Absa Cape Epic 2014 – Blood, Sweat and Tears

Stage 6 was the “reward day”, full of manicured and purpose-built single track. It was perfect for the cross-country specialists like Schurter and Buys. The weather played along nicely and riders still in the race definitely earned the rewards of Stage 6. Although there were 1 800m of total climbing, riders mostly remembered the amazing single track descents dotted along the route.

Yesterday the fourth stage of the Absa CAPE EPIC 2014 took place. With 88km in distance and 1.800 climbing metres it was one of the “easier” stages of this year`s race! Fitting to the trend of the last three stages we saw the fourth different team winning a stage. Stage 4/7 - Results: 1st place: SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing - 6-1 Nino Schurter (SUI) / 6-2 Philip Buys (RSA) 2nd place: Centurion-Vaude - 7-1 Markus Kaufmann (GER) / 7-2 Jochen Kaess (GER) 3rd place: Topeak-Ergon Racing - 8-1 Rob...

Yesterday the fifth stage of the Absa CAPE EPIC 2014 took place in South Africa. With 110km in distance and 2.900 climbing metres it was the “queen stage” of this year`s race! The route took the riders from the Oaks Estate near Greyton to the beautiful Oak Valley. Stage 5 - Results: 1st place: Torpado Factory - 15-1 Roel Paulissen (BEL) / 15-2 Riccardo Chiarini (ITA) 2nd place: SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing - 6-1 Nino Schurter (SUI) / 6-2 Philip Buys (RSA) 3rd place: Meerendal Songo Specializ...

The sixth stage of the Absa CAPE EPIC 2014 took place in South Africa yesterday. With 85km in distance and 1.800 climbing metres the route was less brutal than in yesterday`s stage 5! However the riders had to be fully concentrated on the technical demanding single tracks around Oak Valley, as the Top 5 teams in the overall ranking were still close together! Every single mistake or problem would have been unforgiven. Stage 6 - Results: 1st place: SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing - 6-1 Nino Schurte...

Yesterday the third stage of the Absa CAPE EPIC 2014 took place. With 134km in distance and 1.800 climbing metres it was the longest stage of the whole week and the race once again proved to be the most exciting edition ever! The riders pushed hard to get from Arabella Wines (Robertson) to the Oak Estate near Greyton. Stage 3 - Ergebnisse: 1st place: Meerendal Songo Specialized - 1-1 Christoph Sauser (SUI) / 1-2 Frantisek Rabon (CZE) 2nd place: Centurion-Vaude - 7-1 Markus Kaufmann (G...

The seventh stage of the Absa CAPE EPIC 2014 took place in South Africa today. With 69km in distance and 1.800 climbing metres the riders had to climb the same high as in stage 6. However the riders had to get along with the final hurdles, like the climb up Nuweberg on forestry roads, with its steep and washed out descent. For the Grand Finale the riders were welcomed in Lourensford Bowl.

Matthys Beukes (RSA) and his partner Gert Heyns (RSA) from team SCOTT Factory Racing managed to finish in first. Nino Schurter (SUI) and Philip Buys (RSA) from team SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing took second place after winning the stage 6 on the day before. Roel Paulissen (BEL) and Riccardo Chiarini (ITA) from team Torpado Factory made it on the podium at stage 7 as well, by finishing in third. In the Women category Ariane Kleinhans (SUI)/Annika Langvad (DEN) from team RECM2 won the stage 7 in fro...

Yesterday the 11th edition of the CAPE EPIC kicked off with a 27km prologue. Meerendal Wine Estate on the Durbanville Wine Route once again played host for 1.200 mountainbikers from all over the world to kick off the most recognized mountainbike stage race in the world! Results after the prologue: 1st place: Team Multivan Merida Biking - Jose Hermida (ESP) and Rudi van Houts (NED) 2nd place: Team BMC Mountainbike Racing - Lukas Fluckiger (SUI) and Martin Fanger (SUI) 3rd place: Team Top...