{"id":16150,"date":"2018-02-27T11:20:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T11:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2018\/02\/27\/the-boys-in-baggies-want-cape-epic-yellow-r7135\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T06:09:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T06:09:01","slug":"the-boys-in-baggies-want-cape-epic-yellow-r7135","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/the-boys-in-baggies-want-cape-epic-yellow-r7135\/","title":{"rendered":"The boys in baggies want Cape Epic Yellow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cannondale Factory Racing\u2019s baggy-wearing duo of Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini might be one of the most entertaining teams at the Absa Cape Epic, but don\u2019t let their affable demeanours fool you \u2013 they\u2019re here to win.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-59193700-1519730587.jpg\"<\/a>Photo credit: Ewald Sadie. Absa Cape Epic. Sportzpics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s their off-the-wall sartorial direction or perhaps the occasional tail-whip that has endeared them to fans all over the world, but one thing is for sure \u2013 the showmanship of Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini is indisputable. Last year the team celebrated an amazing run of form winning two stages and spending four successive days in the yellow zebra jersey before a string of mechanicals and poor luck all but put an end to their 2017 podium ambitions. This year they will be looking to reverse 2017\u2019s shortcomings by riding smarter and playing to their strengths, particularly when it comes to the Prologue which has become a happy hunting ground for the cross-country specialists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really looking forward to the Prologue on Table Mountain. It\u2019s not every day you get to ride on one of the natural wonders of the world,\u201d said Fumic. \u201cThe Stage 5 time-trial is also new and should mix up the racing in a big way. The goal for us, of course, is the overall podium. We need to see how it goes over the days, but I think this year\u2019s Absa Cape Epic will become really tactical. There are so many new teams and big names, and it\u2019s not easy to single out any particular threat, but it will sure make for some good and intense racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As national XCO champions of their respective countries \u2013 Germany and Brazil \u2013 Fumic and Avancini are a lot alike and complement each other on and off the bike. While they lack the stage-racing polish of some of the more established teams, such as the BULLS and Investec-Songo-Specialized, they\u2019ve grown considerably as a unit over the past two years and feel better prepared than any of their previous visits to the Absa Cape Epic.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was a good learning process for Cannondale Factory Racing,\u201d says Avancini. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we don’t train specifically for the Absa Cape Epic, but I believe Manny (Fumic) and I are going to be in good shape. We\u2019ve ridden well together in the past and know each other well. Last year we had some good results and it would be great to be in the mix again on the GC.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-63797500-1519730588.jpg\"<\/a>Photo credit: Nick Muzik. Absa Cape Epic. Sportzpics.<\/span><\/p>\n

For that to happen however, the Cannondale Factory Racing outfit will have to target the shorter stages and that would mean a calculated approach to the Prologue and the Stage 5 time-trial in Wellington. That\u2019s not to say they won\u2019t be competitive on some of the longer days. Who can forget last year\u2019s Stage 1 victory in Hermanus? Or their stellar ride on the Grand Finale of 2016 \u2013 where they pulled away from the chasing peloton and snatched victory from the Centurion Vaude squad just moments before the finish line.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s polarising route has been a big talking point with the general consensus leaning more towards a course that favours the marathon riders. Might we see one of the closely contested Absa Cape Epics ever? Well, on paper there are some exceptionally strong teams looking to do damage, and Avancini reckons the racing will naturally be aggressive with more teams fighting for positions on the GC than ever before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a route that suits the endurance riders a lot better than us, so the race pace is probably going to be even more aggressive than last year,\u201d said Avancini. \u201cAlban Lakata and Kristian Hynek are looking good. So are Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann who return as defending champions. And then there\u2019s the Investec-Songo-Specialized team of Jaroslav Kulhavy and Howard Grotts who can\u2019t be written off. Personally, I would love to see Karl Platt do well again. I have a massive respect for him and would be nice to fight with him in the front.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not all business for the boys in baggies. The two are very much fan-favourites here in South Africa and want to entertain the crowd just as much as target results.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I enjoy riding bikes. I enjoy riding bikes fast and I just like to share that with people. I race knowing it\u2019s my job and I want to make this wonderful sport better. Manny and I just enjoy what we do and it\u2019s nice to see that people like that,\u201d quipped Avancini.<\/p>\n

Will we see the boys rocking their baggies again this year?<\/p>\n

\u201cBaggies are a favourite in our team but let me tell you the girls prefer the lycra so maybe you\u2019ll see us in lycra on some of the stages this year!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cannondale Factory Racing\u2019s baggy-wearing duo of Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini might be one of the most entertaining teams at the Absa Cape Epic, but don\u2019t let their affable demeanours fool you \u2013 they\u2019re here to win. Photo credit: Ewald Sadie. Absa Cape Epic. Sportzpics. Maybe it\u2019s their off-the-wall sartorial direction or perhaps the occasional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[24,322,321],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-16150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-cape-epic","tag-henrique-avancini","tag-manuel-fumic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16150","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=16150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16150"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=16150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}