Absa Cape Epic 2026 | Stage 2

After a high-speed and tactical Stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic, Max Cluer and Mike Finch break down all the key moments from a day that favoured the fast men. Former World XC champion Sam Gaze and short course specialist Luca Schwarzbauer delivered a perfectly timed performance to sprint to victory, while Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto pushed them all the way to the line. Overall leaders Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje showed their consistency once again, securing another podium finish to retain their grip on the race.

In the women’s race, Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller continued their dominant run, making it three stage wins in a row and extending their overall lead in commanding fashion.

This episode also shines a light on the unsung heroes of the race—the Hyenas, the legendary sweep riders who ensure that no rider is left behind. The team shares insight into what it takes to bring home the final finishers of each stage.

Mike also catches up with Toyota Mixed category leaders Jenny Rissveds, the reigning XCO World Champion, and Simon Andreassen, a former U23 World Champion and World Cup winner. They discuss their race so far, the dynamic of racing as a mixed team, and what it takes to stay at the top in one of the toughest events on the calendar.

Transcript

SPEAKER_12 0:11

Right, so welcome to stage two of the 2026 Absicke Pepe Pick, day number three, because the prologue is not a stage, it's a prologue. Um so we're here we are at uh where we've been for the last couple of days, actually, here, and you can see the sign up there on the mountain behind us, Montague. Montague to Montague today. The distance 102 kilometres with one thousand, sorry, two thousand two hundred and fifty meters of coming for the men's race, and the all the jerseys and the women's race was 88. Yeah. 80. Um, so that's the two distances we had today. And it was an exciting day in many different ways because there was drama in the women's race. There was proper racing in the men's race. I mean proper racing. And when you talk about like how the how the men's race unfolded, we'll kind of go through that. One of the races who I'll show you just now described that the racing is boring. I don't agree with that actually assessment because towards the end it was the most thrilling uh racing I've seen in the Abysscopia for years. But let's kick it off with the women's race first and uh look at let's look at the results first, and we can discuss a little bit about uh what happened out there, and we'll play in some interviews that we did with the leaders at the moment. So the stage was won by the winners of the first two stages, and they won their third stage in the road today, Candice Little, Alexander Keller, the Thomas Max and Sabi Sabi team. Three hours and thirty minutes was their winning time today. And in second place, Kate Courtney and Greta Sevalt. They were 37 seconds behind the She Sens Foundation. Those were the two teams today that dominate. Literally, from the time they got over the first climb up Oplast this morning, it was those two teams in the front. And it was really just we we watched them on television. There was a bit of cut and thrust, but it was the She Senn's Foundation team. They were trying to put a bit of pressure on the on the orange jerseys of Candace Lil and Andrews or Alessandra Keller.

SPEAKER_10 1:49

Yeah, lots of work. Uh uh Kate and and Greta were were very good today. Uh Greta specifically on the downhill. Um, synonymous with the days when we saw Nina Scherter just going off the front and bombing down in front of everybody. She was a good 100-150 metres ahead of the other three riders, and and Kate just let her go. And and we spoke to Greta afterwards, and you could see she just absolutely loved it today. So amazing riding. Remember that they are chasing the yellow, which means they've got to do the work, they've got to instigate, they've got to be the protagonists, and and and rightfully so, the experience of Candace Hill, Alessandra Keller coming through, doing what they need to do, making sure they're staying in front of everybody else, but at the same time saying, You want this, you've got to come get it.

SPEAKER_12 2:30

I I think what was quite telling was the fact that the two of them got away up that first climb. In fact, they were they they were just ahead as they went over the top of the climb behind the rest of the bunch. But there was that sense that the She Sans Foundation wanted a bit of pressure. And when you talk to Cannes a little afterwards, and we'll play an interview with her just now, they were saying, Ah, you know, everything went according to plan. But speaking to Jesse Nixon, who was on the e-bite behind, she said, look, as much as it looks like Thomas Max and Sabi Sabi were in control, they were definitely being put under a bit of pressure. There was times when Kate Courtney and Greta Seveld, particularly Greta, because she did a lot of work on the front, um, setting the pace into the window all the time, that there was definitely Lil and Keller were not, it wasn't a comfortable day for them at all.

SPEAKER_10 3:11

No, and I think that's great. I mean, you look at just 38 seconds, the difference in in between first and second today, after that at that stage. And it just shows that uh this new format is exciting. You know, we we watched uh the start today. I went out to that start after the men's start, got to there on time, uh, watched the load in. There's a lot of vibe, there's a lot of excitement around this new format. Um, there's a lot of questions, there's a lot of people wondering why. But seeing it in action, being there, uh having the uh the elite woman ready, having the elite men come through in that sort of dust cloud of what's and that anticipation and everybody, and then the women are like, well, and then it's their turn, you know. Um and and certainly uh we're finding that with the the route the way it is and and with the positioning of their start, the last two days they've started with a proper hill. Yes, and and we see from the get-go, and I'm talking within minutes, that things are ripped apart. And and and that is that is crazy because mentally that's a lot to deal with. Because in the past, it's been right together for the first 30, 35, 40k. And let's see what happens from there. Let's roll the dice. Now it's roll the dice, get the 10 bowling ball out. Let's get this party started. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_12 4:21

And as you say, literally, the first as they got out the blocks this morning, there was a really steep climb right out the start. They went down a bit of a hill and then up Oplast, which is a long climb in itself. So you're right, it's a it's a tough start. So as we as we said, it was a it was a it was an interesting sort of dynamic between these two teams. But probably the story of the day was the team that started this morning with third place overall and had one of those days which nobody wants at the Absicape Bec, but it's one of those days that kind of is that that was the team of uh of uh Rosa Fun Dun and Vera Laz of the Namibian, the Buff BH efficient infinity team. And as they went over O plus, there was a problem with uh Rosa Fon Dun's uh wheel, um, and she had to ride on the insert. And maybe you can just tell us what an insert is so people understand what the insert does.

SPEAKER_10 5:04

Yeah, so obviously uh with with the riding, it's so important to have that tire pressure right and to have as smooth sailing with as least resistant as possible. Um, once you're having to get that insert in, it means you've had to plug your tire. And and and some of these tires are bomb-proof, that they have this inside pressure wall that's like a second skin. Deflates, it's like a second skin, gives you a second opportunity. Um, what we did see from the start today was both Vera uh Loser and Bianca Hall battling today uh from the get-go. Uh we saw them working and we saw Monica Calderon also battling, partner of Tesla Corticals, the three of them really battling just on that first climb. What then happened to the team from uh from uh Buff BH uh Efficient Infinity was that their uh teammates in the men's race, the Buff BH team of Votalman and Martin Starsek also suffered a technical. So when they got to the next possible opportunity tech zone en route, they swapped out their back wheel, which means that now, whereas the women come through, they didn't have two sets off, which is it's a freak accident if stuff happened. So they then get to the point and hang on, guys, we we don't have a wheel for you, we have to give that to to to Vouta and Mark Mark. So from there, it's like okay, what do we do? Well, we've got a plug it, which is just basically a bomb, which is a CO2 cartridge, plus the insert you put that in and then you bomb it and you see so Vera just grabbed a whole lot of bombs, and it was error after error because some of the cartridges she grabbed had already been used. So, in the rush, in the moment, just not taking that little bit of time to check those little things, they go off. Now the technical points are varied across the route. Now they've got to work to the next point to see if they can they can change, and then it was just a comedy of errors, and you could see Vera like emotional on the finish line. Russa putting in over 30k on the insert, and and and these are podium contenders on a good day. They can win a stage. Um, Vera's won the Epscape Epic before, Vera's won the Epic Series events before. So, so so Rissa and her are a very accomplished team, and I I guess gutted because they've lost 26 minutes today on the lead. And that at the Epscape Epic, even with the Epscape Epic, still five days to go, is a big ask.

SPEAKER_12 7:20

Yeah, I mean they they're really they still got a chance at the podium because they're lying fifth overall DC at the moment. Um so they've still got a chance of getting that top three, but they are far somewhere off the top two at the moment. Let's have a quick interview, uh listen to an interview that we did with Vera Lozo, who is very emotional after her finish today.

SPEAKER_11 7:35

Tell us about this day of yours, quite tragic in a way.

SPEAKER_07 7:38

Yeah, we had a puncture on that after the long climb and um snake bite. We plugged it, um it was okay, but then it kept going flat again. Then we said, okay, she'll just write on the insert to the first tech zone. And when I grabbed her wheel, because she's sharing with her boys' team, um, they also had a puncture, so the wheel was flat. So we couldn't use that wheel. So we decided to continue. It's clever me taking bombs out of the bomb out of the check box. Obviously, not looking that they're full because the boys put their empty bombs into the check box. Yeah, so eventually we plugged it again, and we plugged it again, and then we said, okay, it's holding, so let's go through the next tech zone. 500 meters after that check zone, she snakes by the first front wheel. We plug it, we bomb it. Luckily, we stopped for bombs at the second check zone, and then we go through the last feed, and the back wheel is flat again. And we're like, we don't have any plugs anymore. She's like, I've one more, I've one more. So we plug it again and we bomb it again, and we're like, if we have anything else now, we have nothing left. We had to use nine plugs, we've used six bombs, we have nothing. Like, then we just have to ride on the rim to the finish.

SPEAKER_12 8:53

Right, so there we are, there we go. Very disappointed, uh, Vera Lauza. But that has shaken things up quite a lot in the women's GC because now a team that was not really in the mix for the putty position is now in third place.

SPEAKER_10 9:04

Yeah, so general classification, obviously, the combined times of the riders day after day after day towards the end goal, which is Sunday finish, uh end of stage eight in Salembosch. Team Simtech.net, Margameschete uh from France, Claudia Peretti of Italy now sit in third place, and just behind them, the Kemp Champ honeycomb team of the two Haleys, Hailey Preen and Haley Smith. Um, interesting today, a sprint finish for third and fourth with the Topardo FSA Kenda team, uh Katezina Sosna and uh Georgia Marchette. Now, they were very good last year at some of the Epic Series races. Katezina is an age group world champion on the time trial, from what I understand. So she was really good today. And speaking to the Haleys today, they just said, wow, the power in those last few kilometres was amazing. So much so that Katzina and Georgia, when they came across the line, just continued going. They didn't realise that they'd come inside the top three and and made the podium for today. So massive for them. But again, look at that shake up in the women's race. It's it's it's great.

SPEAKER_12 10:05

Yeah. Disappointment, but also as it creates opportunity. And as we see every single year in the Abscape, there's always something that can happen at any time. Even when we talk about the lead of uh of Candace Little Alessandra Killer, they know that they can have 25 minutes, they can have 10, 15 minutes, and that's not guaranteed until they get to that final finished line on Sunday. Uh right, let's move on uh to some other interviews and uh listen to Candace Little and Alexander Alessandra Killer um talking about their stays today.

SPEAKER_05 10:33

Hey, there was an uphill, and then uh I went a bit faster in and I saw they immediately left the gap, and then I told Candice there's a gap, and then we went into the trails, and you know when you like you're on the limit and you have to go over the limit, and then the trails come, it's like it's too hard, yeah. And then it gets on the finish. Yeah, 10ks. I think nine case. Yeah, and then uh there was like I think two, one or two case of single track, and then that's where we made the gap, and then we went all out the last uh meters because we saw yesterday that on the last uh three, four case we could make like a minute. Uh yeah, we we went quite fast then, and then that's what that was our taxi. It was super hot.

SPEAKER_12 11:16

And when when did you guys get away with these two? Was it quite early on?

SPEAKER_05 11:20

Already over the first two, I think oh, the pass or whatever that thing is called, there were all the yellows.

SPEAKER_11 11:27

Candice, did you feel like you were a bit under bit of pressure today, or was everything under control?

SPEAKER_03 11:31

No, I think it was a day where I mean I think we played it perfectly. It was one of those days where you could sit on and save a lot of energy. Um, and we spoke about it this morning and last night as well that you know we don't have to make the racing at every single point.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

Like you can also be smart and tactical and take the seconds where you can, and we did that in the end today.

SPEAKER_12 11:50

So there we have our overall leaders in the women's elite competition. Now, one of my favorite teams to talk to is the team that's in second place, silver, Greta Seervolt and uh Kate Courtney. And uh, we caught up with Greta, and she did an enormous amount of work today, as we've already said in the podcast. But they really are they're a lovely, bubbly, looks like they're enjoying themselves every day, even though they didn't win the stage today. You always felt that they they feel like they're they're racing, but they're also racing and having fun at the same time.

SPEAKER_10 12:16

Absolutely, and uh, you know, it's it's you you look at Kate when you interview her, and she looks straight through your eyes into your soul, you know, and you can see sometimes she's a little bit distanced because she is planning, she is a master tactician, and uh she really is a master of her craft, both on and off the bike. Uh Greta has been phenomenal. Um, uh I've worked with her before, but this is the first time I've spent a couple of days with her back to back to back, and she really is great, isn't she? She really brings a vibe, and and we need that. She's she's a great addition to this year's event.

SPEAKER_12 12:46

Yeah, well, here she has Greta Serval talking about her stage today.

SPEAKER_04 12:49

Yeah, really good. In the beginning, in the first climb, I made a pace, and only the team from Alessandra and Candice could go with us. Uh so I think the pace was good enough to to get the gap. And then we pretty much worked uh the whole race uh in front, Kate and me. So at the end, the last 10ks, uh, you know, when you ride for 70ks in front, take all the wind, energy is a little bit lower. So I think I started a bit with that because I I spent pretty like a lot of time in front. So I just think they passed in the in the perfect moment. So uh congrats to them because they did a really good job. They wrote really smart, and yeah, we wrote half, they wrote smart.

SPEAKER_11 13:41

So was the goal to put a bit of pressure on them today?

SPEAKER_04 13:44

Of course. Uh I mean the the main goal was to get a little bit of a gap to third place in the overhaul, and we did that. So, goal accomplished. And I mean, we know that it takes one puncture, one crash, one small problem, a bad day, and then you're back and fighting for the win for the GC. So the week is long.

SPEAKER_12 14:07

Right, so let's move on to the men's race. Now, I think a couple of people might look to that race and said, Well, it was a it was front loaded, and I talk about front loaded. Most of the climbing happened in the first half of the course today, and then it was fast and furious single-track action in the last 20K's, like I've rarely seen the Abscape Epic. It was it was the XE guys against the Marathon guys, and in the end, the XC guys won it. But it was it was thrilling stuff to watch. And I I think one of the most exciting stages I've seen at the Abscape Epic for many years.

SPEAKER_10 14:36

Mike, I gotta agree with you. I think we're on the edge of our seats for quite some time. We saw uh early on, I thought quite cleverly though, um, we saw Matt Beers and Tristan O'Kea into the single track first. Now, a lot of the viewers watching at home would think, wow, they're really turning it up and making it happen. But in my opinion, they were slowing things down. And the reason they were slowing things down was because it was a front-loaded stage on the profiles, which means they knew that come towards the end, you've got that 13 to 18 kilometers of undulating flats. We know the powerhouse that Matt Beers is, but at the same time, you've got to understand that other weapons like Sam Gaze, Lucas Wasbauer, uh, David Valero, who can put down the watts, were thinking the same thing, and they were licking their lips today. I can tell you they were absolutely salivating at the thought of that last uh you know 15 to 18 kilometers, and and they proved just why that was when we saw how it unfolded today. What was exciting as well, though, was the fact that the guys were trying all day to break that up because they knew, and when I say the guys, the other teams, because there were eight teams in it today, 16 riders. Um, one of those teams, the uh Absa African jersey of of a vessel van of alt and Johan van Seel, who have got that ABSA jersey on loan from Matt Beers and Tristan O'Kea, but they too were very impressive today. Um, and another impressive team today was Hans Becking, the double Dutch team, and his young partner taste, because that's right, yeah. They came in last minute.com and all of a sudden 10th today. I mean, and they had a mechanical recommendation. And they handed over and helped uh with the mechanical of the early uh Buff BH team of Voter and and Martin Stasek. So some incredible rides today, but clever, clever, clever. Uh always in charge. The ability to have that extra gas into the single check is so important. And we saw from about 30K's out uh Sam Gaze at Lucas Wells Power looking to activate, looking to be antagonists in the racing. And Valero, very, very sharp. Uh Mark Stutzman, his partner uh on the Climatizer Orbea team, having to work incredibly hard today to stay with him. And Tristan Nokia, I mean, what a fighter, what a soldier.

SPEAKER_12 16:40

I mean, unbelievable. So a couple of observations, and I think we saw this yesterday, and it kind of played out the same way today. When we had the problem yesterday with the the special with Toyota specialising Bucher team at Beers and Nokia when they were when they got the puncture and they were chasing back, they said that they felt that they could travel faster on their own. In other words, they could go through the turns quite a lot smoother, they could find their rhythm, they could find the pace. And I kind of felt today that they were on the front because they could set the pace. They weren't dealing with the yo-yoing at the back. They could literally get and set at their own pace, they could go through corners at the at the time they wanted to do it. The only problem, of course, was the mount was the motorbike in front because the dust gets picked up by the motorbike. But they were able to set their own pace, they were able to flow like they were supposed to. And because they were in the yellow jerseys, they were they were kind of intimidating the rest of the opposition out there. It became inevitable that the XC guys were going to attack in the last 20Ks, which is what happened. And as you say, we talked about David Valera, bronze medalist at the at the at the Olympic Games. Um, so he's an XC, he's one of the best X E riders in the world. He he's a tall, powerful guy. I mean, unbelievable to watch that guy when he's putting out the watts. He was the first person to attack. Then it came, then it looked like Mart Stutzman was actually struggling a bit. So he kind of had to pull the plug a little bit on that. And then came the team that won the stage today, Lucas Schwarzbauer and uh and Sam Gaze. And when I looked at the last 10, 15Ks, there was there was one massive attack by the Canyon team. They got pulled back, and as they said, they were worried because when they got pulled back, they're like, oh, okay, well, it wasn't so easy. They attacked again, that worked, and eventually they got across the finish line first. And the excitement on the face of Sam Gaze winning the stage, he's a former world champion of XC, he's one of the best mountain bikers in the world. The excitement he gets from winning a stage of the Absicap Epic was clear today.

SPEAKER_10 18:24

Yeah, and Sam Gaze, you know, he is a gladiator. He and and he can win. You give him a bike, you put 10 people on a line, you've got to bet your bottom dollar that he's all in. And and and with Sam Gaze, as you say, he's got the watts to go short and and fast, but he's also an exe cross-country marathon world champion, you know. So amazing to see how him and and Luca are working together. However, and I'm gonna say this again the team from William Vittoria are hiding and playing a perfect game. They are silent assassins. They have gone from seven seconds behind on day one to four and a half seconds behind on day two. Now it's just 1.6 seconds separating on the GC. If it comes down to a sprint tomorrow, they will take the leaders' jerseys. They will be in the Cheer Vida yellow leaders' jersey.

SPEAKER_12 19:11

Yeah, that's how close it is. Well, let's have a look at the GC because that's really where the excitement is over the next few days. Tomorrow, of course, is a mega long stage, and we'll talk about that just now. So these are these are the time gaps. So Toyota specialized in Buco, um total time eight hours, 18 minutes, and they are 2.2 seconds ahead of William Vittoria, Kimatisa or Bea, which is uh um David Valero and Mark Stuttgart, as we showed today, very, very strong today, 28 seconds behind. And then in fourth place, Orogen Willia, Matei Cesaro, and Yuri Zanotti, 34 seconds behind. So the top four teams, 30 seconds behind, that is nothing in epic terms.

SPEAKER_10 19:48

But also remember that in Origin William, Matteo Cesaro and Yuri Zanotti, you have teammates for Luca Bradau and Simone Avendetto. Now, we're going to Stellenbosch. This is a single track playground. These are cross-country specialists. Those four riders are in the top 10 riders in the world at the moment on the cross-country circuit. So is the long game being played here? And also today, interesting, when we look at Marco Jber and his partner, Travis Steadman, we know how good they are. We've still got Jaden Telot uh riding with Lewitt. And are they saving themselves a little bit, knowing that they're gonna have to really rip themselves inside out on those last two days to contend with the Italians uh and the French?

SPEAKER_12 20:30

Well, let's hear from Lucas Schwarzbauer after the race today, who really did uh, as usual, really expressive in the way he described those last three kilometers.

SPEAKER_11 20:39

That looked like a fun last five kilometers for you.

SPEAKER_14 20:42

Was it fun from your perspective? Um the fun level was high, yes, but the suffer level was even higher. Um we knew the finish a little bit from yesterday, but honestly not quite well. So if you go on an all-out attack and then yeah, you actually don't make it, um, this is the most terrible thing you can actually do. But we tried it two times, we were not 100% sure. The second time was uh the right one, and then uh yeah, luckily we managed to uh win this stage. And at some points I suffered a lot today, but I think marathon racing is like that, you suffer sometimes, and then there are some easier paths as well. But yeah, super happy to win this. I mean we came here came here with big ambitious. Um and yeah, I mean we consider ourselves top riders, so we won the stage win, but making it real is actually such a difficult thing, and if you succeed, then uh it's yeah, amazing. But yeah, still the long way to go, and for the moment I'm proper tired.

SPEAKER_12 21:50

Right, so they were your stage winners today. But then, as we've mentioned, the the GC race is really starting to heat up now because the the gaps are very, very small. So let's listen to the Yellow jersey, well, one of the members of the Yellow Jersey team, Tristan Nokia, the youngster in the team. It's always love to look at him because every day he says, I'm not sure how we did that, but we did it. And I asked him what has he learnt through this process of uh racing amongst the very best and having the yellow jerseys.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

Um, yeah, I think today was a weird day. It was yeah, it was quite boring. Um, wasn't any decisive points? Uh yeah, it was quite rough and rocky after over. So yeah, Magis rode at the front, me and Magis rode at the front for quite a long time, but yeah, we did it just to keep safe because it was quite chaos at the back and just rocks flying. And so yeah, we just controlled the pace and tried to stay safe, and yeah, we managed that well. And then these X Air Boys did big kicks here, like five K's to go. So I thought I wouldn't be able to follow them, but yeah, me and Matt followed them. Um it's not easy, but yeah, I was surprised we could follow them. Of course, yeah in this final 30 meters. I can't match that tower. But yeah, I think we're still in yellow, and the podium again is happy with today.

SPEAKER_12 23:04

Right, there we go. Uh young Mr. Norke who's uh shooting the lights out in many. But he is unbelievable. So let's move on to our regular feature on this podcast. And I always love hearing from a Carl Platt, who's not here at the Abse Cape Epic this year, but he is watching from afar, and this is his team of the day, or shall we say teams of the day?

SPEAKER_10 23:24

Teams of the day.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Hey guys, stage two of the Absa Cape Epic is done, and uh I watched the race very carefully in the morning. And uh yeah, we saw a lot of action today. Uh the Kenyan guys they won the stage and they they rode super smart. Uh I mean um they had to prove their themselves from yesterday. Um they were they played uh their cards very well. Some guys they came and uh wait and use the right moment in the end. I think they came in front after 70 kilometers and pushed hard. So I saw there was also uh a lot of hard positioning before the trails, and uh we saw as well that they've been going super hard before the trails on the double track and then slow down and pace a little bit in the trail because no one could pass. Uh so other teams, Matt Pierce and uh Tristan, they wrote also very smart, uh going hard in the beginning, put uh speed on everyone, and uh then uh use the moment to the end and stay in the in the bunch. Very smart riding also from Avendato and uh Luca Braido. That's the way you should ride. I think they learned a lesson last uh last year, so they are always in in front but never attacking. And uh the epic is only day two. Um now we count the seconds, but uh you will see at the end uh it's minutes, it's minutes. So stay calm and um be relaxed, and uh yeah, tomorrow transition stage, 140 kilometers, a lot to see. I'm excited. See you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_12 25:19

Right, so welcome back uh to our coverage of stage two of the Absecape Epic in 2026. And uh there's two gentlemen to my right-hand side here that if you don't know the Absecape Epic, you probably wonder why they're wearing these hyena outfits. But uh, let me just explain who they are because they're a very important, integral part of what the Abse Cape Epic is about. They are the hyenas. And the hyenas are the guys right at the back of the field that basically help the guys at the back of the field. Well, you're not really helping, you're kind of encouraging them, not allowed to help, but they're the sweeps at the back of the field, which make sure that everybody gets through to the finish line. So they're very important because they become almost mythical. Um, how many Matt, how many years have you guys been doing it together? Because I know Richard's had many partners, uh, talking obviously hyenas, but um, in terms of your partnership, how long have you been together?

SPEAKER_08 26:04

Well, I just want to say that they didn't give me a chance to go and clean up after finishing stage two, just to clarify. Um, that's it. Particularly look like this. Hyenas are normally dirty scavengers, though, so it's okay. We're used to the smell. Nice. Um, yeah, I've been doing it for five years. Um, Rich is on number eight. Um, unfortunately, last year, Rich had separated his shoulder um uh about four days before the race, so he missed last year. But um, other than that, we've we've been doing it together for five years, pretty much.

SPEAKER_12 26:39

Now, I mean the the big question is that it's a voluntary position, and you're the slowest at the back of the field, you're always gonna be the people out there for the longest. What's the motivation to do this?

SPEAKER_08 26:50

So actually, quite funny. Maybe I shouldn't ask you then now that I think of it. Someone asked me like about 20k ago, like, you guys volunteer for this, you're stupid. Um, but I said to her, I mean, I I read a book recently called The Comp Comfort Crisis by a guy called Michael Easter. And it's about the fact that you should always attempt something difficult every year. Um, put yourself in an uncomfortable position so that you appreciate the the other things in life. So it's our sort of benchmark of of putting ourselves in a position where we and we help people. It's it's an amazing thing to do at the back of the field. We we help the people that have issues on the route, whether it's health issues or bike issues or I mean we don't we don't specifically help people, but we encourage them to fix their own bikes. We obviously not mechanics. We obviously follow the crew, so we don't specifically um uh we we outside assistance. So and people in the race can't have outside assistance, so um, we can't specifically help them, but generally speaking, it's more motivational, I would say.

SPEAKER_12 27:54

Now, because of budget cuts, we've only got three microphones here. So I'm gonna ask you to pass it on to Richard so he can we can chat to him as but Richard, I mean, as you as as Matt's already said, you've been doing this for eight years, and what was your motivation to do it? Was it any different to Matt's?

SPEAKER_13 28:08

I I've had a long history with the the epic, and it's it's just so special to come back every year. And I've got I've got friends that I've known here for 20 years. There's lots of faces that I've that I've known for sort of almost half of my life. So it's it's lovely to keep that connection with the race. So that's one side of it. The other side of it is that for eight days we get to ride the best trails in the Western Cape. There's five, six water points along the way. We eat in lovely restaurants every night, and it it's it's a it's a very cool break from reality and from life. And just if someone has to say, go ride a bike 10 hours a day for eight days, we don't really have any problems out there. Everyone around us has got problems, and it's just it's lovely to witness all these rides. You know, it's it's it's at the there's two races out there. There's the there's the bike race at the front, and people trying to win this bike, the best riders in the world trying to win this race, and then there's this whole other side of this, then it's the unseen race, and it's just everyday guys and girls fighting to finish this race, and it's a real analogy for real life. There's there's ups and there's downs, and you see heartache and you see joy. And every now and again you get these just amazing stories that we are there with them, watching them struggle and watching the sort of joy in their faces when they when they pull through and manage to finish. So there's there's there's lots of reasons. And I know it's I know some people say, oh, it's so long and and and slow, but you'll be amazed at at how many things happen out there over a 10-hour uh span of the day.

SPEAKER_12 29:36

So Richard, just tell us, I mean, as we alluded to at the start of this, what what is the role? In other words, if you're the sweepers, what is the job? If you can define it for us.

SPEAKER_13 29:45

I'll go back to the history, I suppose, of it was that the race used to go from Nyeson to Cape Town, and it was open gravel roads and at the back of the field behind the riders, you obviously had to know where the last rider was. So they stuck a vehicle and a car would drive the whole way behind the riders. The race has become far more technical over the years, and there's now single track, so you can now cannot get vehicles and actually motorbikes. A lot of it is restricted to bicycles only. So we, I suppose, essentially are the eyes and ears of the race organization at the back. So they know, I mean, almost without us, they wouldn't know where that you know, a group of riders are going to the single single track, and at the other side it'll be this broken telephone. Who is the last rider and is he even out? So I suppose we are that physical back of uh of the field. So the a primary primarily a safety element.

SPEAKER_12 30:30

Matt, and just uh if you could take the microphone, what assistance are you allowed to give, if any?

SPEAKER_08 30:37

Um, as I was saying earlier, it's mostly moral support. Uh as I was saying, we are part of the crew. So a rider in the in the race cannot get outside assistance, they can only get assistance from another rider. So if they need a tube, we can't give them a tube. The tube's got to come from another rider. Um, so from that perspective, it's it's more just we can point and you know, but generally speaking, we're not we're not really supposed to interfere with with the with the race. Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 31:05

So I mean, in other words, if they if they've got a mechanical issue, could you say I think you should turn that screw?

SPEAKER_08 31:11

Can they go to that point or is that a gray area? Uh it's a it's a it's a grey area. I'm on the record, so I can't I can't divulge.

SPEAKER_13 31:19

No, you can, you know, you can give a lot of as much verbal encouragement to direction. Mighty, tighty, lefty, loosey.

SPEAKER_08 31:29

But it's uh it's it is a bit of a gray area, but uh you know, there's a competitive, like Richard was saying, there's a competitive side to the race, and then we obviously want to see everybody finish. We we encourage people, we want to see them get across the line in cutoff. Um so we'll do what we can to make that happen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 31:45

Are there any, I mean, there are obviously many stories that you can tell them even at this Absicape epic. Are there any stories that or a story that kind of really stands out for you that you've experienced over the five years you've done it?

SPEAKER_08 31:58

One one really funny story. We were riding in uh Oak Valley probably 2023, somewhere around there. And um, this this couple were riding, and it was a mixed couple, and uh the the female of the of the group fell off a wooden bridge and and broke broke something. I mean it was either either a shoulder or collarbone, and but she was still riding, and and um and she was spang she was from actually from Angola and I we were chatting to her and uh and uh I said isn't it sore? You know, we had about five case to go, and she was riding like very uncomfortably. She said, Yeah, it's it's very sore. I said, but actually, if it's broken, I'm quite excited because I'll go and get it fixed and get a boob job at the same time. And the guy Bruno, who was with her, um, I saw him the next year. I said, Did she get the boob job? He said, Yes.

SPEAKER_10 32:56

So I've got a question. What is the most asked question from a delusional rider at the back of the field? Rich, that one's for you. What is the what is are we there yet? Yeah, what is the question that you get where you like, oh, I've got to tell the truth here, but it's still a long way.

SPEAKER_13 33:12

Yeah, I mean, I suppose from the riders, it's that constant thing of they, I suppose they assume we know exactly how far it is and and and the train that's coming. And it's um, I mean, it's the usual thing. You can't, it's if if someone's really broken and you say, Oh, there's one more little hill to come, and when you are broken, a tiny little rise can seem like a massive mountain. So it's it's hard to it's hard to give them like exact details when someone's broken, they have to sort of judge, you know, judge how they're doing. But the most asked question we get from non-riders or from people outside of the race is are we on e-bikes? Everyone assumes you're on e-bikes, which we're not on e-bikes.

SPEAKER_09 33:51

Real athletes.

SPEAKER_12 33:52

I mean, that is an obvious question. I mean, why why don't they just put in e-bikes? Or if you had the choice, would you say, no, I prefer just to ride it?

SPEAKER_13 34:00

Yeah, we we speak about this a lot. I think we both really, I mean, as Matt said um a bit earlier, we we both really enjoy the challenge of riding it. And there is also this connection point. We are with the riders, we're with them for 10, you know, some events, some years we're with the same riders for like four or five days. So that's 10 hours, 50 hours in a week. You get to know these people pretty well. And if you're spinning on an e-bike next to them saying, come on, it's not that bad. Not to say your engines going, then they won't really listen to you the same as if you're in the heat and in the dust sweating away with them.

SPEAKER_12 34:31

So, no, no, no e-bikes for us. I mean, Richard, you you've you you do a lot of stuff on Instagram, which I think I always find one of the most fascinating Instagram of the of the whole epic is what you you film and see on the back of the field. And I some of the stuff we saw yesterday was incredible. A lot of people saying that the highlights of their of their epic watching is actually watching what you experience at the back there. Is it is it something that you enjoy putting that content out? Do you how what's the motivation behind putting those stories out? What do you think it it shows people?

SPEAKER_13 35:00

Yeah, what I enjoy about it is that whole is that whole unseen part of the race. And I think I hear from a lot of people that they really relate to these guys and girls at the back of the field struggling away. They're not we're not all skinny European riders in our white lacro doing it in three hours. There's like real life stuff happening there and ups and downs, and that's what people I think enjoy enjoy seeing. So I do I do enjoy sharing that.

SPEAKER_10 35:24

So you you don't do it for the tan lines?

SPEAKER_13 35:25

I don't do it for the tan lines.

SPEAKER_10 35:27

Good to know.

SPEAKER_12 35:28

Jens, it's been an absolute privilege chatting to you guys. And uh I think on behalf of all the riders out there, I think we we can thank you very much for all the stuff that you've done for the race over the years. So thank you very much. And uh, and good luck for the rest of the week, Matt. Are you are you what what's what's the stage that you final question for you, actually? You worried about the Queen stage this year?

SPEAKER_08 35:45

So what's a big win? Uh yeah, I think we always we we line bed at the in the B and B every morning where you say, Is it cancelled? Sense of humor, obviously quite important as well. Sense of humor is vital. Because you you experience some sense of humor failures out there with the city. Because you've got a long stage tomorrow, haven't you? 140 kilometers. Tomorrow's gonna be long. And the queen stage, I don't know. The thing is, the the most difficult part of a bike ride is the the part you don't know because you don't know how far it is. And that queen stage, I know pretty much most of it. We've ridden pretty much most of it. So we all know where we are that day. But tomorrow we won't know where we are. So tomorrow will probably be more difficult because you you can look on the profile, you can look on the route, but you actually, if you if you don't know what the next 10Ks looks like, um it's it's it's pretty tricky. So I would say uh tomorrow's gonna be interesting. Well, James, thanks very much, and uh have a good rest this evening.

SPEAKER_12 36:40

You'll be you'll need it for tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Right. So one of the we we talked about the sharp end of the field, but there's another sharp end of the field, and it really has some superstar names in it. So and we got a chance to just talk about the mixed team because uh often we don't give them enough publicity, but this year we have, and we've always had very good contenders in the mixed category, but this year we have two very special characters. The current world XE champion, Jenny Rieswitz, and her husband, Simon Andreason, they are leading that. Nine hours 42 minutes is their total time. Team 69, they're allowed to, they were actually allowed to to dictate what number they wanted, and they decide on team 69. Um, so they they've done extremely, extremely well. But it's amazing to see somebody like Jenny Rieswitz, who could probably compete in the elite women section, just enjoying time with her husband, racing reasonably competitive, enjoying the scenery around here.

SPEAKER_10 37:30

Yeah, I had a chat to them yesterday actually, and and and we had a very unique moment in I think television history for mountain biking. Um, as as the um elite women left um their start yesterday, the mixed had just come through. And at one stage, we literally had Alessandra Keller, XEC world champion, Yenny Resfords, XEO world champion, and Kate Courtney, XCM world champion, all together. And add to that the Olympic gold medal of Yenny Resfords, uh, three of them on live TV in the middle of Africa, taking on some of the most brutal trials of the world. So that's got to be a TV first. And and when I said that to Yenny, she went she looked at me and she had that look and she was like, that's true. That's incredible. Yeah, which I thought. And Simon Anderson, you know, we know his history. He's he his second home here is in South Africa. We know the days when he was with Cannondale with with Alan Hatley. Uh, they then went across to specialise from there. Uh, he's now with Kenyon as a junior in U-23, almost untouchable, you know, and and someone who's had got such a long career of XEO wins at a World Cup level. So two incredible humans, uh, just getting together, uh, a couple in life, partners in life, and partners here at the uhcap Epic in 2026.

SPEAKER_12 38:42

Yeah, well, here we go. Let's have a little chat to Jenny Rieswitz and uh Jenny Rieswitz. Must get that right. And Simon and Dreerson.

SPEAKER_11 38:48

Simon, how was it out there today?

SPEAKER_15 38:51

It was uh dusty, very dusty. But uh no, I would say it was uh different. So yes, it was a lot easier uh the route than yesterday. It was uh more open roads and really a lot of drafting, so yeah, I think it wasn't as rough uh as yesterday, but yeah, we really enjoyed and uh yeah, in the end, another good day on the bike.

SPEAKER_11 39:16

So tell us about your day. I mean you come from obviously an XC background world champion. What's it like riding the epic?

SPEAKER_06 39:24

Uh it's different. Um I enjoyed today better than yesterday, I think, because I we managed to uh work together a little bit more. Yesterday was a lot of climbing, and I had to set the speed, and I didn't really have the advantage of Simon's being being behind him on his wheel. So today was a bit more drafting, so we were going faster at some sections, and then I was pacing myself up the hills, and uh yeah, it was a really good day, I think. Really nice. Why don't you just start to do the epic? Oh, we we started to talk about it as like something that would be fun to do at one point, like maybe when we get older and stuff. And then uh we we thought maybe maybe we do it already this year. And then actually, like one week after that, uh Kenyon reached out to me and asked if I wanted to do the epic, and then I said, Yeah, we've been actually talking about it, and I would love to do it with Simons. So that's yeah, it's happening now, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_12 40:30

Right, so two very interesting characters here at the Absicape Epic in 2026. Now, tomorrow is a big one. It's probably not the biggest one in terms of toughness, but it's the biggest one in terms of one other element, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 40:44

Tell us what the riders are facing tomorrow. So it's a transfer stage. It's the first transfer stage of the 2026 Abscape Epic on bicycles.

SPEAKER_12 40:50

Which means we go from one town to another.

SPEAKER_10 40:52

Correct. So we go from Montague to Grayton. Obviously, after the uh Mirendal stage, the prologue, everyone got in their cars and drove here to Montague. So this one's on the bike, 140 kilometres for the men, uh, 1,750 metres of climbing. For the women, 108 kilometres, 1,450 metres of climbing. Um, so not the toughest stage, but the longest stage. And uh it certainly is a bit of a reset. You know, a lot of the trail, again, a lot of the riders who have have have not ridden here pre-2010 will not have ridden here before. So, isn't that part of the adventure of mountain biking? The ability to to explore, to experience new trails. It's one of the reasons why we get into the the saddle in the first place. So certainly a big day, and and we look again uh at the profile. It's it's a reasonably flat profile, but it looks flat. I think there's a bit of high, isn't there, Gross? It looks flat because it's so long. Yeah, it's it's flattened because it's like a yeah, I know what you're saying. So, yeah, I I think again um it's gonna be exciting. I think tomorrow we will see the legs. We will see who has been on point in the offseason because tomorrow is certainly an opportunity to shake things up. And I wouldn't be surprised if you see that coming before the halfway mark on the men's race and in the women's race, it could come as early as you know the first 30 kilometers because they have that first set of climbing the big drop and then it's just consistent uh meandering. So I think the guys wanting to to go for a stage win, and remember now there's a lot of people wanting a stage win. Vera Losa and Rosa Funduin are very possibly 26 minutes off the pace, stage win on the cards, no doubt about it. Um in the men's race, we know that um there are lots of teams out there who have not yet shown their brass who are being monitored but are more than 15, 20 minutes off the GC. Will they be let go and see what happens? So again, not only racing at the sharp end, but protecting the lead and the opportunity that that comes with uh wanting to uh take a stage win at the greatest race uh in the world for Mountain Bike.

SPEAKER_12 42:58

Absolutely. Don't forget you can follow all the live coverage on YouTube every single day. The most amazing coverage, literally from the time the gun goes off in the morning right to the finishing line, and you'll see all the live footage out there, some amazing just technology involved and how they bring that too. There's the the as we talked about, the hyenas at the back, we've got the people in the e-bikes following the elite guys in front. Amazing images coming from that. So if you're if you're listening to us now, don't forget tomorrow or any other day this week until Sunday, you can catch it live on YouTube, the live action from the greatest mountain bike stage race in the world. That's for all from us for now. We'll see you tomorrow.