The countdown has started – only eight days until the fifth edition of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas, The Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race, will take off. On Friday 28 March 2008, 1200 riders from 41 countries will embark on their gruelling and adventurous 9-day journey through South Africa’s Western Cape. On their 966km-long way from Knysna to Lourensford, the participants will climb approximately 18 529m, including some of the most magnificent passes in South Africa.
The first day is relatively easy, as the riders will race ‘only’ 17km against the clock in the inaugural time trial prologue of the Absa Cape Epic to determine their start seeding for the following day. Stage 1 however, will hit the 600 teams with reality, as it is one of the hardest in the race. Latest when they find themselves on the first climb of the day at Simola Pass, a 3km stretch with a 7% gradient, they will grasp what lies ahead of them.

Before stepping up to the challenge called Absa Cape Epic, however, the participants from around the world have to face the challenge of getting to the start in Knysna. They will travel from as far afield as Australia, China, Finland, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Brazil and Venezuela, travelling for up to 31 hours just to arrive in Cape Town. Then they have to bear another six-hour drive to Knysna. 37-year-old Daniel Moreno from Venezuela for instance, will leave Caracas on 21 March and arrive in Cape Town on 23 March, after a total flight time of 22 hours and 9 hours of connecting time.

2008 sees the most competitive field ever in the history of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas. Since many pro riders who rode the race last year had excellent results in the UCI MTB World Cup, many top athletes use the race as preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. One of the top contenders is Christoph Sauser, the reigning World and European Mountain Bike Marathon Champion. Sauser, who has eleven World Cup wins to his name and won the Absa Cape Epic in 2006 with his friend and fellow Swiss rider Silvio Bundi, will team up with Burry Stander this year, the current African and South African XC MTB Champion. Other top riders racing in what is billed to be the most competitive MTB stage race on the international racing programme for 2008 are: the first Olympic Gold medallist Bart Brentjens who teams up with the 2006 Marathon World Cup winner in Mont Saint-Anne, Alban Lakata (Dolphin); last year’s Absa Cape Epic winners Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm (Bulls); former Absa Cape Epic champion and multiple World Cup winner Roel Paulissen racing with the reigning U23 XC MTB World Champion Jakob Fuglsang (Cannondale Vredestein 1); multiple Swedish Champion Fredrik Kessiakoff who teams up with the 2004 Marathon World Champion Massimo Debertolis (Full-Dynamix-RSM); Rune Høydahl who claimed eleven world cup victories in his career and Truls Haugseth (Høydahl 2); the living mountain biking legends Thomas Frischknecht and Tom Ritchey (Project Rwanda); former Pan American Champion Jeremiah Bishop and Chris Eatoph, winner of the 2007 BC Bike Race and of six 24-hour solo world titles (Trek VW); multiple TransAlp Champion Carsten Bresser and former Team Telekom star Udo Boelts (Rocky Mountain/ Cube); marathon specialist Pia Sundstedt and multiple World Champion and World Cup winner Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain Girls); two times Pan American Champion Susan Haywood and X-terra triathlete Jennifer Smith (Trek VW WSD); last but not least South Africa’s top contenders, Kevin Evans who placed third at the 2005 Absa Cape Epic and three-time Giro del Capo winner David George (MTN Energade 1).

With ‘GUTS & GLORY - The Tale of the Magical & Untamed African Mountain Bike Race’ the organisers the Absa Cape Epic have published their inaugural first-class coffee-table book that captures all of the emotions linked with the most televised mountain bike race in the world. GUTS & GLORY is a celebration of all that the race represents, from the ambitious dreams of its founder, to the pain and partnerships of the riders, the phenomenal feats of those who finish on the podium, the legendary organisation and the lasting legacy left in the communities along the route. It is a souvenir for every rider who has lined up for the start in Knysna, an inspiration for every one that still dreams of doing so, and a testament to the impressive talents of the photographers who capture all the guts and the glory, the pain and the pleasure of ‘The Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race’. The book, which sells at R550, can be purchased at the race venue or be ordered online at www.cape-epic.com

To replenish what the strenuous daily stages take out of the riders, Energade sports and energy drink is served at the aid stations along the route. Energade ist he new Official Sports drink of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas. The product was launched in 1993 as a sports and energy drink proposition. The brand’s success at entrenching the brand with sport consumers at launch was secured through key strategic sponsorships of both SA Rugby and Cricket. Energade aims to be the drink of choice for any sports person preparing for or recovering from regular exercise or planned fitness events.