Last year's winner Jaroslav Kulhavy will be back to defend his title on March 17, but not his partner from last year, Howard Grotts. The US-American's preparations were thrown out of kilter by a persistent illness in February. He therefore decided to hand over his place to a rider in good form. This is none other than Sam Gaze - the first New Zealand winner of a World Cup race.

Gaze may not have any Epic experience, but neither did Grotts. Kulhavy also has enough experience to win the race with Gaze. It would be the Czech's fourth overall victory.

Not a scored thing

It's not just Kulhavy and Gaze who want to win. Three other pairings also want to be at the top of the podium after eight days of racing. Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht both have what it takes to win overall. The two Scott athletes are also likely to be more than a little hungry for revenge after their elimination with their partners last year.

Three times they were in the race, three times it wasn't enough in the end: Manuel Fumic (GER) and his Brazilian team-mate Henrique Avancini are well prepared for their fourth Epic participation. After two fourth and one third place, they are definitely capable of winning the overall. And after the tide has often turned against them, another team could be affected by a turnaround this time.

A twist in Canyon's team history, the team ceased operations after last season, produced a new top pairing. Austrian Alban Lakata was not out of work for long and signed with Bulls. It is not surprising that he and Karl Platt form the spearhead of the Bulls armada at the Cape Epic. Their wealth of experience is immense, so victory is also possible for this pairing. It would also be Lakata's first overall Cape Epic victory.

Behind the top favorites, there are around a handful of other teams who are good for top places on individual stages as well as in the overall classification. These include a number of Swiss riders: Nicola Rohrbach will join Konny Looser on the "big game hunt", Urs Huber will ride with Bulls team colleague Simon Stiebjahn (GER) and Lars Forster will pedal together with South African Gert Heyns for his Epic premiere.

Not to be forgotten: Christoph Sauser is also back at the start. Prepared with numerous ski tours, the newly minted coffee roaster will introduce the young, Danish talent Simon Andreassen to the art of Cape Epic riding.

Langvad for fifth or Lüthi for fourth?

In the women's race, there are only new pairings among the favored teams. Annika Langvad won the Cape Epic for the fourth time in 2018 and for the first time with Kate Courtney. However, the Californian will not take part in the stage race after switching teams, with Anna Van der Breggen (NED) making her debut at Langvad's side instead.

Van der who? The Dutchwoman may not yet be well known in the wider world of mountain biking, but she is all the more so in road racing. Van der Breggen is the reigning world champion and Olympic champion. Although not in the World Cup, she has already celebrated several successes in other international mountain bike races. Her physical abilities paired with Langvad's experience make the Dutch-Danish duo the most highly traded.

Switzerland's Ariane Lüthi, who is riding with her Kross team colleague Maja Wloszczowska for the first time, is up against a victory for the pair. The latter needs no introduction. Even though the Polish rider is riding the Cape Epic for the first time, as one of the world's best cross-country and marathon riders, she should also master this eight-day test well. The declared goal of both - victory. For Lüthi, it would be fourth place.

Spitz' missing piece of the career puzzle

Sabine Spitz has taken part in the Cape Epic three times, three of which failed to achieve overall victory. It is a piece of the puzzle in Spitz's career that she is still missing. The former cross-country world champion and Olympic champion wanted to get this together with Robyn De Groot, but the South African injured herself and had to take a longer break from racing.


Finding a strong partner turned out to be difficult for Spitz. But in her compatriot Nadine Rieder she found a suitable partner in time. Rieder will have to count on Spitz's experience to be able to ride at the front.

One prologue, seven stages

The Cape Epic starts on Sunday, March 17 with the prologue in Cape Town. As usual, the teams will start the race individually in time trial mode. The first stage of the stage race rides from the coastal town of Hermanus inland. Seven stages, over 600 kilometers and 16,000 vertical meters later, the participants reach the finish at the Val de Vie wine estate in Paarl.

www.cape-epic.com