 | It’s bye-bye to Absa Cape Epic riders as Executive Mayor sees them off
24 March 2025 | Press Releases |
An exciting last day of the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Race’s four-day stint in Paarl in Drakenstein Municipality, official destination partner of this prestigious event.
At Fairview, Paarl bade a fond farewell to the Epic when the Executive Mayor of Drakenstein Municipality, Councillor Stephen Korabie, shot the starting gun to get the riders on their way to Lourensford in Somerset West on Stage 5.
The riders left with fond memories despite the scorching heat that challenged them physically and mentally since they arrived here from Meerendal in Durbanville on Tuesday. The impeccable but challenging Paarl Mountain trails made them work hard on Wednesday. Stage 3, on Wednesday, was shortened from 90 km to 78 km due to a weather warning of extreme heat in the Paarl region. Approximately 150 m of climbing was also chopped off the stage.
Cooler weather welcomed the riders on the 3rd day, but the humidity and dust did not make things easier. Welcome rain came later in the afternoon but by then the riders have finished the stage already.
Legendary Danish rider Annika Langvad will surely not forget the spectacular Paarl trails easily. On Wednesday, 19 March 2025, she first went down on a tight hairpin corner early into the race before taking another tumble on a dry and dusty singletrack descent but was lucky to escape unscathed.
“I was lucky to walk away from two crashes without any major damage. It was insanely hot out there today and we really just wanted to ride conservatively. We didn’t want to push too hard. It was all about maintaining a lead today.”
Langvad’s partner Gomez Villafane added that the conditions made racing tough. “The hardest part was the lack of visibility out there. It’s so dusty that you couldn’t really see much in front of you,” she said after Stage 3.
The Paarl “gees” was incredible during the four days, with school kids and adults alike coming out in their numbers to cheer the riders on. Kudos to the two “#VisitPaarl – powered by Drakenstein Municipality” riders, Justin van Niekerk and Kris Coetzee – both Drakenstein Municipality staff members – for flying the flag for Paarl with so much pride.
Drakenstein Municipality wants to send a shoutout to our partners, Paarl Trails and Visit Paarl, all our businesses, schools and our cycling fraternity, our broader community and enthusiastic supporters for putting Paarl's best foot forward with us, and making this a truly once-in-a-lifetime Absa Cape Epic for the riders and organisers. Without you it would not have been possible.
This has been an unparallelled opportunity for us to put our city and exceptional trails right up there on the world stage, and we aced it!
As programme director Dan Nicholl summed it up at the Absa Cape Epic Rider Dining Event: "Expect international riders to be back to try out your trails."
He continued to say: "We say goodbye to beautiful Paarl and your beautiful people. Thank you to the Executive Mayor and Dr Johan Leibbrandt, City Manager, and your team for having us and giving us such a warm welcome."
So, it's bye-bye Cape Epic, it was indeed a pleasure and thrill having you in our exquisite town…
