Mountain Biking Australia – August 2019

To instantly label the Cape Epic a bucket
list item is a big call given the plethora
of quality mountain bike trails and races
around the globe these days. In fact, just
look at the explosion of mountain bike
parks in our neck of the woods – Blue Derby
and Maydena in Tassie, Wairoa Gorge
in New Zealand, new mountain bike parks
in progress at Belrose and Glenworth
in NSW and the $11 million mountain
bike development around the town of
Warburton in Victoria.
The marketing hyperbole bills it as the
'Tour de France' of mountain biking. Most
die-hard mountain bikers would take such
a comparison with a huge dose of disdain.
After all, mountain biking is worlds apart from
road cycling!
The truth is the phrase 'Tour de France'
couldn't be a more accurate summary of
the Cape Epic. Le Tour is big, brutal and
showcases the world's best riders. The media

CAPE EPIC MASTERS

coverage is vast, the stories incredible and the

routes unique. The Cape Epic has all that but

one thing it has over the famous old race is the

fact that mere amateurs can throw their hat in

the ring alongside the pros!

The 2019 Cape Epic that I took on in March

this year was exactly that, big and brutal. The

numbers say it all – eight days, 630 kilometres

and 16,650 meters of climbing. In fact it was

the most climbing per kilometre of any of the

previous 15 editions of the race.

When you factor in that the Cape Epic is

one of the biggest in the world and one of

only three races classified as Stage Hors Class

by the UCI you know it is pretty serious stuff.

But aside from the fancy classifications and

impressive reputation, what exactly makes it a

bucket list item?

So what's it all about?

I have done the Cape Epic twice now and can

truly say it is a truly unique mountain bike race.

It may not have the single track of the BC Bike

Race or the incredible alpine beauty of the

Swiss Epic and sure, it doesn't have the sheer

remoteness of the Mongolia Bike Challenge

but it has enough of each to ensure a truly

epic experience.

Add in the sheer professionalism of the event

where every well-respected pro mountain biker

is there and irrespective of your own UCI status

you are very much treated as a pro.

What sets the Cape Epic apart from many

other stage mountain bike races is its relentless

brutality. Every stage is not only designed to

test your bike but also your emotional and

physical state. There are certainly no free

kilometres in this race. Single tracks are fast

and flowy but always ridden at full tilt, climbs

are invariably loose and rocky and the Cape

Epic designers don't hesitate from using old

over-grown goat tracks to join up sections of

single track.

And then there are the wine roads, endless