The 2016 Absa Cape Epic route has been revealed and will contain more singletrack than ever before in the race\u2019s 12-year-history. A total of 110km of the 647km route will be made up of singletrack trails as the eight-days of riding takes riders from Table Mountain to Tulbagh, Wellington, Stellenbosch and Durbanville. Although the 647km is shorter than previous years it includes more climbing per each of those kilometres than ever before. In 2016 riders willclimb 14950m during the Prologue and seven stages. That means riders will be ascending 23,1m per kilometre, even more than this year\u2019s 21.4m per km.<\/p>\n
Race director Kati Csak, who rode the entire route on the official trial ride in August and September, said riders would be making a mistake if they were to read too much into the shorter distance. \u201cThere is a lot of climbing, a lot of singletrack that will require skill and concentration, and some unstable and difficult surfaces,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will test the skills of riders as much as any of the 12 previous races.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2016 race will also introduce the daily Land Rover Technical Terrain sections, where riders\u2019 skills, capability and composure will be tested on tricky descents or challenging singletrack.<\/p>\n