{"id":20598,"date":"2015-01-27T14:05:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T14:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2015\/01\/27\/a-glimpse-into-the-future-rourke-croeser-and-travis-walker-r1956\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T11:21:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T11:21:42","slug":"a-glimpse-into-the-future-rourke-croeser-and-travis-walker-r1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/a-glimpse-into-the-future-rourke-croeser-and-travis-walker-r1956\/","title":{"rendered":"A Glimpse Into The Future: Rourke Croeser and Travis Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Absa Cape Epic fans will get a glimpse of the future when two of South Africa\u2019s rising stars take on the rugged eight-day stage race in 2015. Rourke Croeser and Travis Walker are both 23-years-old \u2013 an age when mountain bikers tend to be better at the shorter disciplines. They have though shown good form recently in longer races and Croeser is the reigning SA XCO champion. Riding together they won the four day PE to Plett stage race in 2014 \u2013 crossing the line first on all four of the stages \u2013 and Walker was the first solo rider home in last year\u2019s seven-day Cape Pioneer Trek.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-82923700-1422367576.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Croeser has one Absa Cape Epic under his belt, finishing 22nd with veteran Shan Wilson in 2013 after entering as a late replacement for an injured rider. Walker will be racing it for the first time. Croeser says they will be aiming for a top five overall finish and hoping to win the Absa African special jersey for being the first team from the continent to finish. \u201cA stage win would put the icing on the cake,\u201d he said. \u201cFortunately we get along really well and have a good understanding of one another’s strengths and weaknesses,\u201d said Croeser of their partnership. \u201cGenerally I tend to set the pace on the climbs and Travis hits the front on the long open roads \u2026 you could call it the perfect combination.\u201d Walker added: \u201c Rourke and myself have very similar strengths, we work well together and we always encourage one another when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team aspect of the event is clearly something they are keen to get right: \u201cThe team dynamic makes for more interesting racing. For instance your partner might be having a good day and you are feeling a bit flat, but then your partner can help you along and get you to the end of the day,\u201d said Walker.<\/p>\n

They will be riding a Full-Dynamix Higher 29er over the eight days. \u201cIt is a full suss bike. We decided to ride it because of the unforgiving terrain we will have race over: it will be more efficient over the rough terrain and save a lot of energy,\u201d said Walker. \u201cThe bike was designed with events like the Absa Cape Epic in mind,\u201d added Croeser.<\/p>\n

The KwaZulu Natal-based young professionals were clearly champing at the bit: \u201cWe all know it has been described as the Tour de France of mountain biking \u2026 it is by far the world\u2019s leading mountain biking event,\u201d said Croeser. \u201cThe Absa Cape Epic is definitely the benchmark for stage racing standards and every year it improves,\u201d commented Walker. \u201cThe Epic has been on my to-do list for some time and I am very stoked to be given the opportunity to take part in such a high profile race.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s race takes place from 15 to 22 March and will once again take 1 200 riders through some of the Western Cape\u2019s most unspoilt territory. The race kicks off with a prologue on Table Mountain, starting from the University of Cape Town, and finishes eight days later at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville.<\/p>\n

Meerendal will host the finish of the race and the Grand Finale celebrations for the first time. The Grand Finale will kick off with live entertainment, a farmer\u2019s market, great food and wine and unmatched scenery. Vantage points will be accessible to the general public. If you want to experience the Grand Finale in style, Hospitality tickets are available on the website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Absa Cape Epic fans will get a glimpse of the future when two of South Africa\u2019s rising stars take on the rugged eight-day stage race in 2015. Rourke Croeser and Travis Walker are both 23-years-old \u2013 an age when mountain bikers tend to be better at the shorter disciplines. They have though shown good form […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[76,24,2975,1776],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-20598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-absa-cape-epic","tag-cape-epic","tag-rourke-croeser","tag-travis-walker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20598","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=20598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20598"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=20598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}