The 2023 Absa Cape Epic roared into life on 19 March with some explosive mountain bike racing in and around the hills of Durbanville, Cape Town.
Mountain bikers from around the world gathered at Meerendal Wine Estate on Sunday morning to test themselves on the opening demands of the 19th edition of the Absa Cape Epic and against the best the sport has to offer.
As has become tradition, the Absa Cape Epic started with a team time trial Prologue - a chance for amateurs to test their legs and an opportunity for the elite teams to gauge their opponents.— Cape Epic
Results
UCI Men
1st. Matthew Beers & Christopher Blevins: 1:03:01.9 2nd. Nino Schurter & Andri Frischknecht: +7.4 3rd. Georg Egger & Lukas Baum: +45.2
UCI Women
1st. Sofia Gomez Villafane & Katerina Nash: 1:18:57.5 2nd. Kim Le Court & Vera Looser: +7.0 3rd. Amy Wakefield & Candice Lill: +30.2
You can watch the full broadcast of the prologue below.
I haven't heard or read anything as to why she's not riding this year. It'll be interesting to see how the Spring - Fall Combination of Sofia Gomez Villafane & Katerina Nash will do in the long run.
Good to see Annika back in the booth; but I'd rather see her make a comeback....
@Augustus-G: I'm also interested in seeing how Sofia and Katerina do throughout the longer stages, although I believe that both of them now live and train in the United States, but I could be mistaken.
@anaughtymouse: Yes, they both spend a large amount of time in the US. I'm really interested to see how/if their age difference comes into play. 28 vs. 45 is a pretty big margin. Katerina is no slouch for certain but... ???
I'm glad they got the audio problem worked out. The first 40 minutes or so of the broadcast was painful to listen to.
@Starch-Anton: Yes she did but you're talking about an effort measured in hours. Cape Epic is 8 consecutive days of Ride-Your-Rump-Off.... 409 Miles, 51,775 Feet of Climbing. That's a lot at any age let alone 45. Especially riding against the Elites. It's going to be very interesting how she's hanging in come Stage 4, 5, 6, 7...
@sofakingwetarded: Sofia was literally pushing her yesterday and they lost another 5 minutes in the TT today. Badass or not she's 45. Been there done that. Nobody is the same at 45 as they are in their late 20's. Time takes it toll on everyone. She'll finish and finish well but I don't think they can take the Gold.
The riders had fun in the Hoogerkraal section, i was impressed to see the top boys railing and jumping in style those features and long jumps, But what amazed me and everybody around, it was the helicopter Pilot having low pass and calculated moves meters away from the riders, That Pilot was amazing.
Really curious to see how Keegan and Lachlan do as the stages get longer. Hoping they can get up into the top 3, but the current top 3 is pretty solid...
@MutleyAdams: Hmmm, let's fact check that. The results posted above show the 2nd place men's team, with some dude named Nino, came in at 7 seconds back of 1st. The 2nd place women's team came in at 7.4 seconds behind 1st. In your opinion, is one of those 2nd place teams just second rate competition in their field? Next time just quit typing after, "I don't think".
@dlford: that’s minutes not seconds. I know the times read weird but it’s days, hours, minutes. Just and FYI. To your point though a race measured in days, 7 minutes off isn’t bad at all.
It'll be interesting to see how the Spring - Fall Combination of Sofia Gomez Villafane & Katerina Nash will do in the long run.
Good to see Annika back in the booth; but I'd rather see her make a comeback....
I'm glad they got the audio problem worked out. The first 40 minutes or so of the broadcast was painful to listen to.
I wouldn't worry about Katarina Nash. She's certified Bad Ass and loves a challenge!
Time takes it toll on everyone. She'll finish and finish well but I don't think they can take the Gold.
Hmmm, let's fact check that. The results posted above show the 2nd place men's team, with some dude named Nino, came in at 7 seconds back of 1st. The 2nd place women's team came in at 7.4 seconds behind 1st. In your opinion, is one of those 2nd place teams just second rate competition in their field?
Next time just quit typing after, "I don't think".
Also, if the prologue already takes well over a day, that must be one hell of a race!