Race Reports from the Absa Cape Epic

The stories during the epic and after the epic are not always the same. During the event its all about the pain and suffering but afterwards its about the achievements and the memorable moments as the bad memories fade away and the good times surface. Team OFM had a roller coaster ride in the masters category and you can see how it went from day to day in our race report. We also put together some experience and tips about our experience after returning to the 2012 Epic after a 4 year layoff.

Another interesting report is from first time rider and journalist Max Gebhardt who rode the event in one of the ABSA charity teams with Joel Stransky. Max summarizes the overall mood of Epic 2012 and his experience as a novice very well in his race report article.

Team Plascon Trojans who rode for the wheels4wheels cause did a great job of documenting their experience. Finishing his first Epic as well, Mike kept a daily report of how it was going and the summarised it all at the end with his Top 10 Tips to have a successful and enjoyable epic. There is also a great photo gallery of what the race looks like from a supporters perspective.  

Renay Goustra teamed up with former road pro and Tour de France rider Rene Haselbacher. Check out his blog summary of a memorable experience.

This year more than ever it was a race of extremes and it does not matter if you are a pro or a back marker you all follow the same route and come away having had great highs and bad lows. 

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Its not all about the wheel size

The results from the latest World Cup XCO race at Houffalize Belgium threw the cat amongst the pigeons in the ongoing wheel size debate. With the majority of the pro-racing field moving to 29ers a year ago already, and winning on them, it seemed like this was a done deal. Clearly they saw the advantage of the bigger wheels.

 

But then at the first XCO in Pietermaritzburg last month Nino Schurter won the race on a 650b wheel size, that's the in between size between 26" and 29". After riding both sizes he felt that this was the best suited wheel size for him. At Houffalize on Sunday Julien Absalon 5 time World Cup winner won the race on his 26" bike and Nino was second on 650b. Absalon has never changed to 29" as he feels comfortable on his 26" wheels. This particular course had some very steep climbs which may well have favoured the smaller wheel size. Either way it shows that at the very top end of the sport where every piece of technology counts to win by a second or split second the rider on the day is still the most important component, so clearly "Its not all about the wheel size".

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An Epic of all Epics

The ABSA Cape Epic is expected to be Epic, but would you expect Epic Epic? Well if there is one thing you can always expect from the Cape Epic then it is to expect the unexpected. 

That is just what we got in 2012 as our Team OFM battled the route and the weather to cross the finish line at Lourensford. In one of the toughest if not the toughest Epic yet we had a good ride and luckily had no major incidents although there were a few close calls but we held it together. Our Morewood Zula 26" bikes powered by Shimano 2x10 and serviced by the Shimano service crew performed without fail and we covered the 760km without a single flat thanks to Batseal Tubeless sealant.  

Checkout some of the OFM podcasts from our interviews during the race.

Defending champs Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser held off a brave assault by South Africans Kevin Evans and David George to cross the finish line for their second win. Burry's onboard GoPro camera captured the awesome moment as they crossed the finish line.

2013 sees the 10th edition of the ABSA Cape Epic and they are promising something special, lottery tickets are available now at www.cape-epic.com

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