THE 10TH EDITION OF THE UNTAMED ABSA CAPE EPIC

The tenth edition of the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race, the Absa Cape Epic, will see cyclists from all corners of the world step onto South African soil to compete in this world-renowned mountain bike stage race. The race, which takes place from 17 to 24 March, will kick off with its prologue at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville and finish eight days, 706 km and 15 950m of climbing later at the traditional Lourensford Wine Estate finish in Somerset West. This legendary race will welcome riders from 41 different countries, with 426 riders coming from outside South Africa, to compete in this year’s race.

With 1200 cyclists taking part in the 10th edition of the Absa Cape Epic the race has grown immensely since the inaugural race in 2004, with 250 two-man teams signed up for the first edition of the race. Race founder and Director Kevin Vermaak says: “Creating and developing the Absa Cape Epic has been tremendously exhilarating and satisfying. It brings together avid mountain bikers from around the world and shows them new routes, traversing the spectacular byways of the Western Cape. Our management team’s excitement is perhaps akin to the sense of achievement that more than a thousand riders feel after committing an entire year to their preparations and finally crossing the finish line at Lourensford Wine Estate. The event never fails to thrill me, and neither does the anticipation I feel as I look to the Epic’s future, mapped out ahead.”

Enrico Theuns (47) from The Netherlands, owner of Marina Scharloo in Holland, will spend 16 hours in transit and will need three days to adjust before starting the race. Theuns, who successfully completed the race in 2012, says: “Mountain biking is my second nature since I stopped playing soccer 10 years ago - especially the tougher side of this sport is what I like the most. The battle between my physical and mental condition is the game I like to play. So the longer and tougher it goes, the better for me.”

Manuel Lafora (42) from Barcelona, Spain who will participate in his first Absa Cape Epic this year, says: “I’ve done several mountain bike stage races and wanted to do this one that’s supposed to be the number one in the world. It wasn’t only because of the race but also because of the passion I’ve always had to visit Cape Town. I’ll spend 17 hours in transit, with a 2 hour stop in London.” Lafora, a General Manager for Polar in Spain and Portugal will need two days to adjust before the race starts.

Forty four year old Niccolo Violati, who lives in Cerveteri, an old Etruscan village 40 km north of Rome, will take on his second Absa Cape Epic and says: “Two years ago I decided to visit CT again for a windsurfing training period and I brought a mountain bike. I entered a 3 day stage race in Knysna on the Internet and I met a race partner who was training for the Epic. I loved the race in Knysna, the great surroundings and the friendly people. I managed to secure my 2012 team entry, and back I came for both windsurfing and mountain biking. This year I decided to enter the lottery and crossed my fingers. I will team up with my friend that I met at the Knysna race. What a reunion!” Violati will spend 19 hours in transit with a stopover in Istanbul and a technical stop in Johannesburg.

Canadian born Lester Pardoe (43), currently residing in Boulder Colorado (USA), will spend a tiring 32 hours traveling to Cape Town, or as he says 650 songs on an iPod. Pardoe will stop over three times - in Denver, New York City and Amsterdam before he reaches Cape Town. “I arrive only 2 days before the race starts and I'm assuming it'll take me 10 days to adjust to SA, which means as the race wraps up I should be good.  In all seriousness, I usually adjust time wise pretty well, but will shift my sleep/work schedule by a few hours the 2 weeks prior to help me,” says Pardoe.

Costa Rican Lawyer Kathya Rojas (44), a newcomer to this mountain bike stage race, will spend roughly two days travelling from Costa Rica to Cape Town. “Several years ago I was searching on the Internet and then we saw a video of the Cape Epic,” says Rojas who will make at least three stops while in transit.

Two times Absa Cape Epic finisher Klaas Van Moortel (32) from Belgium will take two flights to participate in this year’s race, from Brussels to London and from London to Cape Town, spending a total of 17 hours travelling. “This is my 3rd entry. I entered again because riding the Cape Epic is such an amazing experience. It's hard to describe if you’ve never done it, but the great ambiance, the track itself, make it a lifetime experience.” Van Moortel, a Product Specialist for veterinary products for cattle will have 5 days to adjust before the Prologue kicks off at Meerendal Wine Estate on 17 March 2013.

Colin Crowley (41) from Cork, Ireland, will test his mental and physical endurance as he participates in his first Absa Cape Epic. “Myself and my team mate travel all over the world as we work for an international construction company. It brings us to Africa (mainly Johannesburg), the Middle East and Australia. I live in Cork, Ireland but find myself in Johannesburg and up in Africa quite a lot of the time so training happens all over the world. I’ll spend the next 4 weeks training in Cork in the ice and then down to Johannesburg for some high altitude training and something a little more consistent to take us up to D-Day,” says Crowley. Crowley, a Construction Engineer, hopes to be in Johannesburg to minimise his time spent in transit.

Spending an astounding 45 hours in transit traveling from Victoria in Australia, Peta Mullens (25) admits that she is very excited for her first race. “I fell in love with stage racing at the Tour of Timor and then conjured up the thought of racing the biggest stage race in the world. So my boyfriend and I applied for a wildcard entry and now I say 'South Africa here we come!’ I have an eleven hour stopover in Kuala Lumpur and a ten hour stopover in Dubai,” says Mullens.

Giuliana Massarotto (49) returns for her second Absa Cape Epic this year. A librarian in public administration and manager of three public gyms and sports local associations, the Padova (Milan) cyclist will spend 24 hours in transit with one stopover in Paris. She will have three days to adapt before the race kicks off. “It's my second time riding the Cape Epic. I rode a stage race with my current teammate in Italy and when I told her about my African adventure last March she asked me to enter the Absa Cape Epic again with her. I really wanted to ride it again. It was an amazing experience - I'm still living it inside of me,” says Massarotto.

Coming all the way from Alfenas Minas Gerais, Brazil is Marcelo Rodrigo Tavares (37). Riding the Absa Cape Epic for the first time, Tavares will spend 20 hours in transit. It will take Tavares two days to adapt before he starts the race. One half of team Thunderbikes, Tavares’ cycling partner Roland Egger received an entry for the 10th edition of this legendary mountain bike stage race.

Spending 15 hours in transit from Switzerland, Mark Korkmann (47) was invited by his partner to participate this year. It will take the Swiss Project Manager 15 hours of travelling and two stopovers before reaching Cape Town.

The movement of cyclists from around the world for the Absa Cape Epic has been referred to as the Great Trek and that comes as no surprise as cyclists such as David Oz (47) from Israel, Peter Vesel (47) who lives in Slovenia and Chris Roberts (48) from Kenya all make their way to the starting line of this legendary endurance event. More than half of the international cyclists will spend more than 30 hours in transit but agree that it will be well worth the effort once they are on their mountain bikes at this year’s event.