Absa Cape Epic 2021 thread

[Eldron]

3 minutes ago, AfterDark said:

Unfortunate for Canyon, but it is the nature of the beast to survive all for a week.

I'm so stoked for Matt/Jordan having a great day out and stretching the lead over 2nd place. And our other SA teams also had a good day out moving up on the standings. Good to see our teams perform in our backyard.

Indeed. The fight for the African Leaders jersey is awesome - and they're both in the Top 10!

[Cookie88]

Is there any particular reason why the Woman's Race in the Epic has almost always been so dominated by a single team? Just seems like there is less competition to compete with the top team each year,

Edited October 21, 2021 by Cookie88

[Nick]

30 minutes ago, Cookie88 said:

Is there any particular reason why the Woman's Race in the Epic has almost always been so dominated by a single team? Just seems like there is less competition to compete with the top team each year,

Annika explained it in the commentary. Specialized seem to make it a priority and support and encourage top global riders to attend. Other teams haven't really done this consistently.

Often they're more interested in World Cups and CX and in pre-season preparation. The Epic is an expensive and tiring distraction if your bread and butter is European World Cups.

Teams that take it seriously on the men's side like Bulls, Cannnondale, Scott haven't always had the same female athletes to offer.

[Carmichael]

looking at the weather for tomorrow, it is going to be brutal with all the rain ... long slog with all mud and slippery slides up aap du huez

[Spafsack]

I honestly think our local girls are doing amazing, second, third. Look who they up against, much younger and world champs, xco etc...Mariska and Candice are really doing well, proud of them!

[Block]

53 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Why was the finish changed from Wellington to Goudini ?  (jip, only watching small bits, and not getting the story)

Brains Kloof apparently closed for repairs to roads

[JohanDiv]

Haha saw @babse and Etnard(popping the wheelie) go over the line few minutes back..

[Meezo]

2 minutes ago, JohanDiv said:

Haha saw @babse and Etnard(popping the wheelie) go over the line few minutes back..

Etnard  @avatar

[FootballingCyclist]

12 minutes ago, Meezo said:

Etnard  @avatar

Did he crash, He's missing the whole right side fork..

[peetwindhoek]

12 minutes ago, FootballingCyclist said:

Did he crash, He's missing the whole right side fork..

Yep, wheelied home as per picture ????

[FootballingCyclist]

1 minute ago, peetwindhoek said:

Yep, wheelied home as per picture ????

LOL wouldn't put it past Etnard

[@grootlem]

Another possible cause for picking up a bug could be dirty river crossings, mud, cowdung all splashing up to the water bottles. I think a good hydration pack could help if thats the case. Anyway, it feels a bit like when Roglic crashed out of the Tour and race is for 2nd or 3rd. Hope there's more competition next year in all categories, just spoke to a very motivated "master" in Stellenbosch thats looking at who's leading that category and thinking he can go for the top spot. 

[Meezo]

2 hours ago, ChrisF said:

Why was the finish changed from Wellington to Goudini ?  (jip, only watching small bits, and not getting the story)

according to @babse its the road works at bainskloof, when i chatted to him they were already on route back to wellington in a bus. hoping and praying their bikes at the back of the trailer is ok...????

[Jbr]

Oh I was wondering if they were having a rest day seing the distance and elevation for the day on everyone's strava ride 

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, Nick said:

Annika explained it in the commentary. Specialized seem to make it a priority and support and encourage top global riders to attend. Other teams haven't really done this consistently.

Often they're more interested in World Cups and CX and in pre-season preparation. The Epic is an expensive and tiring distraction if your bread and butter is European World Cups.

Teams that take it seriously on the men's side like Bulls, Cannnondale, Scott haven't always had the same female athletes to offer.

What does this mean?

Scott and Cannondale currently don't have more than one lady on their teams. Scott having the One.

Bulls has never has a female if I recall.

 

The problem with the female MTB teams is that they are poorly funded so often there is only enough budget for the European XCO= XCM season and some for CX, Travelling to SA and basing themselves out here is an expensive undertaking if you want to win. Specialized had their riders out here December through January 2020/2021 and they trained on the 2021 route. They could pay for their riders training camp. Not many teams have that sort of budget. Cannondale goes down to a three man team at the end of 2021 when Mannie retires. It remains to be seen if they replace him with a female racer or another male. 

So until this imbalance in sponsorships is addressed there simply won't be strong enough teams coming to SA for the ACE to compete in the ladies category. even Bart's CST team has enough women in it but not the budget. Its not a question of quality of the ladies XCO field in general but one of budget. Tackiling the ACE to win it means you want to be in Cape Town at least a couple of weeks ahead of the event and be able to acclimatise your riders to the climate and trails.

Most of the ladies also have day jobs to pay the bills. So taking time away from those  is a loss of income. There are very very few fully professional woman cyclists who can sustain themselves on sponsorship alone.

 

[DieselnDust]

40 minutes ago, Meezo said:

according to @babse its the road works at bainskloof, when i chatted to him they were already on route back to wellington in a bus. hoping and praying their bikes at the back of the trailer is ok...????

 

 

yes Bain's is closed for construction till 2023 so Cape Epic cannot go through. They were re-routed to Goudini and taking bus shuttles to Wellington. They had a fairly easy Gravel and Grape day today