Race Report: Cape Epic Prologue
Team Kappius/Sir Richards fourth in prologue as Cape Epic gets real
The wilds of Africa await competitors in the 2014 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race in South Africa. Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS.
Starting today, Mtbr will follow the trials and tribulations of the Team Kappius/Sir Richard’s Condom duo of Thomas Dooley and Mike Hogan as they do battle in the grand masters division of the Absa Cape Epic stage race in South Africa.
Cape Epic is a week-long, 450-mile cross country race that racks up an impressive 48,000 feet of climbing as its route traverses South Africa’s Western Cape region. The race is contested by two-person teams and began yesterday with a time trial prologue that saw the Kappius/Sir Richard team finish fourth in the grand masters division and 66th overall.
The Absa Cape Epic teams each get number plates and a GPS tracker for live tracking via the race’s website. Photo courtesy Team Kappius/Sir Richard’s.
But rather than the typical “we raced hard now we hurt bad” reports these events usually produce, we asked Dooley and Hogan to provide us with some insights into the race—what people are riding, what it takes to do a race like this, and how the race organizers pull it all off. Today’s entry is just a teaser, but we’ll have much more to add as the race progresses.
Photo courtesy Team Kappius/Sir Richard’s.
Dooley and Hogan are Cannondale Scalpel 29er Carbons equipped with Kappius’ new, 355-gram KR-29 carbon 29er mountain bike rem and Kappius KH-1 hubs (left). Meanwhile, an army of Evoc gear bags await the competitors at the frenzied registration on Saturday (right).
Photo courtesy Team Kappius/Sir Richard’s.
Dooley hangs with pro rider and race favorite Jose Hermida (top left), while Hogan takes his bike for a shake-down ride (right). Hogan’s daughter Anna will be using the Kappius/Sir Richard’s team Jeep to help with logistics and provide media updates.
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