Stage 4 marked the second time trial of the race. It took the riders around the trails of Oak Valley Estate in a short but intense day of racing with 47km to go and 875m of climbing. The course was packed with singletrack, making it a test of skill as well as fitness. Maintaining a rhythm to climb twisting trails like Berg Adder and then descend down trails like Puff Adder, Vissie’s Magic and Sounds of Silence required absolute focus. Matthew Beers (RSA) and Christopher Blevins (USA) from tea...
Stage 2 of the 2023 ABSA Cape Epic marked the longest stage of this year’s race. The riders looped around the beautiful trails of Hermanus. At 116 kilometers it had everything from long grinding climbs to hair-raising downhills and technical demanding single tracks. The men’s race saw a very fast and technical race with the best end for Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne’s Matthew Beers (RSA) and his partner Christopher Blevins (USA). The pair took the win of Stage 2 after they already won the Prol...
Stage 1 of the ABSA Cape Epic was traditionally tough and tested the riders to their limits as it has been a real marathon stage. The bare numbers sat at 98 kilometers with 2,550 meters of climbing, the highest of this year’s route. After a relatively short Prologue, things were being turned up a notch as the race properly got under way. The route headed through the best of the Hemel en Aarde Valley singletracks and into the searing Overberg planes. The outbound loop trended relentlessly uphi...
