South African Cross Country Champion James Reid will partner his American counterpart Howard Grotts in the 2016 Absa Cape Epic and the young pairing could provide a glimpse into the future of the world’s premier mountain bike stage race.
Both Reid and US champion Grotts cut their teeth in cross country racing but have also shown impressive form over longer distances. They will be racing as Team Spur-Specialized and both be taking on the Cape Epic for the first time.
“I think we’ll both be coming into the event without any pre-defined ambitions,” said Reid. “I certainly want to win a stage or two if possible and I think we’re similarly matched in terms of strengths and weaknesses – we’ve both had a fair share of exposure to international XC racing and should be able to gel pretty effectively.”
Reid has competed in the Trans Hajar and Cape Pioneer Trek stage races in previous years “so it’s not going to be too much of a leap into the unknown”.
Howard Grotts is set to pair James Reid as Team Spur-Specialized in the 2016 Absa Cape Epic.
Grotts added: “I haven’t done anything like the Cape Epic before, so I don’t really have any expectations. But, that being said, I’m focused on coming into this race with good form and being competitive. I’d love to get a stage win.”
The American said that the only comparable race he’d done was the Marathon World Championships in Val Gardena, Italy in 2014: “That had 4 000m of climbing in 87km and I felt pretty good overall, but that was just one day of racing, I’m curious to see what it’s like to race huge days back-to-back.”
They are both 23-years-old and relatively young for the marathon stage race discipline, but their outstanding pedigree of both riders suggests that they could become highly competitive combination in the Epic format.
The unique nature of the 2016 route will also suit them.
Reid said it looked “rough, tough and challenging”.
“Compared with previous years it does look like it’s becoming more refined, with a closer focus on the quality of trails on the route,” he added. “I like the fact that there is more singletrack than ever, and it’s also exploring some different host venues, like Boschendal, which is 10 minutes from where I live (in Stellenbosch).”
Grotts is of course not familiar with South African conditions: “It looks incredibly challenging, even if it’s shorter than previous versions, so I can’t imagine what it will be like to actually race it,” he said. “The amount of vertical gain alone makes the route daunting, but I like climbing so I hope that’s in our favour.”
The two riders know one another from the World Cup circuit but have not ridden together as a team: “James and I have raced against each other but never trained together,” said Grotts. “I’ll be in South Africa a full five weeks before the Epic, so that gives ample time to train together and even do a few races.”
Grotts will travel to South Africa at the beginning of next month and Reid said that “Howard and I will line up at the Tankwa Trek in mid-February and then we’ll have a lot of preparation time together between that event and the Cape Epic”.
The American will be coming out of winter and said he had not been spending a lot of time on his bike towards the end of last year: “I was mostly doing gym work and cross training, like running, to keep good overall fitness. The serious bike training begins now, which is plenty of time for a couple of big training blocks before the Cape Epic.”
Reid, by sharp contrast, has been revelling in the local sunshine: “With the weather being great down in the Cape at the moment it’s easy to get out and about. That being said I’ve also been focusing on a fair bit of gym work and running too.”
They will both be riding on S-Works Epic WC bikes: “A full-suspension seems mandatory for the rough trails – especially with 110km of singletrack,” said Grotts.
Seems like a fine pairing - Reid looks like the real deal and will be great to see another South African vying for a podium spot at the Epic.