Forty villages, more than 650 kilometers and almost 16,000 meters of positive elevation gain over eight stages, the Cape Epic has been, for almost twenty years, the race that every biker would like to compete sometime in his life. Brutal trails, cuts, dense valleys, mountains and forests that impress, that's the CAPE. Epic.
"I did it once and I can tell you that it is the most brutal stage race experience you can aspire to as a biker, it combines long distance with pure cross-country, the MTB of a lifetime, in a tremendous landscape and with a public that gets behind the race," says Carlos Coloma.
"It's the total race," he concludes.
The BH Coloma skin for the occasion
The Olympic medalist in Rio de Janeiro was at the head of the BH Coloma expedition that, unfortunately, had to abandon the race due to physical problems of David Valero, who was paired with Pablo Rodríguez. "There came a time when the body said enough", said the broken world runner-up after several days of suffering in a race that, if already hard, was accentuated by the heavy rain.
Nevertheless, Valero admits that "the Cape Epic is the most important stage race we can aspire to, a race where anyone who likes single track and MTB will have a great time. Apart from the toughness, there are many trail areas. We have learned a lot for other editions and in passing we have achieved a good base for the season that begins". We hope that the great biker from Granada can be ready for the World Cup.
His teammate in South Africa, Pablo Rodriguez, reaffirms the hardness of the event: "It is one of the most complicated to finish. You can come with high expectations and with a goal, and go back home without achieving it because the race becomes very complicated day by day".
Both took the special series that Gobik Coloma launched for BH Coloma, a very "South African" design that combined colors of the environment and flags, playing with animal "tear" type effects. In Coloma's own words, "a striking combination of colors that aligned with the style of the team and the tones of the South African sunrise, combining jungle, beaches and sand".
The design "was well received in the race," says David, "it was well received. We already knew the quality of the garments and of course they responded in competition". And Pablo adds: "It has attracted attention, I thought it was great, and as David says, we know the garments. We were easily identified in the race".
Wilier Pirelliamong the best
The Italian team, by definition, also came to the Cape. Epic with two pairs and different objectives. Fabian Rabesteiner and Wout Alleman went to the other side of the world with the podium in their sights, while Samuele Porro, accompanied in exceptional fashion by Italian champion Vincenzo Nibali, was looking to finish in the top 10.
For Fabian "the Cape Epic is always fun and hard at the same time, always going up and down in an exercise of believing, always believing and never giving up". Samuele, a member of the other pair, emphasized "that particular flavor of the Cape. EpicThis time with such a special partner as Vincenzo, such an incredible person and athlete".
Wout, for his part, was able to celebrate a stage win with his teammate Fabian on an opening day that was perfect for them, opening a week of extreme emotions with all the flavors of MTB. Inopportune breakdowns did not deprive them of an excellent fourth place, one step away from the podium of the toughest race in the world.
After eight days of competition and hundreds of kilometers ridden in adverse conditions, Cape Epic comes to an end. To the fourth place achieved by Wout and Fabian in the general classification, we can add a thirteenth place for the duo of Samuele and Vincenzo. We can only add, congratulations, champions!