Pic: Gary Perkins/Sportzpics

South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic has been running since 2004, and since then it’s got bigger both in numbers and reputation. The first race had 546 competitors, while 1,200 came to the line for the start of the 2008 race. It’s a properly strong field, too, with a bunch of well-known names. Uniquely for a mountain bike stage race, the Cape Epic is classified HC (hors categorie) by the UCI. That makes it one of only 4 HC races on the 2008 UCI calendar. One of the others is the Tour de France, which gives you some idea of the challenge that the Cape Epic represents.

Taking place over eight stages (plus a short prologue) totalling 966km (and a somewhat daunting 18,529m of climbing), the 2008 Cape Epic route is the longest and toughest so far. The Knysna prologue was one by the South African MTB Energade team of Kevin Evans and David George, who led out the field on Stage 1.

Day 1

There was no gentle warm-up for the Cape Epic competitors, with the first stage being one of the hardest of the whole race. Seven passes, sharp climbs, slippery corners and temperatures up to 38°C all challenged the riders. After 4:39:35 it was the Songo.Info team of Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander that crossed the line first, with the Bulls (Karl Platt/Stefan Sahm) only a matter of seconds behind.

The yellow jersey leaders from the prologue (MTN Energade team Kevin Evans and David George) had to deal with difficulties when Evans fell sick after the second water point and lost a lot of fluids as a result. They managed to complete the race and Evans was then put on a drip for mild hydration. Evans had to be supported by George for the last 30km of the route, who pulled him by his jersey in order to complete Stage 1.

In the women’s category, it was Rocky Mountain (Pia Sundstedt/Alison Sydor) coming home first, followed by Dolphin-Trek MTB Racing (Fienne Heinzmann/Katrin Schwing). Trek/VW WSD (Susan Haywood/Jennifer Smith) had won the prologue and came in third on Stage 1.

Despite riding much of Stage 1 suffering from dizzy spells after an allergic reaction to a bee sting, Nico Pfitzenmaier managed to stay with teammate Ivonne Kraft to finish first in the Mixed category. Cape Epic first-timers X.0 Felt Swiss came in second.

Pic: Sven Martin/Sportzpics

Day 2

Stage 2 of the 2008 Cape Epic has been described as the toughest in the history of the event. Again, it was very hot, with temperatures up to 39°C, and the route featured some substantial and sustained climbs. The first challenge of the day was Montagu Pass, a dirt road ascent winding 9km at an average 8% gradient. Later in the day, “Breakback Mountain” gained 1,100m of height with some sections being an eye-watering 18% gradient. Then there was a fast, loose, hairpin-laden descent to follow before the final flat 15km to the Calitzdorp Spa. Into a headwind.

The Cape Epic features time bonuses at selected points in the race. The first of these came 25km into Stage 2 at the top of Montagu Pass. The Cannondale Vredestein team of Roel Paulissen and Jakob Fuglsang were first to the top and gained a 40-second time bonus for their trouble. Paulissen and Fuglsang stayed out front for the remainder of the stage, crossing the line in 5:07:11, five minutes clear of Stage 1 winners Songo.Info (Christoph Sauser/Burry Stander). Third place on the day came down to a sprint finish between Alb-Gold Mountainbike (Hannes Genze/Jochen Kaess) and MTN Energade (Kevin Evans/David George). MTB Energade had won the prologue but been slowed by illness on Stage 1 – Stage 2 represented an impressive comeback, although they were pipped to third place on the line.

Songo.Info retained the overall lead, with Cannondale Vredestein four minutes behind. Alb-Gold Mountainbike are third.

In the women’s category, Rocky Mountain (Alison Sydor/Pia Sundstedt) won their second stage in succession, with a ten-minute margin over second-placed Trek/VW WSD (Susan Haywood/Jennifer Smith). Haywood and Smith were only 30 seconds ahead of Dolphin-Trek MTB Racing (Fabienne Heinzmann/Katrin Schwing), yesterday’s second-placed team, so there’s likely to be a battle ahead. Also scoring two from two were Ivonne Kraft and Nico Pfitzenmaier in the Mixed category.

Stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic will take riders from Calitzdorp to Riversdale, with a distance of 133km and climbing of 2,340m. The teams are taken up a 13km steady drag on smooth dirt roads over Rooiberg Pass. It’s a long climb that steepens to 9% before a 70kph descent into the valley. After some sharp, rolling hills, riders cross game country, where antelope, giraffe, leopard, and caracal will watch the riders charge through. From there on the terrain will be tough. Maximum concentration is needed to preserve bike and body. The rock formations are as geologically fascinating as they are race threatening (if riders choose a bad line or make a bad tyre choice). Even after riders survived the punctures and the heat, there is still a long slog on dirt roads before Garcia Pass. They’ll welcome the tarred, gentle climb and fast descent that takes them into Riversdale, for a hard-earned rest.

Full results at www.cape-epic.com.