nathrix

Disclaimer, generated by Grok and I have not dissected every bit of info, luckily we have hubsters to go through it with a fine comb 😆

Comparison of winning average speeds by decade for the ABSA Cape Epic, based on the data we compiled earlier (with confirmed 2026 updates: Men 707 km / 26:55:51 → 26.26 km/h; Women 545 km / 24:32:38 → 22.21 km/h).Decades defined as: 2000s: 2004–2009 (6 editions) 2010s: 2010–2019 (10 editions) 2020s: 2021–2026 (6 editions, 2020 cancelled) Men's Winning Average Speeds by Decade Decade Avg Speed (km/h) Range (km/h) Notes 2000s 26.91 25.37 – 28.30 Longest routes, highest speeds in some years (e.g. 2006 at 28.30 km/h) 2010s 25.07 22.92 – 26.80 Shorter, more technical routes → slower overall 2020s 25.61 24.13 – 26.69 Modern tech + optimized courses; 2026 at 26.26 km/h Trend: Men's speeds dipped in the 2010s as the race became tougher and more technical, then slightly recovered in the 2020s.Women's Winning Average Speeds by Decade Decade Avg Speed (km/h) Range (km/h) Notes 2000s 22.59 21.16 – 23.45 Similar to men but consistently ~4 km/h slower 2010s 20.95 18.82 – 21.94 Biggest gap to men; more technical routes hit women harder 2020s 21.23 20.35 – 22.21 Steady improvement; 2026 time-parity route closed the gap significantly (only ~4 km/h slower than men despite shorter distance) Trend: Women's speeds were more affected by increasing technical difficulty in the 2010s. The 2026 route change (shorter distance + time-parity focus) produced the fastest women's winning speed in over a decade.Overall Observations Men's decade average across all years: ~25.8 km/h Women's decade average across all years: ~21.5 km/h The gap between men and women has narrowed in the 2020s, especially in 2026 thanks to the dedicated women's route (545 km vs men's 707 km). Ascent per km has generally increased over time (from ~18 m/km in early 2000s to ~23–24 m/km recently), making raw speed harder to maintain.

So Matt Beers now also have 5 wins in the bank, on par with legends Christoph Sauser and Karl Platt. edit: Nino 3 wins

Some stats I asked for in Grok...edit: corrected, version 03

Why not Tankwa Trek?

I would buy one if I was a tall oke

From todays feed a quick edit of stage 2

Edited some random feeds from yesterday's stage 1

Can't wait so long for their highlight package on youtube. Made a quick highlight package of my own from their feed...

It’s still as hard for the ladies even if it’s shorter and a bit less climbing for them, the fact is men are just faster. Just wish there were a lot more competition in the ladies field.

White shoes and socks in XCO, i thought it’s only for roadies 😲