Team BULLS aim to come back stronger for the 2018 Absa Cape Epic

"We are stronger and hungry for victory." - Simon Stiebjahn of Team BULLS 2

Tim Bohme and Simon Stiebjahn of Team BULLS 2

Last week Tuesday (February 13) the organisers of the Cape Epic organised a mixer for pro-riders and media to interact with each other ahead of this year's race which is set to kick off on the 18th of March. We managed to catch up with Simon Stiebjahn who is part of the backup team together with his team partner, Tim Bohme that supports the main team of Team BULLS of Karl Platt and Urs Huber. 

BULLS 2 who are well versed in the tough and demanding nature of the Untamed African MTB Race. This year however is in good favour for them as they’ve been promoted from support duties and will be able to race for stage wins – the pair have after all finished on the podium with a bronze medal back in 2014. The Team BULLS will now be supported by a rookie team under the moniker, 'BULLS 3' who will assist both seniors as they take on each stage for the 8 days of the Cape Epic. 

Stiebjahn briefed on their preparations for this year's race, having been Platt and Huber's backup and the team pressures as they (BULLS 2) will also be competing for the title as much as their fellow teammates. 

"Its always difficult to line up before the race because the title backup is in your mind but we work together and its important to be strong as a team.

"I think this year (2018) its important to be ready, be in good shape and strive for victory even as a backup so you can ride with the front guys and you always have to be there as the backup team if there is a problem with the A team because anything can happen. This showed back in 2014 when we came third, and Karl had his knee injury then in the end we had to go for the general classification (GC)."

Both BULLS teams seem to favour the sunny conditions of Cape Town and end up opting to prepare for each year's race here as the Mother City is known to have a tough terrain that favours all the mountain-biking riders.

"The team is doing more or less the same preparations throughout the winter especially now in Germany when we have winter so there is always decision needing to be made whether to come to South Africa or stay in Europe.

"We also have nice places to train in Europe where the sun is. Especially Southern Spain its more or less 20 C and theres not much travelling coming down here but its always nice to be here and to analyse how the race could be.

"Its quite a rough terrain here and you also have the heat  which we are not used to being from Europe and then also the environment. Its perfect for training. Its lovely to come here every year," Stiebjahn said.

When asked about the pressure surronding this kind of race, the fellow German didn't hesitate and showed much expected confidence, ''It is kind of our job to handle that pressure. It's part of being a professional athlete and its not only about riding your bike; its about training and getting there mentally. Wake up be and highly motivated for each race everyday. We analyse different situations before the race and work out how we could possibly deal with them. Thats also part of the training," he said.

Stiebjahn feels confident about this year's race and trusts that their in good shape and claim their victory at the end of the hard, character-strengthening eight days.

"2017 was a special year because Karl had won it the year before and it always adds more pressure on the next year. We haven't been in good shape two years in a row already and especially last year with the technical issues we had. However, we learned a lot from everything which is our advantage going into the race - all four riders are strong and hungry for victory again," he concluded.

The 2018 Absa Cape Epic is set to kick-off from 18 - 25 March with the Prologue going back to the University of Cape Town.

From The L.A Dosage team, we send our best wishes to all the riders who will partaking in this year's race. May the best team win!

Till next time. . .