Ready for The 2017 Cape Epic?

The first of the big mountain bike races for 2017 is approaching fast, and it’s the biggest full-service mountain bike stage race in the world, the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa which takes place this March.

The Absa Cape Epic is open to professional and amateur mountain bikers. To ensure that the race is accessible to riders from around the world no qualification is required.

The 2017 route will take riders through 691 km of Western Cape countryside and up a lot of hills: the accumulated vertical gain over the eight days of the race will be 15,400m.

The race village is an experience all on its own, hosting 5000 people including riders, crew, volunteers, sponsors and supporters following the race. Race mechanics are put through their paces to ensure 1300 bikes are race-ready each morning.

“I’ve been to both World Tour road events and mountain bike world cups, and the event village of the Absa Cape Epic is bigger again. With so many riders, the support crew that follows is surprising in its enormity,” said David Rome, Australian editor – BikeRadar.com, who continued,

“The course and conditions the riders must conquer truly push the body and equipment to the absolute limit. With this, there’s plenty of new and rarely seen tech in testing to prove against such conditions. It’s a real community spirit and the riders there just to finish are able to mingle with some of the world’s best. Likewise, every stage is filled with emotion and heart break when either body or bike fails to perform.”

Among its many attractions, the Absa Cape Epic is a good measure of where the tech trends are heading as it has long been a testing ground for the world’s premier mountain bike and apparel brands. For example the raced revealed last year that 98% of all participants ride the race with tubeless tyres.

The Cape Epic Runs from 19 – 26 March, 2017.