I race professionally and can tell you that even I prefer J2c over Epic for most of the reasons already listed. Epic gives us the media platform we need to attract sponsors, so on a strictly professional front for us, Epic is vital and they do a great job with their media, we need them! I can tell you, it "feels" like more of an accomplishment to stand in front of an Epic marquee and be handed an African leaders jersey than to do the same at J2c for winning a stage, but it's not as relaxed and fun. Epic is high stress for us with future sponsorships literally riding on the line, where any number of things can go wrong at any turn and sweep those all away besides the 4 months of hard graft you've put in to be racing at the front end. At J2c we get to let our hair down a little, turn the stress knob back a notch, socialize with people from all walks of life in the marquees (at Epic we don't eat at the venue for risk of picking up a bug) even have a beer if we want to. The vibe is much better, I reckon everyone is more relaxed, not just us. The evenings/prize givings are generally a hoot with the 3 stooges raking each other and makes for much more entertainment than most MC's would. J2c feels like a journey, you're headed somewhere, I like that. Throw in some of the most spectacular terrain and trails in the world along the way, you can't go wrong. You have much more sense of community with J2c, both with your fellow riders and with the local communities along the way who accommodate the race. It's coming from the attitude of the race organisers and filtering right through. Life's a journey, enjoy the J2c. Put some Johnny Clegg on your playlist, it'll fit right in as you adventure across our beautiful land. Hopefully I get to meet some of you there this year. Come say howsit to the "pro's" and ask us questions if you have. I think sometimes we look aloof/distant/unapproachable huddling in our circles at tables, but that's just because we gravitate towards the guys we know, and most of us are actually too shy to go out and meet new people much as we'd like to.
