Cape Epic 2026

[FootballingCyclist]

What a finish that was....

[Eugene Oppelt]

Montague klippies looks rof out there. Tomorrow's another rocky day in the office and the race can be lost with mechanical goggas.

Stage 3 is a 140 km transition to Greyton with thunderstorms forecasted from tomorrow afternoon. 

Time will tell whether the 4 minute chase back to the front will be the kryptonite for the leaders' jersey in the men's race.

[Jensie]

Jenny Risveds is using this Cape Epic as a Base Training camp. No real threat or competition in the mixed Cat...

 

[Bro Derek]

21 minutes ago, MarcelGriff said:

100% agree. This makes no sense to me. There was hardly any coverage of the ladies. No coverage of the ladies start, nor the important moments or climbs. Surely in today's age one can get a proper sports director to direct the footage. You can switch between the action and still have the other race ( ladies or gents ) in a small block on screen while you view something in the other race and vice versa. 
And then when they do switch over to the ladies, while on Candice and Alexandra they have nothing to commentate about, so they talk about ladies TSS efforts, and when the XC starts later this year..... shocking. 
I dont understand how this direction is improving, advancing or empowering ladies cycling. Which is what i thought this was all about.  

 

1 hour ago, @grootlem said:

I really can't see a difference/advantage in the women race with the shorter stages. Still only 3 competitive teams with one in the lead alone. Not more tv time for them. What's better?

From the explanation, it makes perfect sense

Average TSS scores are WAY higher for women on the same route, times are also longer

More time on the trails = less time to recover from a higher load, more exposure to the elements, more strain on the body every single day

The compounded fatigue by day 5 is huge.

So, science and actual data is driving the decision. It is also the first year it is in use. The idea is that hopefully the equivalent load (reduced from the extremely high load) of this year will interest more top tier women. 

I agree about the coverage though, but that is not related to the above. I think they will have better coverage by the end of the week as it plays out and as the organisers see how it works

[babse]

26 minutes ago, FootballingCyclist said:

What a finish that was....

7 Teams all within a min is setting up for a great week of racing. Recon some (willier in particular) will be kicking themselves knowing they let the leaders back in... is there no form of comms to the teams up front?

 

Super effort from saffas to come back and save the jersey and even the race!? Tristan looks so comfortable on the Beers Express train

[babse]

13 minutes ago, Bro Derek said:

 

From the explanation, it makes perfect sense

Average TSS scores are WAY higher for women on the same route, times are also longer

More time on the trails = less time to recover from a higher load, more exposure to the elements, more strain on the body every single day

The compounded fatigue by day 5 is huge.

So, science and actual data is driving the decision. It is also the first year it is in use. The idea is that hopefully the equivalent load (reduced from the extremely high load) of this year will interest more top tier women. 

I agree about the coverage though, but that is not related to the above. I think they will have better coverage by the end of the week as it plays out and as the organisers see how it works

so its now about TSS? not too long ago it was about being equal in distance and prize money... eish

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Just now, babse said:

so its now about TSS? not too long ago it was about being equal in distance and prize money... eish

so its now about TSS? not too long ago it was about being equal prize money... eish

 

Fixed 😉

[FootballingCyclist]

6 minutes ago, babse said:

7 Teams all within a min is setting up for a great week of racing. Recon some (willier in particular) will be kicking themselves knowing they let the leaders back in... is there no form of comms to the teams up front?

 

Super effort from saffas to come back and save the jersey and even the race!? Tristan looks so comfortable on the Beers Express train

Yeah, Makes it exciting, still everything to race for now for all the teams. Qu is just how much effort was used by Matt and Tristan to close that 4min gap due to the mechanical, I guess only time will tell (Although if anything with the way Matt rides, it's probably kept the race fair today or else like in the past he choo choos away LOL

[Bro Derek]

8 minutes ago, babse said:

so its now about TSS? not too long ago it was about being equal in distance and prize money... eish

Well, they need to do something to try to get some more top names out

The old way wasn't working, so at least they are trying something to get the sharp end of the women's race slightly better populated.

I don't understand the negativity. 

Some initiative is better than doing nothing at all

I guess you can't please men who aren't at all affected but feel the need for a negative opinion to stay relevant.......... 

[zZurp]

Not sure if this has been asked previously, but are there any rules/etiquette for if a camera-man (on bike) causes a crash? Let's say it's the chasing group that crashes - do you get a tow until the gap that was in place prior to the crash reinstated? My assumption is no given the lack of comms available during the race?

On a side note, they seem to be very good at giving a wide berth to the riders, staying off the racing line and literally flying into the veld if riders come from behind, so kudos to them. Live footage would be mediocre without them.

[love2fly]

1 hour ago, babse said:

so its now about TSS? not too long ago it was about being equal in distance and prize money... eish

Maybe it's more about closing out the broadcast and podium proceedings earlier rather than waiting an hour or so for the women to finish! I also don't see the benefit. I wonder what past winners of the longer distance would think? As much as I like Gerald, he tends to wax too lyrical and can't compare to the international commentators on the global stage. I know it's a long stint to talk through but it's your job. Is it just me or have they stopped showing rider names in favour of just the team name on screen? It's not an issue if it's a team I know and support but I don't have too many on my list.....just 2 men's and 2 women's.....

Edited March 16 by love2fly

[love2fly]

1 minute ago, zZurp said:

Not sure if this has been asked previously, but are there any rules/etiquette for if a camera-man (on bike) causes a crash? Let's say it's the chasing group that crashes - do you get a tow until the gap that was in place prior to the crash reinstated? My assumption is no given the lack of comms available during the race?

On a side note, they seem to be very good at giving a wide berth to the riders, staying off the racing line and literally flying into the veld if riders come from behind, so kudos to them. Live footage would be mediocre without them.

Good question.

I would have been pi$$ed at times sucking on the dust of the motorbike.

[babse]

47 minutes ago, Bro Derek said:

Well, they need to do something to try to get some more top names out

The old way wasn't working, so at least they are trying something to get the sharp end of the women's race slightly better populated.

I don't understand the negativity. 

Some initiative is better than doing nothing at all

I guess you can't please men who aren't at all affected but feel the need for a negative opinion to stay relevant.......... 

I dont believe they have to. The event is massive and attracts more than enough super stars to make this the spectacle it is! It has a massive following and is the pinnacle of MTB stage racing in the world, not!?

Shortening stages to attract more females in my view is not the way for the Tour De France of mountain biking.

I also cant remember when last (if ever) the female race was stacked with pro teams and overly competitive!? Maybe they trying to create something that doesn't exist. 

[117]

I wonder if the riders will opt for a more 'normal' tyre tomorrow? (By normal I mean a more aggressive everyday knobbly tyre that has a thicker rubber compound to them) These snake skin tyres they're using doesn't bode well for repetitive punctures (time delays) and certainly doesn't inspire me to rush out and purchase a set in hope of gaining a few seconds or less rolling resistance. 

Then again, I noticed a bunch of guys repairing tyres that were running some form of kush core's.... which begs me to ask if it was worth it to run the kush core liners if you were repairing the tyre anyway? 

And if you want to end the debate on whether ladies should compete on a shorter daily stage to the men, go do some research on the Barkley Marathons. That should put it back into a vivid perspective. 
#backontopic

 

 

[Anthem24]

5 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Good question.

I would have been pi$$ed at times sucking on the dust of the motorbike.

Thought that motorbike was going to lose it on that loose rocky climb up the old pass, but he was just waiting for the riders to catch up. Must be pretty competent to do that with a cameraman on the back. The e-bike team know what they're doing, given their racing experience.

Who saw  Sofia Gomez Villafane and her partner almost get taken out by the media crew in a beach buggy at the weekend? Check out her Instagram reel at sofithevilla. 

[Headshot]

8 minutes ago, babse said:

I dont believe they have to. The event is massive and attracts more than enough super stars to make this the spectacle it is! It has a massive following and is the pinnacle of MTB stage racing in the world, not!?

Shortening stages to attract more females in my view is not the way for the Tour De France of mountain biking.

I also cant remember when last (if ever) the female race was stacked with pro teams and overly competitive!? Maybe they trying to create something that doesn't exist. 

It is however the way of the actual Tour De France Femme and every other women's cycle events which all have shorter stages