are a lot of things you’re going to miss. And if you haven’t, there are a lot of things you have missed, but fear not, because entries just opened for next year… Things you’re going to miss The sheer simplicity of […]
This week has demonstrated just how many things need to work in order to reach the end of an event as tough as the Absa Cape Epic. Obviously your legs need to keep on stomping; but assuming you’ve done the right training, you should be OK. Your bike needs to hold up; which means you […]
While Tuesday’s 134k was a long enough day, today was undoubtedly the queen stage of the 2014 Absa Cape Epic. And it contained some classic Epic ingredients: the remote Groenlandberg climb and the formidable “Rusty Gate”; 115k; heat (although mercifully not the full oven treatment) and sunshine; more great mountain views. On a tough stage […]
The riders at the Absa Cape Epic have had a real rollercoaster over the last few days. Stage 2 was so muddy that an ‘easy’ stage turned into a bit of a monster, and Stage 3 involved so much wind that a long 134k stage was made even more arduous than it would have been […]
After the rains and mud of Robertson on Stage 2, climbing back on the bike today was tender. Mechanics were up all night repairing bikes, It was the longest day today at 134km, but without lots of climbing – a paltry 1800m. A day like this is a transition day, one enjoyed by the roadies […]
Absa Cape Epic Stage 2 It’s hard to look very far beyond the conditions when talking about today’s stage. The Absa Cape Epic is associated with heat and dust; but even in South Africa, it sometimes rains! And boy did it rain, all through the night and into the morning. New stage winners in Men, […]
Absa Cape Epic Stage 1 – the sort-out The first full stage of the Absa Cape Epic is always a bit of a sort-out. It’s a day for big changes in GC results, and a day for all riders, however far down the order they might be, to discover a little more about what the […]
