Defending champion Karl Platt from Germany stated that there would be at least ten teams who could very well take this year’s Cape Epic title when the race kicks off on Sunday.
According to Christoph Sauser of Switzerland, this is partly due to the fact that this year will feature the most back-up teams the race has ever seen.
Pro riders expressed their views about this years Cape Epic at the Pre-Event Press Conference in Cape Town. Photo: Mark Sampson
A total of seven teams will enlist the support of teams in the field to help with spare parts off their bikes or to help fix mechanical problems.
Having recently come out of retirement, Sauser has won the Epic five times, an achievement he shares with Platt.
“This year there is definitely the most depth, especially with so many teams having backups,” Sauser said.
Sauser will team up with former Olympic gold medallist and world champion Jaroslav Kulhavy from the Czech Republic while Platt will ride alongside his Swiss partner Urs Huber.
While back-up or support teams have become routine in the men’s event, this is the first year that a team have been directly recruited to play the role for a women’s team.
Defending champion Ariane Lüthi and her new partner Adelheid Morath will be supported by Frenchwoman Sabrina Enaux and Belgian Alice Pirard.
Lüthi raced against Morath in the Swiss Epic in 2015, where she and former partner Annika Langvad finished second to the German and Sally Bigham from the United Kingdom.
All in all, teams to watch out for include 2014 winner Kristian Hynek of the Czech Republic and his partner Alban Lakata from Austria, Olympic gold medallist Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann (both of whom are from Switzerland) as well as Australian Cadel Evans with American partner George Hincapie.
On the women’s side, look out for multiple South African champion Robyn de Groot who has teamed up with German legend Sabine Spitz (former Olympic gold medallist) and 22-year-old Olympic champion Jenny Rissveds of Sweden who has paired with her Scott-SRAM Next Level team manager Thomas Frischknecht.
