1 500 riders registered to take part in the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, in Meerendal, on Saturday, 15 March. Nervous energy was palpable in the race village as months of preparation were finally about to be put to the test.
The 21st Absa Cape Epic gets underway on Sunday, 16 March. On Saturday the 750 two-person team registered to take part and take on this year’s 603 kilometre course. Over the next 8 days mountain bikers from 63 countries will face 16 500 metres of climbing, the variable weather of South Africa’s Western Cape, and their rivals for one of the 15 UCI, age-category, special jersey or mixed man and woman’s team sub-competitions. Each individual has their own reasons for taking part, and their own goals, as such they all feel the pre-race pressure differently.
Registration for the 2025 Absa Cape Epic took place on Saturday, 15 March. Photo by Dom Barnardt.
“I’m nervous but excited,” confessed Zintle Gantsho. The Absa She Untamed Mustangs rider is racing in the Amateur Women’s category alongside Marisa van der Linde. Both Gantsho and Van der Linde have yet to officially finish an Absa Cape Epic, though the former has an unofficial finish to her name. “In 2023 I missed the cut-off on Stage 6, in the torrential rain and thick mud, by 15 minutes. The plan for this year is just to finish.”
Gantsho’s final month of preparation has been anything but smooth. “I broke my wrist in a crash at a race in February,” she recalled. “I was in a plaster cast for two weeks after that, then in a removable brace for another two weeks. All my training during that time was on the indoor trainer, but having missed the 2024 Absa Cape Epic when I broke my scapula a week before the race there was no way I was missing this year’s race. I was back on the bike, outside, last week and despite the set-back I feel ready. The race must start now, so my nerves can settle.”
Like Gantsho, Biance Bekker spent a lot of time on an indoor trainer. “I changed my training completely this year, did far fewer hours and rode on the trainer most of the time,” Bekker said. “With work travel I had to find a way to fit quality training in and doing structured workouts was the best way to achieve that. Last year I did 6 hour rides, this year I’ve done hardly any. I’ve also fine-tuned my nutrition on and off the bike.”
63 nations will be represented at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Dom Barnardt.
The experience of two Absa Cape Epic finishes and a full house of Epic Series race finishes in 2024 has helped Bekker reach a point where she feels psychologically and logistically ready for the 2025 race. “Having raced in Europe – in the SPAR Swiss Epic, Andorra Epic Pyrenees, and 4Islands Epic Croatia – I have a new appreciation for technical riding and climbing. Daniel [Tenner, Bekker’s ChemChamp CANSA Active teammate and partner] and I were chatting at the top of Stairway to Heaven during our Prologue reconnaissance ride. In 2023, we struggled up there, thinking it was steep and technical. This year we were at the top before we knew it.”
Bekker’s experience has helped her prepare mentally for the challenge ahead, while debutant Isaac Wilkinson is reliant on his physical conditioning. “It’s a step into the unknown, but I did the training and now its just about dealing with the circumstances as they unfold,” Wilkinson mused. “Fortunately, Jess [Wilkinson] has raced the Absa Cape Epic before, so I’ve been relying on her for advice for a lot of the logistics around the race. On the bike she’ll have to reign me in too, because I can get carried away quite easily.”
Debutants who do not have a Jessica Wilkinson in their corner are advised to ease into the event and not get swept up in the excitement. The Prologue is relatively easy to manage as each team starts separately, at fixed intervals, and can get into their own rhythm. Monday’s Stage 1 is a different matter however. The energy of a mass start can be difficult to disassociate from and most people find themselves going out to hard on the opening marathon day. Thereafter fatigue and the brutality of the course will enforce each team riding to their own level, but in an 8-day race of attrition efficiency should be the watchword.
Isaac and Jessica Wilkinson registered for their 1st and 2nd Absa Cape Epics, respectively, on Saturday. Photo by Dom Barnardt.
“The Absa Cape Epic changes you,” Gantsho philosophised. “You are not the same person at the start as you will be at the end. It makes you a better, more resilient person. And while I’m looking forward to next Sunday and that finisher’s medal, I’m also looking forward to the process of growing through the challenges which lie ahead this week.”
To share in those challenges, the highs and the lows of the Absa Cape Epic, mountain biking fans are encouraged to tune into the Live Broadcast from the race, on the Epic Series’ YouTube channel. The live coverage begins on Sunday, 16 March, at 06:45 (SAST | UTC +2) and a reminder to watch the race can be set by clicking here. For more behind the scenes stories from the race like the Cape Epic Facebook page, or follow @capeepic on Instagram, or @CapeEpic on X.
