The UCI Rider press conference – on Friday, 14 March 2025 – provided the media and perhaps the rival teams an opportunity to gain some insights into the frame of mind some of the key protagonists are taking into the 21st Absa Cape Epic. Karl Platt and Christoph Sauser reignited their rivalry, ahead of their NTT Data Masters showdown before a number of the top men’s and women’s teams took to the stage. Then Jonathan Meintjes, the IRONMAN group’s Head of Mountain Biking EMEA, announced a significant increase in the prize purse. Which increased the incentive for the men’s top two ranked teams when they faced off, as the final quartet on stage, and will surely spur them on during the week’s racing too.

Platt and Sauser’s battles defined a decade of Absa Cape Epic racing. Now both in their 40s and having raced together, in 2022, the animosity has gone from their rivalry.  That does however not mean that either would be content to cede a category victory to the other. Since departing the elite ranks Platt has won 3 NTT Data Masters titles, while Sauser only has a single age-category crown to add to the 5 elite victories.

“I think I’m an addict,” Platt laughed when asked what brings him back to South Africa every March. The German has started every edition of the race, to-date. “I love it,” he confessed. “But it’s a race, first and foremost, so we want to win. Racing against Christoph [Sauser] just means it’ll be a fiercer race throughout the 8 days.”

ORBEA Leatt Speed Company Racing and Klimatiza ORBEA are just as certain the battle with be tough throughout the event. As one of the few teams who have remained consistent in their make-up throughout the last four editions Lukas Baum and Georg Egger hold a significant advantage over new pairings like Samuele Porro and Marc Stutzmann.

“A stage racing partnership is like any friendship or relationship, there are no shortcuts to building an understanding,” Baum reflected. “You have to forge it though shared experiences during good times and hard times, with tears, laughter and sweat.”

Porro noted that he and Stutzmann will be relying on non-verbal communication to a greater extent. “I have some Spanish,” the Italian stated. “But no German and Marc [Stutzmann] is still learning Spanish to communicate with the Klimatiza ORBEA staff. When we speak on the bike we’ll have to speak English then. We have raced with and against each other a lot over the years though, so we should be okay not actually speaking too much.”

The opposite is probably true for the Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM and Titan Racing Safari Essence Honeycomb. Vera Looser is renowned as one of the best teammates in the UCI Women’s field. In her 4 Absa Cape Epic’s to date she has raced with 4 different partners, all of whom speak highly of her interpersonal skills. Having learnt a tremendous amount in her first outing, alongside Looser, Alexis Skarda is more prepared for what awaits this time out.

“I’ve arrived in South Africa feeling ready,” the American Marathon Champion smiled. “The logistics and moving parts of the Absa Cape Epic make it an intimidating event to prepare for on the other side of the world. This year I did more base miles, to be ready for the long days, but I also packed a lot more efficiently.”

Efficiency on and off the bike was one of the watch words of the press conference and should act as a warning to debutant, Bianca Haw. “I’ve been told we need to ride conservatively, initially at least,” she laughed. “But when the gun goes it’s hard not to go all in!” “I think we can finish strong and push for a podium place,” Haw’s teammate Hayley Preen stated. “I finished well last year, and ended up in 4th, so I’d love to better that this year.”

Two teams who will also be chasing a podium place, at the very least, are the Imbuko ChemChamp and Buff Megamo squads. Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje are the best all-South African hopes since Matt Beers and Alan Hatherly teamed up in 2019. “We’ve done the work, and been focused since November,” Nortje said. “This is the Absa Cape Epic where both Marco [Joubert] and I can show what we can do!”

“Martin [Stošek] is certainly no Plan B,” Wout Alleman emphasised, when asked about Hans Becking’s withdrawal and Stošek’s introduction into the Buff Megamo team. “He is one of the world’s best marathon and stage racers, we are up for whatever the race holds.”

Having finished 3rd in 2024, after wearing yellow for two days, Alleman would dearly love to finish an Absa Cape Epic as strongly as he started the last one. In Stošek he has a partner who also has unfished business with the race, after losing the lead on the final day of the 2022 edition. Their Buff Megamo squad-mates, Rosa van Doorn and Janina Wüst could play off the men’s fighting spirit.

Van Doorn and Wüst have the unenviable task of lining up as the second ranked UCI Women’s team, and of going head-to-head against Annika Langvad. Though much has changed for the Dane, since her last Absa Cape Epic victory in 2019, the birth of her daughter has not diminished her will to win. “Annika [Langvad] is a racer,” her teammate Sofia Gomez Villafane praised. “Annika likes to win, and so do I!”

That competitive spirit is what has made Gomez Villafane one of the most watchable riders in the field. The commitment she, and her fellow UCI professionals show to the sport inspired the Epic Series to increase the prize purse for the 2025 edition. “The total prize money has been increased by 27%, or R 900 000, for 2025,” Meintjes revealed. “This means that the winning men’s and women’s teams will each take home R350 000. The stage prizes have also been doubled, with positions down to 10th being paid out on each day. Stage winners in the UCI categories will now receive R10 000 for their efforts. There is also R50 000 on the line for the Absa African Jersey competitions, for the best-placed all-African men’s and women’s teams.”

Another exciting bonus is the introduction of King and Queen of the Mountain hotpot prizes for Stages 1, 3, 5, and 7. “A R15 000 KOM and QOM prize will be awarded to the first UCI Men’s and first UCI Women’s team over the Rhino Climb, on Stage 1, the Dryland climb, on Stage 3, at the Coetzenburg spectator spot on the Queen Stage, and atop The Neck, on the final day,” Meintjes said. “As has been the case since 2014, when the Absa Cape Epic set the trend for mountain biking events globally, the UCI Women will receive equal prize money to the UCI Men.”

This increase in prize money caught the double defending champion’s attention. “They didn’t have to increase the prize money, but it is very welcome,” Beers stated. Not that a greater financial reward is the primary motivation for the South African.

Sitting across from the 10-time cross country World Champion and the rider regarded as the greatest mountain biker of all time, Nino Schurter, Beers admitted: “With respect to Nino [Schurter], winning when he lines up is sweeter.” Doing so in 2025 should, one imagines, be enough to claim the overall victory, though the Swiss star himself is not as sure.

“This year’s line-up is probably the strongest ever,” he cautioned. “Along with the world’s top marathon specialists there are 4 of last year’s top 10 ranked cross-country riders in the UCI Men’s field. It’s going to be a very fast edition!”

How the likes of Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto, of WILIER-VITTORIA, will go in their maiden Absa Cape Epic remains to be seen. Their cross-country power has their rival’s attention, and Schurter expects a particularly fast opening few days. “The Prologue and Stage 1 are always full gas,” he recalled. “Stage 2’s time trial will make things interesting too and that’ll be very hard, after that – on Stage 3 – the race should settle into a bit of a rhythm. It will still take a lot of focus and energy to maintain a good position in the group though, as it is the only way to get through smoothly, to help avoid the bad luck of mechanicals and crashes.”

Looking across at the Scott SRAM team Beers concluded: “There is no real chink in their armour. It’s going to be a tough battle. Not just with Nino [Schurter] and Filipo [Colombo], but with so many teams in the stacked field. To be honest I think the fans are looking forward to it more than we are, that’s how fierce it’s going to be!”

To follow the fierce racing as it unfolds mountain biking fans can tune in to the live broadcast on the Epic Series’ YouTube channel. The live coverage begins on Sunday, 16 March, at 06:45 (SAST | UTC +2) and a reminder to watch the race can be set by clicking here. For more behind the scenes stories from the race like the Cape Epic Facebook page, or follow @capeepic pm Instagram handle, or @CapeEpic on X.