Events

2017 field includes “the best marathon racers in the world”

· By Press Office · 14 comments

It’s going to be the strongest Absa Cape Epic field yet and the racing should be thrilling.

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That’s the word from the world’s top marathon riders as they prepare for March’s eight-day challenge. Speaking at a Cape Town press conference Wednesday several of the race favourites were looking forward to a mighty battle.

Defending champion and five-time winner Karl Platt of Team Bulls predicted that the racing would be “even more exciting than previous years”.

“We have the best marathon racers in the world coming to the race,” commented American Jeremiah Bishop of Topeak Ergon.

Austrian strongman Alban Lakata and his Topeak Ergon teammate Kristian Hynek of the Czech Republic will be among the favourites. Lakata pointed to several possible contenders for the title: “Jaro (Kulhavy) and Susi (Christoph Sauser) are super strong. The Bulls guys know how to win it. The Scott guys are very good at descending and Nino (Schurter) has a lot of experience.”

“But it is best to win a race against this sort of competition,” he added.

Hynek said he was looking forward to racing in such a quality field: “I like it. Having Christoph coming back will give the race another dynamic. We’ll have to be stronger than ever before.”

Five-time Epic winner Sauser’s return from retirement with Kulhavy (Investec Songo Specialized) of the Czech Republic has been the major talking point of the pre-Cape Epic season. The Swiss rider said he was “very happy with my comeback… I’ve been surprised how well I’ve done and I am super motivated”.

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An indication of the level of competition as that seven of the men’s teams will bring support or back up teams – more than ever before in the 14 years of the Absa Cape Epic. They will be on hand to assist the big guns with mechanical or other issues on the trails and sometimes to even hand over parts off their bikes.

Sauser and Kulhavy, Platt and Urs Huber (Bulls), Lakata and Hynek, world and Olympic champion Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann (Scott-SRAM), Damiano Ferraro and Samuele Porro (Trek Selle San Marco), Jochen Kaess and Markus Kaufmann (Centurion Vaude) and Max Knox and Héctor Leonardo Páez (Kansai Plascon) will all have backup teams in the race.

Asked about the role of support teams in the Absa Cape Epic, Hynek said: “They are super important. I would say having a backup team is crucial.”

This year will also see the debut of a support team in the women’s category, where defending champion Ariane Lüthi of Switzerland and her new partner, German Adelheid Morath, (Team Spur) will bank on backup from Frenchwoman Sabrina Enaux and Belgian Alice Pirard.

Lüthi will have her work cut out making it a fourth successive win (all three previous race she won with Dane Annika Langvad). She and Morath will have to see off challenges from mountain bike legend and former Olympic gold medallist Sabine Spitz of Germany and her South African partner Robyn de Groot (Ascendis Health) as well as the formidable Swiss/Swedish combination of Esther Süss and Jennie Stenerhag (Meerendal CBC).

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“The racing is going to be very competitive and I think it is going to a good category to watch,” said De Groot.

Lüthi said: “We are pleased to have two very strong backup riders … they are very, very strong riders. It’s going to be a really exciting race.”

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Comments

SpokeTooSoon

Feb 9, 2017, 7:56 AM

Definitely one of the stronger fields assembled; a winner will be tough to pick. Coming off the 2016 Olympics, though, you have to back Nino Schurter to give it a full go. Not sure Sauser can keep up with Kulhavy for 8 days. My pick for the win; the Topeak crowd or the Olympic champ. Robyn de Groot (strongest rider in the ladies race, no doubt) and Sabine to take the ladies title.

Gerry Hattrick

Feb 9, 2017, 8:03 AM

This is going to be Alban Lakata's year - Hynek has relocated to SA with his family and they are going to be super strong. And Robyn and Sabine for the women's

EmptyB

Feb 9, 2017, 8:49 AM

Awesome line up....amped for the start of this one!!

 

Hard to pick a winner....

Jurgens Smit

Feb 9, 2017, 9:02 AM

My gut is telling my Nino, but man I love watching Kulhavy and Sauser race.

 

Those 2 just have it

Robbie Stewart

Feb 9, 2017, 10:07 AM

I am hoping that Schurter takes it, but would not mind seeing Platt and Sauser giving each other horns again. Also, Lakat and Hynek would be awesome to see them take the win, as they deserve it.

Ah heck, anyone and all of the above for the win will be great.

On the ladies' side. Luthi for her 4th, but then de Groot, Neethling, Strauss would make it awesome to see homegrown talent making a big impact.

BaGearA

Feb 9, 2017, 10:30 AM

This Epic is going to be soooooo tight , can't wait !

 

 

 

WTF is Anika Langval???? .....And this guy is not the first to pronounce it like that 

Odinson

Feb 9, 2017, 10:39 AM

I am hoping that Schurter takes it, but would not mind seeing Platt and Sauser giving each other horns again. Also, Lakat and Hynek would be awesome to see them take the win, as they deserve it.

 

Ah heck, anyone and all of the above for the win will be great.

 

On the ladies' side. Luthi for her 4th, but then de Groot, Neethling, Strauss would make it awesome to see homegrown talent making a big impact.

 

How do you come to the conclusion that someone "deserves" to win?

Patchelicious

Feb 9, 2017, 10:51 AM

I think Kulhavey will push Sauser around for 8 days in record time.

 

Once Kulhavey puts his hand on Sausers seat and starts pushing, this is all you will see....

 

http://blog.edx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/star-wars-giphy.gif

rattlesnake

Feb 9, 2017, 10:53 AM

Definitely one of the stronger fields assembled; a winner will be tough to pick. Coming off the 2016 Olympics, though, you have to back Nino Schurter to give it a full go. Not sure Sauser can keep up with Kulhavy for 8 days. My pick for the win; the Topeak crowd or the Olympic champ. Robyn de Groot (strongest rider in the ladies race, no doubt) and Sabine to take the ladies title.

 

I think its the other way around.... not sure if you follow Sauser on strava, but the guy's not human.... he hasn't weakened an iota since "retiring".

Robbie Stewart

Feb 9, 2017, 1:20 PM

How do you come to the conclusion that someone "deserves" to win?

 

 

Perhaps not in the "literal" sense, as in for instance Sauser must "let" them win. I was typing faster than I think, whilst trying to multitask. 

 

What I was thinking while typing was, they have been consistent the last couple of years, and have been putting in some hard efforts over the few times I watched the race since beginning to get interested in this type of sport.

 

What I meant by "deserved" was that because of their sustained effort and getting close to winning, (not taking anything from anyone else here) they "should" win a race soon. You know like when you watch any sport and the commentator says something like "and that was a well deserved win" or something similar.

 

geddit?

 

Sheez, these days even the Hub has gotten to be a place of being "PC". Dot the T's and cross the I's.

Gerry Hattrick

Feb 10, 2017, 1:28 PM

The other two that I hear the pros rate very highly are Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Kaess of Centurion Vaude. They were winning in 2014 after Stage 1 from the Bulls when one of them broke his frame. They then handed over wheels to eventual winners Hynek and Mennen when one of the  Topeak Ergon guys got a bad flat. Kaess and Kaufmann haven't been able to race together since then because of injuries

SarahJ

Feb 10, 2017, 1:46 PM

This Epic is going to be soooooo tight , can't wait !

 

 

 

WTF is Anika Langval???? .....And this guy is not the first to pronounce it like that 

 

Langval is how you pronounce her surname (she was asked how to pronounce her surname at the race a couple years ago by Paul Kaye)

Thor Buttox

Feb 10, 2017, 3:15 PM

I think Kulhavey will push Sauser around for 8 days in record time.

 

Once Kulhavey puts his hand on Sausers seat and starts pushing, this is all you will see....

 

http://blog.edx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/star-wars-giphy.gif

This is pretty much exactly what I think. He was so much better than the rest of the field two years ago, I was sad to watch a team race. (Like Annika last year)

 

Really hope Nino comes to fight though.

Patchelicious

Feb 10, 2017, 4:37 PM

Langval is how you pronounce her surname (she was asked how to pronounce her surname at the race a couple years ago by Paul Kaye)

She should have asked him how to pronounce his name ????

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