Ten years ago Kevin Vermaak had an idea to put on an 8 day mountain bike stage race across South Africa, some believed and some thought he was crazy. Little did they know that 10 years later it would put South Africa on the mountain biking map, bring the worlds best riders to our shores year after year and start a mountain bike stage racing trend.
This week the tenth edition of the ABSA Cape Epic Route for 2013 was reveled. The anticipation and excitement of the route is almost as big as the event itself, this year they have not disappointed with some virgin routes and great stage locations. Merendal, Citrusdal, Saronsberg in Tulbach, Wellington, Stellenbosch and Lourensford are the stage locations for 2013. Looking at the distances there is only one big stage of 145km otherwise distances are around 100km or less. Don't for a second think that this means that it is an easy route. The Epic is always hard so shorter distances usually mean rough terrain, technical riding and steep climbs. But you can make up your own mind by checking out the route video, with 7000 views in just 2 days it is clear that there is great excitement about the 2013 event..
Highlights of the race will be the prologue at Merendal with great views and awesome singletrack, the remoteness of the Cederberg, and then more world class singletrack in Wellington and Stellenbosch. By now riders will have started their training for the start in March next year as a good 4 to 5 months of training are needed to if you want to cross the finish line after 8 days of riding. For some training tips, program and guidance checkout the Epic training guide.
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