The hub for marathon mountain biking
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 […]
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 […]
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? […]
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 […]
Strong and cold winds turned Tuesday’s Stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic into an exceptionally tough one and all the talk afterwards was of how Czech strongman Jaroslav Kulhavy powered through it. This is day three of the world’s leading mountain bike stage race, which takes riders from a prologue on Table Mountain and around the Western […]
Swiss riders Fabian Giger and Martin Gujan (Novus OMX Pro) caught the major contenders out as they swept into the yellow zebra jersey in Sunday’s Absa Cape Epic Prologue. Most of the big guns kept their powder dry on a day that favoured cross country specialists, but four-times winners Karl Platt and Christoph Sauser were second […]
With the Absa Cape Epic about to start, the world’s absolute best cross-country and marathon racers are all making their way towards Cape Town, South Africa. The Cape Epic is potentially the most important mountain bike race in the world. That’s objective, but more people probably know who won the last Epic than the last […]
The Topeak-Ergon team are often seen at the front of a marathon or stage race, with such successful racers like Sally Bigham and Alban Lakata. Alban Lakata has finished 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 10th in his six Absa Cape Epics. In 2013 he finished, but as an Outcast after his partner Robert Mennen famously […]
The Cape Epic is the biggest mountain bike race in the world. Every four years it gets overshadowed by the Olympics, but in general the World Cup schedule is altered to allow racers to compete in the Epic. It’s that important. 2015 is shaping up to be a very competitive year. On paper, Christoph Sauser […]
If you had to name some of the most prominent names in marathon racing from the past decade it would be hard to move Karl Platt from the top of your list. While Urs Huber, Alban Lakata, Christoph Sauser and Stefan Sahm all have their place – Platt has been fast, and successful, for a […]
