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Looking at the Facebook page it appears as though Lebanon Trails are now permanently closed due to the landgrab. Very sad. I started noticing the shacks when I drove past at the end of June. Couple of the comments seem quite alarmist around it being the beginning of the end of MTB in Grabouw since the landgrabs are set to continue unabated... Must have the organizer's somewhat concerned as events like this could threaten the safety for riders and the event longer term... Guess question is now how they will mix up Day 2 without that extra loop around Lebanon Trails?

Watching this morning it seems as though the coverage has improved a lot from where we were a couple of years go - but still leaves a lot to be desired - what is the reason the coverage & production of Cape Epic still lags behind other events?

Mmm... I don't think there is anymore climbing, maybe marginally - the climb up Rotary Way is a good idea since it'll split the pairs up. You miss most of the bottom Hemel & Aarde Trails and dissect them on the route it seems. If you haven't done this before you are in for a treat - it's a beautiful part of the world!

Did I say COACH - I meant COUCH ????

Interesting... My last was in 2016 and I have fond memories of doing what was called the 'Adventure' then. My main motivation for entering this year is the novelty of doing it in reverse and the accompanying work that has gone into the new trails. That aside though, will be curious to hear other opinions here on how people have people have found the change since the acquisition?

I haven't done a Wines2Whales since Epic took over - can anyone comment on how the experience has differed to before/after the acquisition?

Just drop a pin and I'll be there ????

This will be my second Wines2Whales after taking part in 2016 - main reason for entering was the opportunity to ride he route in reverse and experience something different as it seems a bit overkill on the pocket to do the same thing year in and year out. Should be interesting as I am away for a wedding the week preceding so will have 4 days to reignite the legs again - coach assures me I should be fine but proof will be in the pudding ????

Surely they could release these details to the general public - would be a cool "CTCT 2021 By the Numbers"

Super slick process for me this morning - worked through some emails at Bootlegger in Greenpoint and took a walk across at 09:00. The Rapid Test was pretty painless - killed some time for 15mins and then walked up to collect numbers. It all looked pretty simple but I'm under no illusion about the HACK it must be to organize an event during these times so feel grateful that it's happening. Looking forward to Sunday and all the best to those riding - keep the rubber side down ????

Let's hear some race reports... Keen to hear some stories! ????

Getting my popcorn ready for the mail announcing postponement and a TRANSFER FEE to ride in the next planned event... At this point my three man Team has spent almost R4450 to get this far... ????

Bought two Specialized from the lads at GM over the years. I'm based down in Cape Town, originally from the Midlands. Compared to the service and attitude of some Specialized stores in the Cape it was an absolute pleasure to deal with Craig and the rest of the crew. Kudo's to them for continuing the good work

Great ride by Hatherly - 8th not to be sniffed at in this field of riders. I’d love to hear some opinions from some more knowledgeable than I am but would we back him above some of the other riders on a more technical course?

I was slotted into the Sub-Vets Category. Lined up with some pretty big hitters and admittedly tried to stick to the leading bunch for the first 7km - going up up THE WALL things came apart quite spectacularly and if this had been a road ride, I would have been shelled out the back of the group like I was going in reverse. There are few things more humbling in mountain biking than doing a climb so slowly that your Garmin Auto-Pauses, and after a couple of minutes I was trudging up the hill trying to catch my breath. Spent at least another 20km nursing my bruised ego after having the entire group pass me. With having never done that much climbing in 46 odd km I realized this was more about pacing your effort than anything else. Finished up in 5h42m - pretty knackered but great to have been challenged and humbled. Congrats to all the top guys as well as those who finished, all outstanding performances on that route!

Since I am clearly only 1 of 8 Non-Elite Open Men crazy enough to enter the full 87km/2100m - any Hubbers that will be joining me?

This is a given - aiming for a Top 3 finish at the wine tasting afterwards...

Anyone enter today, have the money come off your credit card and receive no email confirmation of your entry?

Wow, this is why I love the Hub. Didn't think to check Facebook - thank you HenryS! Sending some good karma your way

Anyone know whether or not you'll be able to fetch entries on the morning? Up to this point event seems super well organised but having to do a 2 hour round trip from Cape Town on a Thursday or Friday is dumb.

Heading through with a couple of mates on Saturday for the day - looking forward to it. Haven't ridden these trails since 2016 which was one helluva day on the bike!

Is there an explanation why there is a R3-R4k difference in the pricing - I understand exchange rates play a part in this but why does is feel like we get the short end of the stick with this pricing? Not pointing fingers at any dealers or suppliers - I know it's tough out there so please don't bite

That's actually disgusting - a 3 Team Entry for 2021 is advertised as just under R2500 and our three man team will be forking out R1950 to TRANSFER our existing 2020 entry across... Our transfer fees constitute almost 80% of the cost of a new entry? From the looks of things I am being penalized and used to recoup the costs for an event that never happened. I understand that the economics of running events is tough, but this does leave a bad taste.

36One was Western Cape only - so might be different hoops to jump through for for TB as this will run through Eastern Cape...

Awesome story