Absa Cape Epic 2021 – Stage 4 - News

Stage 5 was short and brutally steep, a major physical and psychological hurdle for the riders on their trail to Val de Vie. The climbing started virtually instantaneously. Leaving Wellington, the only way was uphill on the lengthy Hawequa Climb. The descent from the summit started on dusty dual track, before slipping into the Brooklyn Bridge singletrack.

After a pandemic-enforced hiatus, the Absa Cape Epic, widely regarded as the world’s premier mountain bike stage race, returned to action in fine style in Cape Town today with the 20km Prologue ahead of seven days of marathon mountain biking. The Mother City didn’t quite get the memo that the show was back on, drenching the riders with a series of rain squalls throughout the morning.

With two converging mountain ranges to explore, Stage 3 of the 2021 Cape Epic was not short on climbing. Nestled in the nook between the Groot Winterhoek and the Witzenberg Ranges the Tulbagh Valley was not hasty to reveal its rewards.

The Witzenberg Valley was undoubtedly one of mountain biking’s most challenging playgrounds, making Stage 2 a fitting holder for the title of Queen Stage. Sheets of sandstone provided the ultimate testing ground for the riders. Crossing the Ceres Valley was the first step on the journey, followed then by the Old Gydo Pass. On the Bokkeveld plateau the dual track climb gave way to singletrack.

Stage 1 of the Cape Epic 2021 took the riders around Ceres today. Named after the Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility, Ceres has long been a mecca for South African mountain bikers. Amazingly though, the Absa Cape Epic has visited the region on numerous occasions and 2021 is only the second time the race has overnighted in the small Warmbokkeveld town.

After three days of racing it was time for a transition stage from Saronsberg, in Tulbagh, to the Slanghoek valley. The early kilometres ticked past with unnerving ease, but once the surface began to roughen the challenges came. Brutally uneven dual tracks through a private game reserve provided a sudden shock.

Stage 6 marked the penultimate day of the 2021 Absa Cape Epic. Steep but mercifully short vineyard climbs started the day before the Wild Boar Rollercoaster provided singletrack thrills. District roads and farm dual tracks, through iconic wine farms demanded complete concentration. Upon exiting the reserve, the climbing began in earnest.

Stage 5 was short and brutally steep, a major physical and psychological hurdle for the riders on their trail to Val de Vie. The climbing started virtually instantaneously. Leaving Wellington, the only way was uphill on the lengthy Hawequa Climb.