The route for the 2019 edition of the eight-day Cape Epic mountain-bike race was revealed during a press conference in Cape Town today.
The event is set to start with a prologue on March 17 and will conclude 624km later after 1 6650m of climbing have been tackled.
The Mother City hosts the 21km prologue from the University of Cape Town. This fast and furious stage consists of 600m of climbing.
Riders during the final stage of this year’s Cape Epic. Photo: Nick Muzik/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Hermanus hosts the first race village for two nights with the 112km first stage, that features 2 700m of climbing, starting from the high school.
The deceptively difficult stage then takes mountain bikers on an 86km journey to Oak Valley where they will stay for three nights.
The 103km third stage, which covers 2 800m, starts and finishes at Oak Valley and is punctuated by four major climbs.
The single-track filled time-trial is next on stage four and consists of a 43km ride with 1 000m of climbing.
The second moving day takes riders into Stellenbosch, which is their home for two nights.
To get there riders need to conquer the 100km queen stage with 2 850m of climbing from Oak Valley to the student town.
The route reintroduces the portage down Gantouw Pass and introduces riders to King’s Climb. This long and steep section is the queen and king mecca of the entire route.
The sixth stage, which features an 89km ride with 2 650m of climbing, treats riders to singletrack, vineyard climbs and downhill thrills.
The luxury lifestyle estate Val de Vie hosts the grand finale and takes riders on a 70km journey with 1 800m of climbing into Jonkershoek Trails before they conclude the eight-day untamed African mountain biking experience.
