The 19th edition of the ABSA Cape Epic finished today with the Grand Finale (Stage 7) in Val the Vie Estate. The untamed eight-day African mountain bike stage race is often referred as the "Tour de France” of mountain biking. Hosted by South Africa’s Western Cape the ABSA Cape Epic is the most prestigious mountain bike stage race in the world. 724 teams of two, from 55 nations, among them multiple World, Olympic, and National Champions tackled 650 kilometer course climbing and more than 15 th...

Stage 6 marked the penultimate day of the ABSA Cape Epic 2023. For the first time in history, outside of a time trial, the entire stage was hosted by a single landowner. It was a dramatic day, as wind and rain was on the cards for the riders today. The trails were wet and soggy, which caused a dramatic shake up in the general classification. Matthew Beers (RSA) and Christopher Blevins (USA) won the penultimate stage 6 with a time of 3hours 26minutes 48seconds. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing’s Nino Sch...

Stage 5 of the ABSA Cape Epic marked another transition stage. Today was also this year’s Queen Stage with 102km and 2450m of climbing. The route featured the long and rough Tierkop Climb and a Cape Epic favorite, Groenlandberg with its sandy and rutted trails. Riders also had to contend with the Gantouw Pass portage. Defending champions, Lukas Baum (GER) & Georg Egger (GER) of team Orbea x Leatt x Speed Company won the Queen Stage with 04hours 13minutes 6seconds. It is their first stage win...

Stage 4 marked the second time trial of the race. It took the riders around the trails of Oak Valley Estate in a short but intense day of racing with 47km to go and 875m of climbing. The course was packed with singletrack, making it a test of skill as well as fitness. Maintaining a rhythm to climb twisting trails like Berg Adder and then descend down trails like Puff Adder, Vissie’s Magic and Sounds of Silence required absolute focus. Matthew Beers (RSA) and Christopher Blevins (USA) from tea...

Today is Stage 3 and it marks the first transition, from Hermanus to Oak Valley Estate. Today’s route traverses wild country nestled within pockets of manicured agriculture. 100 brutal kilometres of raw, natural trails separate the race villages. The riders have to climb 2300 meters before returning Oak Valley Estate, ahead of the time trial on Stage 4. Today’s race was decided on the very last meters in a sprint finish between four teams. Matthew Beers (RSA) from team Toyota-Specialized-Nine...

Stage 2 of the 2023 ABSA Cape Epic marked the longest stage of this year’s race. The riders looped around the beautiful trails of Hermanus. At 116 kilometers it had everything from long grinding climbs to hair-raising downhills and technical demanding single tracks. The men’s race saw a very fast and technical race with the best end for Toyota-Specialized-NinetyOne’s Matthew Beers (RSA) and his partner Christopher Blevins (USA). The pair took the win of Stage 2 after they already won the Prol...

Stage 1 of the ABSA Cape Epic was traditionally tough and tested the riders to their limits as it has been a real marathon stage. The bare numbers sat at 98 kilometers with 2,550 meters of climbing, the highest of this year’s route. After a relatively short Prologue, things were being turned up a notch as the race properly got under way. The route headed through the best of the Hemel en Aarde Valley singletracks and into the searing Overberg planes. The outbound loop trended relentlessly uphi...

The ABSA Cape Epic is back with the 19th edition of the untamed African mountain bike race. The eight-day race is often referred as the "Tour de France of mountain biking" and it‘s the most prestigious mountain bike stage race in the world. It attracts this year 724 teams from 55 nations including multiple World, Olympians, and National Champions next to aspiring amateurs testing themselves against the best. The teams of two riders tackle around 648 untamed kilometers and 15.475 meters of cli...

The Absa Cape Epic is the world’s premier mountain bike stage race. The route changes every year, leading aspiring amateur and professional mountain bikers from around the world through 658 Untamed kilometres of unspoilt scenery and up 15'775m of climbing. The Absa Cape Epic is the most televised mountain bike race in the world and classed as UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Series (SSR) by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI); this official UCI status makes it a highlight on the professional ra...

The group that was to fight for the stage at the end consisted of Georg Egger, Martin Frey (Singer Racing Team), Martin Stosek (Canyon Northwave), Marc Stutzman (Canyon Northwave), Andreas Seewald (Canyon Northwave), Krzysztof Lukasik (JBG2 Cryospace) and Wout Alleman (Wilier-Pirelli). On the final climb, the race was blown up again by Egger's push. Only Frey and Seewald held on and it came down to a sprint of the three, which Frey won, while Egger came second and Seewald completed the all-Ge...