In 2014 Philip Buys, riding with then Cross Country World Champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland, won two stages of the Absa Cape Epic. Matthys Beukes, riding with Gert Heyns, won the prestigious Grand Finale, the final stage.
South Africans Buys and Beukes, who happen to be good friends and finished sixth together in the 2013 race, are reunited this year as teammates for Scott Factory Racing. Their pedigree indicates they will be racing at the sharp end of the field from March 15 to 22.
Can they win it? The strength of the competition suggests that a betting person might regard Buys and Beukes as outsiders, but such a person would also be aware that the Absa Cape Epic has become a major objective for both riders. They will, however, start as slight favourites for the red Absa African jersey – for the first team from the continent to finish.
Buys said that they would be aiming to finish in the top three overall: “A podium finish will be our primary goal, and I’m sure the Absa African jersey will be on our shoulders if we are in that podium position.”
They will, however, face challenges in the “race within a race” for the African jersey from some other strong South African combinations. These include veteran Kevin Evans – himself a four times stage winner in his 10 races (and nine finishes) to date – and Max Knox (Biogen-Volcan), in excellent form recently.
Photo by Karin Schermbrucker | Cape Epic | SPORTZPICS
Erik Kleinhans and Nico Bell (RECM) have the firepower to be major contenders for the jersey, but may be held back by their support duties for Investec Songo Specialized pair Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) and Jaroslav Kukhavy (Czech Republic). These duties often mean sacrificing equipment or taking time helping to mend broken bikes and therefore having to abandon any personal ambition.
There are several young South African teams taking part who might also challenge for the red jersey.
The aforementioned Heyns has teamed up with Arno du Toit and will be supporting Buys and Beukes as Scott factory Racing 2. These youngsters – respectively 21 and 22-years-old – have a great future ahead of them but will probably be more than happy with a top 10 finish this year.
Then there’s USN’s Rourke Croeser and Travis Walker, both 23-years-old and starting to notch up some great results, or the Contego Swift Carbon pairing of Lourens Luus and Adriaan Louw, also on the verge of kick-starting potentially great careers.
A South African woman who will have podium ambitions is Ascendis Health’s Robyn de Groot, riding with Sweden’s Jennie Stenerhag, who lives in Stellenbosch and has been adopted by South Africans as one of their own.
Other local women who might be eyeing the podium include Theresa Ralph and Jeannie Bomford (RBS) and Yolande de Villiers, who is riding with Slovak Janka Keseg Stevkova (SasolRacing).
In the Masters Category Nico Pfitzenmaier (German born but who has taken up South African citizenship) and Robert Sim (Dorma/Robert Daniel) will be in with good shot at the top step of the podium. Warren Squires and Nic White (Absa Corporate Masters) finished third in the category last year and will be hoping to go up a step or two this year.
In the Grandmasters category Andrew Mclean and Greg Andersen (Ascendis Health) will form a powerful combination and will be hoping to see off the formidable Austrian/Swiss pairing of Heinz Zoerweg and Barti Bucher (Meerendal BIXS KTM).
The mixed category might be wide open this year and two South Africans, Justice Makhale and Rozalia Kubwana (Exxaro/PWC2), have stated their desire to be on the podium. Others in with a shot might be Hanele Steyn and Fourie Kotze (Zurreal) or former Springbok Joel Stransky and road racing legend Anriette Schoeman (Liquifruit).
*This year’s race takes place from 15 to 22 March and will once again take 1 200 riders through some of the Western Cape’s most unspoilt territory. The race kicks off with the Prologue in Table Mountain National Park, starting from the University of Cape Town, and finishes eight days later at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville.
Meerendal will host the finish of the race and the Grand Finale celebrations for the first time. The Grand Finale will kick off with live entertainment, a farmer’s market, great food and wine and unmatched scenery. Vantage points will be accessible to the general public. Entrance is free.
