Cape Epic 2026

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, reteid said:

this all started when mtb riders started wearing white shoes.(i say this in jest)

you lie,.....I don't want to get them dirty so I keep pedalling

[Shebeen]

high traffic for 2027!

 

cost is R900 more than 2026 edition (if i have that correct - this may just be the early bird pricing).

 

[nathrix]

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

Edited March 25 by nathrix

[nathrix]

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

 

edit: Nino 3 wins

Edited March 24 by nathrix

[nathrix]

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.

[J Wakefield]

17 minutes ago, nathrix said:

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

 

edit: Nino 3 wins

He has 4 wins, 2022 was won Baum and Egger
Matts wins are:
2021/23/24/26

[DieselnDust]

that 2025 edition stand out as brutal in term s of meters very gain /km.

and it would be more if the last day wasn’t shortened and stage 3 cancelled

[milky4130]

5 hours ago, nathrix said:

Some stats I asked for in Grok...edit: corrected version 02

 

[DieselnDust]

https://www.epic-series.com/races/capeepic/past-results

 

better to use this to verify

[Shebeen]

37 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

https://www.epic-series.com/races/capeepic/past-results

 

better to use this to verify

it (half) works again! was offline on monday

[Shebeen]

Any feedback from riders here?

 

Really cool that they went to Montagu, will we see more travelling in 2027, or back to the paarl/stellenbosch combo?

[Irvin85]

When was the last time that the yellow jersey changed hands on the last day? 

[Stephan]

12 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

that 2025 edition stand out as brutal in term s of meters very gain /km.

and it would be more if the last day wasn’t shortened and stage 3 cancelled

Yes but many of the 2025 route was on purpose built mtb trails, so there was a lot of elevation gained, but the gradients were kind. This year wasnt that, so I personally thought the climbing was harder this year. Very subjective, I know.

Edited March 25 by Stephan
.

[Stephan]

43 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

When was the last time that the yellow jersey changed hands on the last day? 

Speed Company 2022

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Shebeen said:

Any feedback from riders here?

 

Really cool that they went to Montagu, will we see more travelling in 2027, or back to the paarl/stellenbosch combo?

Insider info, is finding the right mix is difficult but that’s the objective. The desire is to attract both XCM and XCO specialists to grow the elites field, especially the ladies. The 2025 route was heavily XCO focused . The 2026 route I feel was a really good balance and it delivered a riveting mens race. 
overlay their intent with the very positive feedback on the 2026 route I would hazard a safe bet that they will try for more of the same next year but different locations. Montagu was a favourite although the amateurs complained bitterly about the rough terrain 🤣😂

can’t keep all the people happy as they say…

[DieselnDust]

7 minutes ago, Stephan said:

Yes but many of the 2025 route was on purpose built mtb trails, so there was a lot of elevation gained, but the gradients were kind. This year wasnt that, so I personally thought the climbing was harder this year. Very subjective, I know.

Gradients were definitely not kind in 2025.

i can assure you of that. You can’t have 27m /km gain and say gradients were kind. Mathematically impossible. 
I rode 2025. The only low climb day was the stage 2 TT from Meerendal To Fairview

Edited March 25 by DieselnDust