His partners have been plagued by misfortune, starting with Urs Huber in 2011. Sören Nissen is as experienced as Looser, though, and knows how to avoid unnecessary risks in stage races. The 2022 Absa Cape Epic will be Nissen’s 4th start and like Looser his best result is an 11th place finish. He too is eager to improve on that. “I believe a good result would be a top 10 in the general classification,” Nissen stated. “If everything goes perfectly, I think that a top 5 is also possible! … And if you go top 5… the podium isn’t that far away anymore!”

“I mean, it’s always good to dream right!” he laughed.

Looser is more circumspect and understandably so. “Personally, it would be a very big relief just to finish the race on a high note” the 3-time Swiss Epic podium finisher mooted. “I tried it so many times, but unfortunately, the Absa Cape Epic produced more dramas and disappointments for me in the past. Mostly they were not in my hands! So, finishing strong with Sören at my side would mean a lot!”

While the Team Looser / Nissen riders have taken on sage races as a partnership before, it will be their first Absa Cape Epic together. “I have been racing against Sören for many years, but we only raced as a team for the first-time last year at the 4Islands stage race in Croatia,” Looser confirmed. “As we are both individual riders, with our own team, it’s easier to team up. Once we did, we saw we match well together. After 4Islands we rode another Epic Series event, the Swiss Epic, in Graubünden, together. We came home with a 3rd place in the general classification and the race was a great success overall.”

“We’re sure that our riding styles, which are very similar, suit the Absa Cape Epic perfectly and our huge experience will help us as well” Looser concluded. “We are kind of similar riders” Nissen confirmed, before adding with a smile: “Diesel engines!”

“We don’t talk much either, we just pedal. I guess that could be our slogan,” he impishly added. “I believe to achieve a good result at the Absa Cape Epic it’s really important to be able zoom in and only focus on the race. To try not to think too much about other things. Our ability to focus is certainly our strength as a team.”

Mountain biking fans can share Nissen and Looser’s laser beam focus on the 2022 Absa Cape Epic by watching every stage live, from the 20th to the 27th of March. Visit cape-epic.com to follow all the action.