The skills of modern professional riders mean that the 2023 Absa Cape Epic will be more open than ever, even though the smart money might still be on the favourites.
CAPE TOWN – When it comes to the Absa Cape Epic, the debate about ‘cross country riders vs marathoners’ has less and less relevance among professional teams each year.
The 2021 edition of The Untamed African MTB Race saw a pure marathoner pairing with the cross country World Champion and winning the Men’s category convincingly. Last year witnessed two newcomers, both stage racers, taking the Absa Cape Epic by storm.
While every year winner predictions dominate the conversation in the build-up to the event, most riders, individually, have enough Epic experience to know how to pace themselves throughout the week, deal with mishaps and put together a campaign that would crown any rider’s career.
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In the CM.com Women’s category, it is expected that the racing will be more open than ever. Until last year, stage spoils had typically been shared only by two teams, but in 2022 three teams took multiple stage wins and more of the same is forecast in this year’s race, taking place from 19-26 March. That being said, several teams do stand out as favourites in 2023 in both the CM.com Women’s and the Men’s categories.
Specialized Factory Racing is, once again, sending a powerhouse team to the event with the aim of continuing their domination. 2022 winner Sofia Villafane, partners with Katerina Nash for Ninety One-Songo-Specialized and the pair is, without doubt, hot favourites. The dark horse pairing is undoubtedly Cannondale Vas Arabay’s Greete Steinburg and Monica Calderon, who have every chance of pulling off an upset.
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Vera Looser and Kim le Court, of Efficient Infinite Insure, will also be in the mix for stage wins and podium positions; a fact they proved when they won a stage at the 2022 SPAR Swiss Epic and finished third in the Women’s category after five days of racing. They will also have their sights firmly set on the Absa African Women’s jerseys.
Amy Wakefield and Irina Luetzelschwab, racing as e-Fort Symbtech, are another team to watch. This South African and German team tested their partnership late last year in another Epic Series event where they finished second.
In the Men’s Category, SCOTT-SRAM’s Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht can no longer rely on their speed to put the slow burn diesels on the backfoot on the early climbs of each stage.
Rivals like Toyota-Specialized-Ninety-One (Matt Beers and Chris Blevins), Canyon Northwave (Andreas Seewald and Martin Stosek), Singer Racing (Simon Stiebjahn and Martin Frey) and Buff Megamo (Hans Becking and Jose Dias) have that figured out and adapted, so such tactics are less likely to succeed now.
When so many top riders’ talent, form, ambitions, experience and motivation are thrown into the pressure cooker that is the Absa Cape Epic, fans can expect action from the start.
While all eyes will be on the professional men and women, the NTT Masters, Grand Masters, Great Grand Masters, and Amateur categories are hardly lacking in quality. Karl Platt, for example, is a five-time winner of the Men’s category and defending champion in the NTT Masters. This year Platt will be pairing with Tomi Misser, who holds multiple Masters Downhill World titles, has won World Cup races and boasts various XCO titles to his name.
Among the Grand Masters, Bart Brentjens and Abraao Azevedo require no introduction. Brentjens has won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals, while Azevedo is a former professional mountain biker who has been competing at the highest level for many years. Brentjens and Azevedo have achieved great success at the Absa Cape Epic, holding three Masters and two Grand Masters titles.
Though a new category this year, the Great Grand Masters Category includes some of the most experienced riders in the race. A team to watch is that of Mike Nixon and William Simpson, who together have 29 Absa Cape Epic finishes to their names.
Spectators should also not be fooled by the word “amateur” in the Absa Cape Epic guide: Mitchell Docker and Ian Boswell, riding in this category this year, are both multiple road Grand Tour and Classics finishers.
