The Absa Cape Epic is known as the toughest mountain bike stage race in the world. Wild and open, sometimes inhospitable and other times staggeringly beautiful, the Western Cape region of South Africa both tests and surprises all who tackle its ungroomed trails. When the sounds of the cicadas are harsher than the heat they proclaim, when icy mornings lead to driving rain, you can be certain that both equipment and spirit will be pushed to the limit. In this place, where roads hardened year-round by the sun can turn to quicksand overnight, teams will be challenged mentally, physically and emotionally.

SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing will kick-off its 2017 season at the Cape Epic and take part with three teams. Olympic Champion Nino Schurter will race together with new team member Matthias Stirnemann, Michiel van der Heijden teams up with Andri Frischknecht. Finally Olympic Champion Jenny Rissveds will challenge her team manager Thomas Frischknecht in the Mixed Category at the eight day lasting race “We are looking forward to a great team adventure racing the Cape Epic. This race is one of the most brutal things mountain bikers can experience.”

SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing is ready to race.
Check out www.scott-sram.com and welcome Matthias Stirnemann, our new team member who will be shredding alongside Nino Schurter and Jenny Rissveds.

#NOSHORTCUTS #scott2luvit

The route of this year's Absa Cape Epic will take riders through 691km of South Africa's Western Cape countryside and up a lot of hills: the accumulated vertical gain over the eight days will be 15 400m. The Prologue at Meerendal Wine Estate will offer spectacular singletrack riding. A week later the event will finish near Franschhoek. In between those landmark dates the race village goes to Elandskloof in Greyton for two nights and Oak Valley in Elgin, for three.

Compared to previous years, the circular stages at the 2017 Absa Cape Epic tend to be shorter, with a higher percentage of singletrack. Creating stages of differing characteristics should allow different riders to do well on different days, depending on their strengths. The anticipated winning time of a stage is generally between three-and-a-half to five hours (which translates into a riding time of seven to 10 hours for those at the back of the field) and it should be on terrain that is challenging but achievable. 2017’s Queen Stage is Stage 6. Having the Queen Stage late keeps the race for the leader jerseys and the podium open until the end. 

Photos: Jochen Haar, Michal Cerveny, Greg Beadle, Nick Muzik