South African mountain biker Amy McDougall will join forces with top cross-country cyclist Sabine Spitz when the Cape Epic gets under way on March 15 and is keen to learn from the experienced German.
McDougall placed second in the mixed category in 2017, as well as fourth in the women’s category in 2018, winning the African Women’s Jersey.
Olympic gold medallist Spitz has raced in four Cape Epics to date and achieved her best result, a second place, in 2018. She came fourth overall in the women’s race last year.
“Sabine is the quintessential professional, yet completely down to earth and willing to share her wealth of knowledge,” said McDougall.
“It will be a great learning experience to partner with her. It is important to race with someone you get along with and who understands the nuances of stage racing.”
McDougall, who will pair up with Spitz in the red colours of team dormakaba, added that the most important thing to remember was that absolutely anything could go wrong during the eight-day event, which she saw as a race of attrition.
Amy McDougall (pictured) will join forces with top cross-country cyclist Sabine Spitz when the Cape Epic gets under way on March 15. Photo: Ewald Sadie/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
“Looking after your body and equipment and not taking any unnecessary risks is incredibly important as your race can end as quickly as it started.”
Spitz said she joined the dormakaba training camp in December. She felt McDougall was riding well and was in a good mental space.
“I was really impressed by the way she rode and I’m looking forward to seeing her grow and achieving everything she sets out to do.
She added that she expected the upcoming Epic to be a “superb one”.
“Knowing the Ceres, Tulbagh and Wellington areas definitely helps with pacing yourself and with trail knowledge.
“The Epic is all about conquering as one, so I am happy to add value to dormakaba by bringing my mountain biking experience to help guide the team through any tough times.
“We don’t have an A or B team but having teammates out on the course will be helpful and we’ll support each other no matter what the Epic throws at us.”
In the blue colours of dormakaba will be German Adelheid Morath and South Africa’s Robyn de Groot, who won a bronze medal at the 2019 Marathon World Championships in Grächen, Switzerland.
With two second places and a third overall in the women’s category, De Groot is no stranger to the podium at the Epic.
“The Epic is an incredible race to be a part of – it is super tough, unpredictable and absolutely gruelling,” said De Groot.
“I missed the 2019 race after undergoing surgery for kinking and endofibrosis of my iliac artery in January last year, but being out of the action has me looking forward to racing again.”
She added that she was proud and happy with her performance at marathon worlds, but it was a one-day race. In the Epic, you needed to repeat your performance every day.
“It’s also a team event and I have always thought Adelheid would be a great partner, so I am excited to race alongside her.
“She is consistent, reliable and just races her bike. I think we’re going to make a great combination and our plan is to look after one another and deal with each stage as it comes.”
Morath currently has three Epic finishes to her name, in addition to her recent Swiss Epic win.
“The Epic is brutal – early starts, rough trails, often cold in the mornings and super hot later in the day, conditions that are completely different to what I am used to at that time of year,” said Morath.
“I’m very happy about racing with Robyn. She is professional and fair and I am very grateful to have such a great team in dormakaba. There will be a lot of unexpected challenges, but I’m very motivated and will do my best to perform as well as I can.”
