The hub for marathon mountain biking
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 forecast was 0.7mm of rain for the 6 hour period 6am – 12pm. Knysna has a reputation for having a number of hippies. I think their weather man is a hippie too. He has been eating far too many organic magic mushrooms, from deep in the wet muddy forests we raced in today. As […]
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 […]
The sentiment has changed somewhat in the camp at Kaleo Guest Farm this afternoon. The sense of ‘that was easier than what we expected’ tone of yesterday had been replaced by tired bodies. Nonetheless the back of the race has been broken and the Merino Monster conquered, so there is a real sense of accomplishment […]
Germany’s Robert Mennen seems destined to have an interesting relationship with the Absa Cape Epic. In 2013 he was forced out of the race when he hit what he described as “a peeg” as he descended on singletrack during Stage 1 near Citrusdal. The pig, it turned out, was a duiker (small antelope) and in […]
The third edition of the famed Du Toit Tankwa Trek starts tomorrow morning in the Koue Bokkeveld region, a mere 2 hour drive from Cape Town and the terrain and scenery changes drastically. The race was used by many as a preparation race for the upcoming Cape Epic; it has now however grown in stature […]
The Absa Cape Epic is one of the most important mountain bike races in the world. Some would say the most important. It’s a hard race for all who attend, but some people seem to be able to take it in their stride a little better. And ff there was a prize for popularity at […]
Just like the Giant Odyssey attracts a very strong women’s field in Australia, the Cape Epic can attract a very strong field in South Africa. But there are added complications, as being a pairs race both women will need to find a way to race together if they are from different trade teams, which is […]
