Patchelicious Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 I did a 2' 68 Argus one year - so I'm in for the Epic.Hahaha brilliant
TIB Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Easy peasy the TDF on average in the 2011 edition 175km per day 1056m classified climbs per day all on nice tarred roads It's just those pesky short cut-off times that is a problem.......
robsc Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Personally I think the Giro is the toughest Tend to agree Gen , The Vuelta looks pretty tough to me . If anything that bleek terrain would physche me out
karma Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 what's tougher, Nissan Trailseeker 45KM from 2014 or TransAlp 2015? go.
IH8MUD Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 There is a reason no Epic winners ever try the TDF . . . and the TDF guys do not even bother to waste time thinking of the Epic. I always secretly wonder what Sagan with his "TDF engine" and his MTB background and bikes skills will do on the Epic. ( But I am afraid of another Frantisek . . . saga)
Wez-O Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 I race vets road in SA. Many vets could (and have) finished the Epic.I'll tell you this, no vets (and quite possibly no local elites) would come close to finishing a Grand Tour, and that's not even taking into account the time cuts riders have to adhere to on every stage, time cuts which can be brutal on a sprinter sumitting 3 HC climbs. Another point in case would be Frantisek Rabon. But for mechanicals, he and Sauser would have won the 2014 Epic. Now at the top level of road, he had some glory in smaller races but didn't make the Grand Tour cut for the likes of HTC–Highroad and Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, never mind being a contender.
Patchelicious Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 I race vets road in SA. Many vets could (and have) finished the Epic.I'll tell you this, no vets (and quite possibly no local elites) would come close to finishing a Grand Tour, and that's not even taking into account the time cuts riders have to adhere to on every stage, time cuts which can be brutal on a sprinter sumitting 3 HC climbs. Another point in case would be Frantisek Rabon. But for mechanicals, he and Sauser would have won the 2014 Epic. Now at the top level of road, he had some glory in smaller races but didn't make the Grand Tour cut for the likes of HTC–Highroad and Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, never mind being a contender.And it wasnt like he was the weaker of the two either, he was the muscle in that little attempt.
Joe Low Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 What i think is indisputable is that riding a mountain bike offroad is far more demanding than speeding along on a narrow tired 7kg racer. .................. I don't think that's indisputable. But then again, nothing on the Hub is indisputable* (*someone is just about to dispute this)
Icycling Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 What's tougher TDF or cape epic? should read: What's tougher Cape Epic or Iron man? I have done neither but I have heard how the long stages of the epic in 2015 (winner about 5hours 30) were really tough - so add an extra 3 hours for winner of Iron men - now that's got to be tough. I know its only 1 day but the last stage (running) is a weight bearing exercise!
BarHugger Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Stick with the program icycling......apples compared to apples which in this case Epic is more like an apple wedge compared to the TDF being a water melon sized Apple......
jcza Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 There is a reason no Epic winners ever try the TDF . . . and the TDF guys do not even bother to waste time thinking of the Epic. I always secretly wonder what Sagan with his "TDF engine" and his MTB background and bikes skills will do on the Epic. ( But I am afraid of another Frantisek . . . saga) Didnt Fuglsang win the Epic?
Icycling Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Stick with the program icycling......apples compared to apples which in this case Epic is more like an apple wedge compared to the TDF being a water melon sized Apple......But at least both Iron man and Epic is open to all that can get an entry in time while the TDF is only open to a very few members of world tour teams etc! Was hoping that some hubber had done both in the past 5 years and could give an answer. We know that no TDF rider (in the past 5 years) has done an Epic
Wez-O Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 What's tougher TDF or cape epic? should read: What's tougher Cape Epic or Iron man?Yeah, that could go either way I recon...
Wez-O Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 And it wasnt like he was the weaker of the two either, he was the muscle in that little attempt.Absolutely, the way he time trialed large sections of stages while blasting everyone but Sauser off his wheel was something to behold.
NotSoBigBen Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 What's tougher TDF or cape epic? should read: What's tougher Cape Epic or Iron man? I have done neither but I have heard how the long stages of the epic in 2015 (winner about 5hours 30) were really tough - so add an extra 3 hours for winner of Iron men - now that's got to be tough. I know its only 1 day but the last stage (running) is a weight bearing exercise! I will probably get stick for this but on the day I found Comrades tougher than IronMan ... the training for IronMan on the other hand is tougher! Just my humble opinion of course
BarHugger Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Yeah, that could go either way I recon...The amount of IM tattoos I have seen on calves from the least athletic looking people makes me think Epic is tougher.....
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