THE GRAND DEPART
PROLOGUE
START & FINISH
University of Cape
Town, Cape Town
21
KM 600 M
DISTANCE
CLIMBING
RATING
THE ROUTE
Cape Town, South Africa’s Mother City, provides a glorious welcome to one of the
most spectacular regions of Africa. Sitting at the foot of the iconic Table Mountain
with a heritage spanning over 300 years, Cape Town attracts tourists from around the
world with its unique mix – part fishing village, part metropolis and giant adventure
playground. The city is a sought-after destination for its beautiful mountain and sea
landscapes, spectacular beaches, architecture, cuisine, music and lifestyle. It boasts
the top five national attractions in South Africa: Table Mountain, a world heritage site;
the V&A Waterfront, a unique shopping and holiday experience in a scenic working
harbour; Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other famous South Africans
were imprisoned; the Cape Town wine routes; and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens,
internationally acclaimed as one of the great gardens of the world.
Cape Town’s most iconic landmark plays host, for the fifth time, to the inaugural
day of the Absa Cape Epic. The Prologue is more than just a scenesetter
though; it will provide the first shake-up of the general classification and hints of
who has prepared best for the Herculean task at hand. Twenty one kilometres
long, with 600m of climbing, it takes in the now infamous “climb which cannot
be named in print”, the grind up to the cauldron of spectators gathered around
Dead Man’s Tree and the scenic vistas of Table Mountain Road, all forming part
of Table Mountain National Park. The first section of the Land Rover Technical
Terrain of the race is located on the Plum Pudding singletrack, which tests
bravery and skill in equal measures. Expect the UCI men’s and women’s teams
to blitz the course, and the time gaps to be calculated in seconds. But know that
further down the field, surviving the Prologue unscathed should be the aim for
the day – the 2019 Absa Cape Epic really begins on Monday, in Hermanus.