Spanish/Dutch duo José Hermida and Rudi van Houts are set to return to this year’s Absa Cape Epic taking place from March 15 to 22, starting from the University of Cape Town and finishing at Meerendal Wine Estate in the Western Cape.
Jose Hermida and Rudi Van Houts during the 2014 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race. Photo: Gary Perkin
Illness for Hermida saw the Multivan Merida teammates losing over an hour in the 2014 Absa Cape Epic, after winning the prologue and wearing the leaders’ yellow zebra jerseys on stage on.
After winning Stage 1 in 2013 but were set back by a bad puncture the next day, dropping off the leading bunch and down the field.
This year the team hopes to have a more stable run at the Absa Cape Epic.
The team will be aiming for a podium finish, although they would settle for a stage win if too far behind after the first three days.
According to Van Houts the Absa Cape Epic was the stage race with the toughest competition because it attracted marathon specialists and cross country riders wanting to win the event.
He points to the combinations of Karl Platt and Urs Huber (Bulls), Simon Stiebjahn and Tim Boehme (Bulls 2), Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy (Investec Songo Specialized), and Alban Lakata and Kristian Hynek (Topeak Ergon) as rivals to watch.
