![\"ccs-41808-0-23912600-1383206886.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-41808-0-23912600-1383206886.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nImage credit: www.sportzpics.net<\/span><\/p>\n For four-times Absa Cape Epic winner Christoph Sauser, the new route will suit him, as he is a good all-rounder. \u201cThis will be my tenth Absa Cape Epic. I look forward to Robertson as I have good memories from last year. I have less fond memories of Greyton as we lost an Absa Cape Epic due to Burry\u2018s famous crash there, where we broke the front wheel. I personally was hoping we go back to Wellington and especially Stellenbosch, as it\u2019s my second home! Stage 5 will be very difficult as we\u2019ll be tired and we have the UFO and Groenlandberg to climb, which are never easy after 5 days of racing already. We\u2019re targeting an overall win, so every stage has the same importance. We always decide what to do in a situation and don\u2019t follow a master plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Karl Platt, also a four-times winner of the Absa Cape Epic, reckons every year is hard. \u201cWe\u2019re returning to familiar terrain from past years. Because mountain biking has changed in South Africa, I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing the new style of self-made trails in and around these towns. They are really famous for awesome and breathtaking mountain biking.\u201d With regards to the stages, he reckons they will all be difficult. \u201cThe long distance stages are especially difficult to amateurs. One of the key stages will be the stage to Oak Valley with the monster of Groenlandberg. I can remember that terrain very well, maybe because of all the impressions from past years and the pain. Not to sound arrogant, we\u2019ll target every stage for a win. It\u2019s more about the GC (General Classification) than the wins though.\u201d He jokingly adds that there are no easy stages during the Absa Cape Epic. \u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n This will be the second Absa Cape Epic for South African rider, Darren Lill. \u201cThe route looks like it’s sure to live up to the Epic reputation! I think stage 5 will be the most challenging. Already having four stages in the legs, and then having to tackle almost 3000m of climbing is going to be tough. You have to give 100% every day to be at the front end of the race, and stand a chance at the overall podium.\u201d His approach to the race will be \u201ceat, sleep, train, repeat!\u201d<\/p>\n Stefan Sahm, three-times winner of the Absa Cape Epic, reckons the new route is the same as every year. \u201cThe profile, facts and figures never show the real pain and suffering that awaits you. It\u2019ll be nice to ride through some places we haven\u2019t seen in previous years.\u201d With regards to which stage will be the most difficult, Sahm is philosophical. \u201cI guess it\u2019s a bit like Russian roulette – there can always be a day when everything is against you. It\u2019s not just the route and the terrain.\u201d<\/p>\n Swiss rider and two-times winner (in the Ladies and Mixed categories) Esther S\u00fcss is convinced the route will be hard to ride. \u201cI\u2019m not looking forward to stage 3. I’m not so good in flat and fast sections and I also don’t like it. Stage 6 has lots of singletrack, which I love, and I\u2019m also a good climber. We\u2019ll do our best for stage wins as long as we have fun. But of course I\u2019d like to win. I enjoy the Absa Cape Epic very much.\u201d<\/p>\n This will be the second Absa Cape Epic for Cherise Stander. \u201cI think it’s going to be extremely testing. It seems like the 2014 Cape Epic has all the variety to test a rider on every level and that one will have to be prepared for an extremely tough 8 days. I think every stage is an opportunity to break away. However, you don\u2019t want to find yourself wasting energy riding by yourself when other teams are working together in a bunch. Its a big dream of mine to one day cross the last stage into Lourensford in first place – the vibe on the finish line is magical and I would love to be able to win that stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Team Absa rider, William Mokgopo, with two Absa Cape Epic finishes under his belt, says riders would need to prepare well. \u201cI don\u2019t know why I\u2019m doing this again. There are no easy stages on the Absa Cape Epic – even the so-called \u2018easy\u2019 stages are hard. But, I really look forward to stage 5, the Queen stage, as I\u2019m a good climber.\u201d He jokingly adds they might even go for a win in the stage. \u201cDuring both Stage 1 and 5, we\u2019ll see the super humans break away from the normal ones and climbing is always the best place to do that. It seems like it\u2019s going to be a hard one, but it\u2019s always a great experience. I can\u2019t wait to start.\u201d<\/p>\n South African rugby legend, Joel Stransky, will again be riding for Team Absa and reckons, \u201cThe route looks tough, but it looks fair! Some really tough days, a long day and some incredible singletrack. Everything one would expect from Dr Evil and the team! The real change I suppose is that the \u2018sting in the tail\u2019 does come toward the end. Stage 5 looks very tough, stage 6 relatively tough and we know that the last day home is short but properly tough at the end of 8 days!\u201d This will be Stransky\u2019s 5th Absa Cape Epic. \u201cI don\u2019t mind the climbing and over the years I\u2019ve learned to suffer, so I am looking forward to the challenge of stages 1 and 5. But the last 5 kilometers down to Lourensford definitely suit me best. Every year is the same \u2013 when I see the route for the first time, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. One of life\u2019s great challenges is right there in front of me \u2013 the journey to the start line and the Absa Cape Epic itself. I can\u2019t wait!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Both local and international mountain biking enthusiasts will be taking on the demanding eight day Absa Cape Epic of 718km with 14 850m of climbing during next year\u2019s event. With its unexplored landscapes, the stage locations of Robertson, Greyton and Oak Valley Wine estate await the most prestigious mountain bike stage race in the world, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[76,1515,2641,1548,481,4550],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-absa-cape-epic","tag-christoph-sauser","tag-darren-lill","tag-esther-suss","tag-karl-platt","tag-route"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21463","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21463"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}