![\"ACE22_Stage](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1159992927_ACE22_Stage7_NickMuzik_0169-2.d01b728e2849d338e96599b0427adfcf-1.jpeg\")
Georg Egger and Lukas Baum of Speed Company Racing \u00a0win stage 7 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\tPrior to the 2022 Absa Cape Epic, few, aside from Canyon Northwave MTB\u2019s Andreas Seewald and Martin Sto\u0161ek (who were dethroned on the final stage), had earmarked Egger and Baum as threats to the overall title. Perhaps that darkhorse status played to their advantage as the Absa Cape Epic debutants carried no pressure and no set-in-stone expectations, from the riders themselves as well as from their rivals.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAhead of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic we knew we were in good shape as we had already beaten most of our competitors at other races, so we were quietly confident.\u201d Explained Egger. \u201cWe had no stresses before the race and we could start relatively relaxed. But once we started racing, that all changed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen Speed Company Racing returns to Africa to defend their title from 19-26 March 2023, they will not be lining up sans expectations and sans pressure. In fact, with the number 1 boards mounted to their bikes, the German duo will be in the proverbial limelight with all eyes fixed firmly on them.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cLast year we didn\u2019t have a target on our backs initially but that changed quickly. Returning as defending champions is good for us as the only pressure we feel comes from ourselves,\u201d explained Baum. \u201cPreparing for that will take some mental training. We\u2019re going to come into the race with a fresh mindset and approach it as if it was our first time once again. My personal experience in racing is that the way to the top is easier than staying at the top, we have a huge task ahead in March. The Absa Cape Epic is so unpredictable so our strategy will be to take it day-by-day, try forget the suffering, and react to what happens on the trails.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\t \n\tSince their Absa Cape Epic victory, Egger and Baum have made waves in the stage racing realm as they claimed victories at the Andorra MTB Classic and the Israel Epic; the results further cementing that they are a force to be reckoned with in 2023.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe pair\u2019s victory in Andorra was similar to that in Africa as they stormed the final stage to overturn a deficit and ultimately claim the race win. However, in Andorra, they\u2019d made their intentions clear in the Prologue when they won the opening day and raced into a lead of almost two minutes, only to lose the jerseys on Stage 2, and then secure them once and for all after Stage 3.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe Andorra MTB Classic was such a beautiful race. Very different to the Absa Cape Epic, though,” said Egger. \u201cWe used our usual offensive style racing and it was a close battle with Hans [Becking] and Hugo [Drechou] right up until the end, but we came out on top and were super happy with that performance, especially after how we won the Absa Cape Epic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tAside from Egger and Baum\u2019s overall performance and final day charge into Val de Vie, the basecamp from which they won the 2022 Absa Cape Epic was astounding. No dedicated support crew. No dedicated private chefs or masseuses. No personal mechanics. Only Baum\u2019s father, Michael, who served a super soigneur for the men.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOur setup in 2022 was epic,\u201d laughed Egger. \u201cMy dad will come onboard for next year as our photographer. We\u2019ve also picked up a connection for a physio based in Stellenbosch. So the team is getting bigger, but we\u2019re still keeping it lean.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019ll be doubling up on the amount of dads in 2023 as Georg\u2019s dad joins the team,\u201d smiled Baum. \u201cWe believe in our approach and why would we want to change a winning setup? We will be riding new bikes though! With our new Orbea OIZ bikes, new gear, and slightly upgraded setup, we\u2019ll be ready to go on the attack to try claim another Epic Series win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lukas Baum and Georg Egger, of Speed Company Racing, won the 2022 Absa Cape Epic in incredible style; now, in 2023, the team is set to defend their title from 19-26 March at the 19th Absa Cape Epic. On 27 March 2022, Georg Egger and Lukas Baum, racing as Speed Company Racing, won the final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[24],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-12589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-cape-epic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62031,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12589\/revisions\/62031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12589"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=12589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"ACE22_S7_SimonPocock_7242.jpeg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ACE22_S7_SimonPocock_7242.eb79e448140c3fc6d7be1bdd35050547-1.jpeg\")
Lukas Baum and Georg Egger of team Speed Company Racing during stage 7 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by\u00a0Simon Pocock\/Cape Epic<\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n