The 100th stage in the 13-year existence of the Absa Cape Epic on Tuesday is shaping up to be a special one for more than just its place in history. With the racing delicately poised, the 93km Stage 2 could be a key one for the leading teams.
In the men’s race Topeak Ergon Racing’s Alban Lakata and Kristian Hynek will be hoping to continue with the form that they showed in the latter half of Stage 1, where they managed to close their gap on the stage winning Bulls team of Karl Platt and Urs Huber.
Robyn de Groot and Jennie Stenerhag (Ascendis Health) will again be determined to take advantage of any weakness shown by the defending champion Spur-Specialized pair of Araine Kleinhans and Annika Langvad.
Directly east of Tulbagh lies an old wagon trail over the Witzenberg mountain range which veterans of the 2010 and 2013 Absa Cape Epics will remember well. On Stage 2 riders will traverse it twice – going up the steep side with portage sections on the way into the Witzenberg Valley and then on the way back as they descend back into Tulbagh towards the finish. Both the ascent and descent provide opportunities for a team to break away and might prove critical to the overall standings.
In-between those testing bits of trail they will experience the unique geology of the Witzenberg Valley as they loop through its distinctive sandstone formations on trails carved out by local farmers and mountain bikers. There’s a couple of testing climbs in there too – they will ascend a total of 2 200m during the day – and it is going to be hot: all of which suggests another tough day.
