Absa Cape Epic: Working on the Table Mountain trails

The Absa Cape Epic will help to rehabilitate trails on Table Mountain following the highly successful Prologue on its slopes.

The new singletrack from below the Blockhouse and down to Plum Pudding – opened for the event – is in need of work after the March 15 Prologue and heavy usage in the few days preceding the event. This section of trail was specifically for the Cape Epic use, and unfortunately trails can only settle with rain and time. The cost of this will be shared between the Absa Cape Epic and Table Mountain Bikers, which will oversee the repair work.

The section was opened for the Absa Cape Epic and is now officially closed to riders. SANParks is considering whether to give the go-ahead for riding on it in future.

The original cost of building the trail was shared between the Absa Cape Epic, Table Mountain Bikers and the Pedal Power Association.

The Prologue on the mountain – voted one of the new seven wonders of the natural world in 2012 – drew a large crowd to the mountain and was widely hailed by competitors and fans as a great spectacle.

There has also been a huge increase in the number of riders using Table Mountain after the Tokai trail network was closed by fires. Another section of singletrack – from the bottom of Plum Pudding down to the gate below the Rhodes Memorial road – will also need some rehabilitation and the Absa Cape Epic will also be helping pay for this work.

“The Table Mountain Prologue was a huge success and we are very grateful for all the work that Table Mountain Bikers put into it,” said Absa Cape Epic Marketing and Communications manager Sarah Harrop. “We’re all riders and also have a vested interest in making the trails rideable.”

“Obviously a major consideration is the natural environment, and we also hire experts to do environmental impact assessments before making any structural changes,” said Harrop. “Taking all this into account, we have made a substantial investment into trail building over the years.”

The race also paid for trails to be upgraded at various other points in the 2015 route. The Absa Cape Epic route changes every year, and the race routinely helps build trails on the courses.