7 Things We Learned From The 2025 Cape Epic
Last week the Western Cape hosted the 21st edition of the Absa Cape Epic. Riders experienced extreme heat with bone-dry and dusty trails for the first half of the race followed by cloudy skies, light rain and mud for the second half. The men’s race saw some insanely tight racing with eventual winners Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo under pressure, throughout the eight day race. Despite some crashes, returning Champs Annika Langvad and partner Sofia Gomez Villafane rode a tactically brilliant race, to take another overall win. Here’s a few things we noticed about this year’s race.
The pace is more XCO than XCM
Sprinting out of every turn, elbowing riders out of the way and tucking for aero gains on almost every descent is a style of riding more akin to a 90-minute World Cup XCO race, not an 8-day marathon stage race. Now, more than ever, it’s clear the top-level pros at the Cape Epic are attacking and chasing margins throughout every moment of the race. Every second counts!
A more technical course provides better racing
This year’s race took the riders through some of the best singletracks of Durbanville, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Somerset West areas. Having more singletrack and less open roads, makes for far more exciting racing and there’s three main reasons why. Firstly, ahead of the singletrack sections we saw real high-speeds as riders jostled for better bunch positioning. Then, inside the singletrack, the riders with better equipment and skills, were at a distinct advantage. Thirdly, due to the stop/start nature of singletrack racing, energy expenditure is a lot higher (than on open roads) which means fatigue can set in earlier and even the best in the business, can blow early. The bottom line is miles and miles of smooth, wide open gravel roads don’t make for exciting mountain bike racing. Singletrack does.
Hydration backpacks are back
More riders at the sharp end of the race are using hydration backpacks. Now it does depend on the severity of the weather, the number of nutrition stations and the distance between said nutrition stations but it’s plain to see their popularity is rising. Having ample storage is one reason and comfort another. A slightly less obvious upside is with the increasing technical nature of stages, there’s often very little chance to remove a hand from the bars and drink safely from a water bottle.
An all-SA GC win is possible
In the history of the race an all-SA GC win has never happened. However, now more than ever, the talent in SA runs deep and we have to consider an overall victory is an actual possibility. Imagine how lethal the right combination from the likes of Matt Beers, Alan Hatherly, Tristan Nortje, Marco Joubert, Candice Lill, Hayley Preen, Bianca Haw et al would be. And, in a few years time, we can add the likes of Tyler Jacobs and Luke Moir to that list.
A perfect week of racing
From the rider interviews, to the aerial coverage, to the eBike and motorbike videographers, the whole media crew behind the live broadcast did an incredible job. Not only could viewers around the world stay up to date on the racing but this year it felt like the media crew captured much more of the drama and stories of the race, as and when they happened. Big props to them for showcasing our sport (and the country) to such a wide audience.
Specialized is the top brand on the UCI podiums
Every year the crew from Specialized put a lot of focus into this race. Whilst they never secured the Men’s GC title this year, their hard work paid off with more bikes at the head of the race than any other brand. On the podium, four of the twelve bikes were Specialized. Scott and Willier each had two bikes on the podiums whilst Factor, Titan Racing, Santa Cruz and Lapierre, each had one.
The G.O.A.T is not done
Over the years Nino Schurter has put a lot into this race with more than his fair share of disappointments. This year, the master tactician gelled perfectly with new partner Filippo Colombo to own the race from day two in Meerendal, right through to Lourensford. On the podium in every stage, Nino and Filippo held the yellow jerseys from stage one through to the finish in Lourensford. He is a verocious and classy bike racer who, along with his vast list of accolades, is now a three-time winner of the Cape Epic. C’est la classe! //
| IMAGES: Sam Clark, Nick Muzik, Michael Chiaretta, Dom Barnardt |