Brad Morgan
5 November 2007
In 2006, the Absa Cape Epic made history by becoming the first-ever team mountain bike stage race on the UCI Mountain Bike Calendar. History will again be made in 2008 as it becomes the first mountain bike stage race to achieve "Hors Categorie" status, meaning it contains ascents classified as out of category, the most challenging climbs of all.
It is the only mountain bike race outside of Europe to achieve the status, and the recognition comes after the route for the 2008 event was released; it is expected to be the toughest Cape Epic yet.
At 966 kilometres, it is longer than any previous edition of the race and, with 18 259 metres of climbing, it contains more ascending then ever before. The 2008 race also includes a prologue and that has resulted in it being extended to nine days in duration.
Charity Gala
The new course was revealed at the event's annual Route Launch Charity Gala, held earlier this week
in aid of the Big Tree Foundation, whose mission is "to make a lasting and positive impact, primarily through educational projects, in the towns that host the Absa Cape Epic and the Cape Odyssey."
Over 350 guests attended the function at the Castle Hotel, just north of Johannesburg, including reigning UCI World Marathon champion Christoph Sauser and SA National Marathon champion Kevin Evans.
All proceeds went to the Big Tree Foundation as a training ride with Sauser, who won the race in 2006, was auctioned off, along with a signed set of his world champion jersey and Kevin Evans' SA national champion jersey.
Lourensford Wine Estate, which hosts the finish of the race, launched its 2008 commemorative wine and auctioned a magnum bottle that had the new route engraved upon it.
Prologue
The racing kicks off on 28 March with the prologue to be held at the Field of Dreams on the Pezula Private Estate. It covers a distance of
approximately 17 kilometres, with teams setting off at 30-second intervals.
The top teams and pro-riders will depart in the later time slots, thus allowing for amateur cyclists and the public to watch the title challengers racing each other for the honour of wearing the leaders' jerseys at the start of the first stage.
Seedings will be determined by teams' performances in the prologue.
First stage
The first stage from the Knysna Waterfront to the Saasveld Campus of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University covers 123 kilometres. With 3 091 metres of climbing, it has more uphill riding than any other stage.
It begins with Simola Pass, a three-kilometre climb with a seven percent gradient. From there, competitors head into a forest and through the Lelievlei Nature Reserve. The scenery is beautiful, but the terrain is demanding. The climbs are sharp, the corners are slippery, and the descents are heart-stopping.
The course continues through Homtini, the Jubilee Creek Nature Reserve, and the Katara Forest, with strong technical skills required for the descent out of the forest.
Parts of the Seven Passes route are then tackled, interspersed with some more demanding rugged terrain, before the overnight stop at the Saasveld Campus is reached.
Second stage
Stage two goes from the Campus to the Calitzdorp Spa, 137 kilometres away, with over 2 500 metres of climbing lying in wait.
The Montague Pass poses the first big challenge with an altitude gain of 600 metres made over the course of 10 kilometres. After that, however, the route is relatively flat and fast paced for the next 65 kilometres, which includes the Chandelier Game Reserve.
With 35 kilometres to go to the finish, another serious test awaits in the form of the Gamkaberg, described by some as "Break-back Mountain". It is 10 kilometres long and the climb is 650 metres. Stronger cyclists are expected to take about 90 minutes for the ascent, while those near the back of the field will probably need two hours or more.
What goes up must come down and so it is that a fearsome descent follows. Once that is completed, a flat and fast 15 kilometre run in to the finish at the Calitzdorp Spa awaits.
Third stage
On stage three, the riders traverse 133 kilometres from Calitzdorp to the Langenhoven High School in Riversdal, with 2 340 metres of climbing en route.
After 13 kilometres a 600 metres ascent awaits, travelling up dirt roads and over the Rooiberg Pass, before a speedy 70 km/h descent.
Thereafter the route wanders through game country, with plenty of animals likely to be on view. It's a tough section…tough on the cyclists and tough on the equipment, because of the rocky nature of the terrain.
Just before Riversdal is reached, a tarred climb up Garcia's Pass guides the riders into the town.
Fourth stage
Stage four takes place between Riversdal and Swellendam, a distance of 121 kilometres, with climbs totalling 2 620 metres.
It starts in farmlands and allows for some speedy cycling before two testing ascents. The first, called 'Heartbreak One' is 2.2 kilometres in length with a gradient of six percent, while 'Heartbreak Two' is even more challenging at 4.5 kilometres and a gradient of seven percent.
A section through some forests will provide a welcome shelter from the sun before the riders pass the mission village of Suurbraak on tar. Near the end of the stage some short but vicious climbs await the competitors, reaching up to a 14 percent gradient.
Fifth stage
At 146 kilometre long, the fifth stage from Swellendam to Bredasdorp is the longest of the race, but it includes the least climbing with 1 819 metres lying ahead.
The route starts out gently on smooth dirt roads, but 20 kilometres of heavy, energy-sapping dual tracks follow in the De Hoop Nature Reserve.
After a reasonably flat section, a climb is negotiated to exit the reserve. An adrenaline-pumping downhill plunge follows, then it's more flat cycling across farmlands before Bredasdorp is reached.
Sixth stage
Stage six takes the cyclists to the coast at Hermanus, which lies 130 kilometres away, while over 2 000 metres of ascending spices up the course.
The Salmonsdam Nature Reserve provides a massive challenge with 14 kilometres of climbing, varying between gradients of six percent and 12 percent, taking place over 14 kilometres. The view is spectacular, but the test is huge. Thankfully, the climbing is followed by a nice descent into vineyards.
Undulating and meandering dirt tracks follow before Stanford is reached. After that, the route heads towards the coast and it includes a section ridden on hard beach sand before the Kleinrivier mouth is crossed and the stage ends in the centre of Hermanus.
Seventh stage
The seventh stage is considerably shorter at 91 kilometres, but almost 2 000 metres of climbing ensures it is not an easy ride.
It's uphill out of Hermanus before a descent through Hamilton Russell. Then it's onto jeeps tracks in the Babilonstoring Nature Reserve.
A tough and rocky climb of 500 metres into the Lebanon Nature Reserve awaits, whereafter a single track takes riders through the Lebanon Forest. Finally, the stage ends at the Paul Cluver Estate.
Eighth stage
The eighth and final stage is the shortest of the race, covering 68 kilometres, from the Paul Cluver Estate to Lourensford, but once again it is anything but easy as it is littered with short and jagged climbs.
It starts out through vineyards before some long and tough climbs at Nuweberg. Then the route drops at speed to the Eikenhof Dam, followed by a flat section to the Gamtou Pass.
Once at the pass, riders will be required to carry their bikes for about a kilometre down slippery rocks because the Gamtou Pass is a national heritage site which still carries the marks of Voortrekker wagon wheels.
After that it is back into wine country and on to the finish at the Lourensford Wine Estate.
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