The air was palpable with excitement at the Sun Square City Bowl in the heart of the Mother City in Buitengracht Street, Cape Town.
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| Picture: Cape Epic website |
Some of the most prestigious and celebrated trial and road cyclists from the far-flung corners of the world descended upon the Castle Room in the Sun Square City Bowl for the Absa Cape Epic press conference to mark the 16th edition of arguably the world’s most grueling and captivating all-terrain cycle race.
This unforgiving, unyielding yet breathtakingly beautiful race starts with the Prologue event which is a 20km cycle from the University of Cape Town culminating in a climb through Deer Park back down through Newlands Forrest ending back at the University of Cape Town.
The main event stretches over a grueling 8-day time frame covering a distance of more than 600km in total. Certainly not for the faint-hearted. All of which culminates at the luxury estate Val de Vie where celebratory bottles of Champagne awaits the victors.
The atmosphere was electric as the riders from the various teams entered the preliminary meeting hall where old friendships, brotherly (and sisterly) bonds were renewed and the mutual feeling of camaraderie and respect prevailed the already heightened atmosphere in anticipation of this year’s event. Celebrities and famous faces such as Breyton Paulse who completed the Cape Epic in 2009 and is an avid supporter of the event were in attendance.
The various trophies on display each had a storied history that contributed their own voice to the already multi-faceted event.
The Men’s Category Trophy was created by celebrated South African artist Neil Jonker and awarded to the winning team for the first time in 2010. For his inspiration, for the trophy, he included Zebra stripes based on the original Absa Cape Epic logo.
The Women’s Category Trophy includes bronze stones which represent the rough and unforgiving terrain the riders must overcome. The two stones placed on top of each other represents teamwork, which is essential for victory in the end.
The Grand Master’s Trophy was created by sculptor Guy du Toit who drew inspiration from experienced riders of over 50 years old. Which included the moral components of wisdom, strength, intellect and inner strength. The design which is in the shape of a circle represents a lens and also the circle of life, which looks back to what has transpired before and also forwards to what is yet to come.
The press conference was kicked off with a live go-pro video feed through the Jonkershoek valley which created an immersive experience that articulated the undulating yet dangerously exciting terrain the riders would have to imminently face in the days ahead.
The first team to take the stage was that of Nino Schurter (2017 Absa Cape Epic Winner), Lars Forster (2018 European Champion), Gert Heyns (2018 National SA Marathon Champion) and Andri Frisshrech who seemed energized and poised to make a worthy challenge for the trophy this year.
Next up was Team Bulls consisting of the legendary Karl Platt (4x Cape Epic Winner), Alba Lakata (3x XCM World Champion, Simon Stiebjahn (2012 U23 Euro Marathon Champion and Urs Huber (2016 Absa Cape Epic Winner). Their credentials speak for themselves and this team will be hard to beat with the wealth of experience and skill in equal measure in this tour de force of a team.
Manuel Fumic, Nicola Rohrbach and Kanny Looser were missing their teammate who’s flight was delayed due to the last minute flight cancellation, however, they were confident that their teammate would show up in time for the race or they would otherwise have to reconcile themselves with the sites and sounds that Cape Town has to offer.
In the Women’s division, there was the team of Annika Langvad (2018 XCM World Champion and 4- times Cape Epic participant), Anna van der Bruggen (2018 UCI Road World Champion) who seemed to have a good chemistry going that will aid them well in their quest for glory.
Sabine Spitz the 2008 Olympic Gold medalist, who is pairing with Ariane Luthi (2x Cape Epic Mixed Winner) and Maja Wloszczowska (2x Olympic XCO Silver Medalist) was asked about the factors and preparation that could influence a result for the team.
Her reply candidly stated that various factors can influence a result. If something mechanical were to go wrong or someone might get injured this doesn’t necessarily correlate to the strongest team on paper winning but rather the team that overcomes these discrepancies and forges ahead on to victory. The team that carries and encourages each other through the trials and tribulations that an event of these epic proportions presents shall inevitably emerge victoriously.
When asked how her Olympic preparation differed from preparation for this event she confessed that preparing for a singularly composite terrain was much easier than training for an all surface terrain such as the Cape Epic. This involves vast cardiovascular fitness, learning how to ride on all forms of terrain both on and off-road which makes this one of the most challenging races on the global calendar.
As the conference room emptied and the hurried and frenzied interviews commenced and riders conversing with each other, I sensed an air of mutual respect permeating the atmosphere. Where friendships and rivalries are forged, stories of past and future victories are shared and the palpable anticipation of what’s to come makes for an exciting prelude to the Absa Cape Epic which will certainly be one of the most memorable installments yet in this prestigious race’s ongoing saga.
Ready the riders, the Cape Epic is here!
Till next time. . .
Written by: Wouter De Goede
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