18 MARCH
1000
RACE
PREDICTION
TECHNICAL
TERRAIN
HOTSPOT
800
600
Katkloof
400
Charlie’s
Babe
Rotary
Hemel
en Aarde
Singletrack
200
0
0
10
20
30
40
Hermanus
50
60
70
80
90
100
WHERE TO WATCH
Race start: 07.00am
A Creation Wines (29.5km)
Perched on a hillock in the beautiful
Hemel en Aarde Valley, Creation
Wines is the fi rst spectator point
where fans will get to see the riders
racing shoulder-to-shoulder.
www.creationwines.com
Distance from race village: 21km
Leading men: 08.10am*
Leading women: 08.45am*
Last rider: 10.30am*
B The One at Katkloof (43km)
Riders need to pass the Dimension
Data Hotspot to reach The One; so
fans can expect the fi eld to have
spread out. You’ll get a good idea of
who the form teams are at the front.
www.oneheavenandearth.co.za
Distance from race village: 30km
Leading men: 08.45am*
Leading women: 09.20am*
Last rider: 11.40am*
C Solitaire Farm (63km)
Nestled between the Hartbeesrivier
and the Kleinrivier, Solitaire Farm
is the most remote of all the
112
Hermanus
RATING
2019 Absa Cape Epic spectator
points, but it is also sure to be
one of the busiest. With the
Tesselaarsdal Primary School
students being given the morning
off classes, riders can expect a
rambunctious welcome.
Distance from race village: 41km
Leading men: 09.35am*
Leading women: 10.00am*
Last rider: 13.20pm*
D Spookfontein Wines
(92.5km)
The wine tasting deck at
Spookfontein not only off ers great
views over the valley below but also
of the racing action, both can be
enjoyed with a wine tasting.
www.spookfontein.co.za
Distance from race village: 17km
Leading men: 10.45am*
Leading women: 11.25am*
Last rider: 15.40pm*
STAGE 1
The Prologue will be a mere skirmish
compared to the all-out war expected
on Stage 1. With a peloton full of
fresh legs at the start, it’ll be full gas
from the gun, with everyone believing
they’re in with a shot at GC. In the
past, it’s often been the team that’s
able to manage the chaos and hold
back in the initial rush that succeeds.
However, by Monday midday, the
contenders will have emerged to
reveal a clearer picture of what the
week could look like. The fi nal climb,
peaking at 90km, will see a fi nal
selection between the big hitters
and we expect Investec-Songo-
Specialized, Specialized Foundation
and Cannondale Factory Racing to be
fi ghting it out, with the Yellow Jersey
wearers defending their lead against
an onslaught of aggression.
Mechanicals and crashes happen
when racing on the knife edge. For
many this is the fi ercest pace they’ve
experienced since the last UCI World
Cup of 2018. That’s a point Annika
Langvad should be acutely aware of.
Racing with Kate Courtney, she knew
the American was accustomed to
riding elbow to elbow on the trails,
but she’ll need to be more attentive
to Anna van der Breggen. Barring
incident, this is certainly the day for
Investec-Songo-Specialized to add
several minutes to their GC lead.
Leading men fi nish: 11.35am*
Leading women fi nish: 12.15pm*
Last rider fi nish: 17.20pm*
*Predicted times only
112KM BREAKDOWN
Singletrack: 23.4km, 21%
Farm road: 70.1m, 63%
District road: 7.5km, 7%
Tar road: 11km, 10%
The Untamed African MTB Race | MTB | 149