{"id":16193,"date":"2018-02-07T08:35:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T08:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2018\/02\/07\/candice-lill-and-adelheid-morath-team-up-for-the-2018-absa-cape-epic-r7090\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T06:11:40","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T06:11:40","slug":"candice-lill-and-adelheid-morath-team-up-for-the-2018-absa-cape-epic-r7090","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/candice-lill-and-adelheid-morath-team-up-for-the-2018-absa-cape-epic-r7090\/","title":{"rendered":"Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath team up for the 2018 Absa Cape Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Top South African mountain biker Candice Lill finished her first Absa Cape Epic in 2017 \u201chungry for more\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Lill used last year\u2019s race as preparation for 2018, a wise head on young shoulders discovering what the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race was all about.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-07642100-1517992382.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1150768\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1150768\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-07642100-1517992382.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-07642100-1517992382.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Candice Lill. Photo credit: Marc Sampson. Absa Cape Epic. Sportzpics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had a very good experience at my first Absa Cape Epic, which is exactly how I wanted it to be,\u201d said the 25-year-old Lill. \u201cI had no pressure. I was there to experience, learn and grow. I finished most days with a smile on my face because I had prepared and was ready for how tough the race can be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea for 2017 was to be part of the race, but always have a little bit left in the tank at the end of the stage. Being a relatively young rider, I am so grateful for the advice I took to approach my first Absa Cape Epic like this. I left the race feeling hungry for more. This is why I\u2019m back in 2018 ready to give it a good go. I am sure it will be totally different ball game, but let\u2019s chat afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lill finished sixth in 2017 with Namibian Vera Adrian, but will race the 15th Absa Cape Epic with Adelheid Morath of Germany for Team dormakaba. Morath, who will ride in her third Epic, was fourth last year with Ariane L\u00fcthi, the three-time winner of the Women\u2019s category.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake one glance at Adelheid, and you know she can climb, very fast! I am sure I will be suffering up many a mountain. I don\u2019t want to give away too many secrets here, but what I believe is Adelheid\u2019s biggest strength is her honesty, communication and ability to look after a team mate. We have different strengths and weaknesses on the bike, but that can all be optimised with the above three aspects. I look forward to working with her and learning from her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lill finished the Epic with renewed respect for all who finish the race, saying you cannot have ridden it and not built some solid character. \u201cIf I meet someone who has finished the Ansa Cape Epic, I immediately know that they must have a strong mind, have the ability to overcome challenges, and be able to endure some level of pain &#8211; be it physical, emotional etc.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-55704000-1517992376.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1150767\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1150767\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-55704000-1517992376.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-55704000-1517992376.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Adelheid Morath. Photo credit: Ewald Sadie. Absa Cape Epic.Sportzpics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The two main lessons she learnt last year were that \u201cyou are only as strong as your teamwork\u201d and the \u201crace is looooonnnggg and unpredictable\u201d. \u201cTo work as a team is a skill that many people don\u2019t possess. It is not given the emphasis it deserves, because it is possibly one of the biggest factors to achieve success. In every situation, think about your partner- how are they feeling? Where are they? Will it be better for them if I do\/don\u2019t do this? Will it give them a mental edge if I let them ride on the front? And they must do the same for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis race is not won on any single day. Therefore, do not panic if you are having a bad day or losing time because you had to fix a mechanical. Do the best you can do in the situation and never ever give up chasing. The pendulum swings and the next day you might be playing with a completely different set of cards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there is a good balance of everything in this year\u2019s route &#8211; long stages over 100km, shorter more technical stages, stages with crazy climbing and two \u2018time trial\u2019 stages. I am really excited about the Prologue on Table Mountain because I love the atmosphere with the crowds, and the excitement and anticipation in the air. I am also looking forward to the stages in Wellington as I feel they suit my style of riding. I have always enjoyed the trails in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top South African mountain biker Candice Lill finished her first Absa Cape Epic in 2017 \u201chungry for more\u201d. Lill used last year\u2019s race as preparation for 2018, a wise head on young shoulders discovering what the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race was all about. Candice Lill. Photo credit: Marc Sampson. Absa Cape Epic. Sportzpics. \u201cI [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[767,319,24],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-16193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-adelheid-morath","tag-candice-lill","tag-cape-epic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193","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=16193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16193"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=16193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}