take the epic quiz
Epic Quiz
Test your Absa Cape Epic knowledge with our multiple-choice quiz. Then send it to your riding buddies and see who fairs best.
Q1: From where to where did the first ever Absa Cape Epic stage take riders?
- Knysna to Knysna
- Knysna to Uniondale
- Knysna to Avontuur
- Knysna to George
Correct answer is:
Knysna to George
The inaugural stage of the first Absa Cape Epic, in 2004, took riders from Knysna to the Saasveld University campus, in George, covering 120km with 3 050m of climbing.
Q2: It’s well-established Absa Cape Epic lore that Mannie Heymans and Karl Platt were the first men’s winners of the race. But who won the women’s race in 2004?
- Hanlie Booyens and Sharon Laws
- Hanlie Booyens and Hannele Steyn
- Zoe Frost and Hannele Steyn
- Sally Bigham and Sharon Laws
Correct answer is:
Hanlie Booyens and Sharon Laws
Booyens and Laws won their first of two Absa Cape Epic titles together in the first year of the race. The pair doubled up 5 years later, winning once again in 2009, becoming the first women’s team to win more than one edition together until Annika Langvad and Ariane Lüthi backed up their 2014 victory in 2015.
Q3: Which was the longest ever stage of the Absa Cape Epic (thus far…)? From where to where did the first ever Absa Cape Epic stage take riders?
- 2007 Stage 6: Montagu to Villiersdorp
- 2005 Stage 2: George to Herbertsdale
- 2008 Stage 5: Swellendam to Bredasdorp
- 2006 Stage 3: Mossel Bay to Riversdale
Correct answer is:
2008 Stage 5: Swellendam to Bredasdorp
The 146km 2008 Stage 5 from Swellendam to Bredasdorp is officially the longest (yet) stage of the Absa Cape Epic, pipping 2005’s Stage 2, which measured 144km in length.
Q4: Most MTB fans know that Christoph Sauser, Karl Platt and Annika Langvad have each won 5 Absa Cape Epics. But who has the most victories across all the categories?
- Bärti Bucher
- Bart Brentjens
- Ariane Lüthi
- Christoph Sauser
Correct answer is:
Bart Brentjens
Along with his 2005 Men’s category victory, with Roel Paulissen, Brentjens has won 4 Masters and 3 Grand Masters titles, taking his total to 8, ahead of Bucher (6 in total: 1 Mixed, 2 Masters and 3 Grand Masters), Sauser (6 in total: 5 Men’s and 1 Masters), Karl Platt (6 in total: 5 Men’s and 1 Masters) and Lüthi (5 in total: 3 Women’s and 2 Mixed).
Q5: A number of WorldTour road racers have raced the Absa Cape Epic after their careers on the road, but who won the race before switching from knobbly tyres to slicks and enjoying a highly successful road career?
- Cadel Evans
- Joaquim Rodriguez
- Anna van der Breggen
- Jakob Fuglsang
Correct answer is:
Jakob Fuglsang
Fuglsang won the Absa Cape Epic as a fresh faced 23-year-old, for Cannondale Vredestein, alongside Roel Paulissen. Later that year he joined CSC–Saxo Bank as a stagiaire before signing for the team full time in 2009.
Q6: Who gave Topeak-Ergon’s Kristian Hynek a wheel in 2014 enabling Hynek and Robert Mennen to finish Stage 5 and win the race overall after the Czech rider suffered a double puncture?
- Markus Kaufmann (Centurion Vaude)
- Frantizek Rabon (Meerendal Songo Specialized)
- Roel Paulissen (Torpado Factory)
- Karl Platt (Team Bulls)
Correct answer is:
Markus Kaufmann (Centurion Vaude)
In what is lauded as the greatest show of sportsmanship in the history of the Absa Cape Epic Kaufmann sacrificed a wheel for Hynek, after the Czech rider punctured both his front and back tyres about 40km into the 115km stage. Kaufmann and Jochen Kaess were well down on the general classification due to Kaufmann’s frame breaking on Stage 2.
Q7: Name the only team to win all 8 stages of an edition of the Absa Cape Epic.
- Ariane Lüthi and Annika Langvad
- Annika Langvad and Kate Courtney
- Sina Frei and Laura Stigger
- Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander
Correct answer is:
Sina Frei and Laura Stigger
In 2021 Sina Frei and Laura Stigger completely dominated the women’s race winning every stage, with NinetyOne Songo Specialized team manger Benno Willeit saying: “presents are for Christmas” when asked if the team would take it easy on the final stage rather than go for victory once more.
Q8: Which of the Last Lions failed to finish the 2022 race, reducing the pack of riders who have completed every edition from 4 to 3?
- John Gale
- Craig Beech
- Mike Nixon
- Hannele Steyn
Correct answer is:
Craig Beech
After suffering in the heat on Stage 1, Beech was taken to hospital for observation overnight and was unable to ride Stage 2 of his 18th Absa Cape Epic.
Q9: Which year, and between which teams, was the closest ever Absa Cape Epic margin of victory?
- 2022: Speed Company Racing to Canyon Northwave
- 2007: Team Bulls to Cannondale Vredestein
- 2013: Burry Stander – SONGO to Team Bulls
- 2009: Team Bulls to Trek-Brentjens
Correct answer is:
2022: Speed Company Racing
to Canyon Northwave
Speed Company Racing overturned a 2 minute and 45 second deficit on the final stage to win the 2022 Absa Cape Epic by 3 minutes and 2.4 seconds over Canyon Northwave. The previous closest margin of victory was 3 minutes and 23.3 seconds between Team Bulls and Cannondale Vredestein.
Q10: Who did Nino Schurter make his Absa Cape Epic debut alongside?
- Philip Buys
- Lars Forster
- Matthias Stirnemann
- Florian Vogel
Correct answer is:
Florian Vogel
Schurter began his Absa Cape Epic career alongside fellow Swiss Florian Vogel in 2010, racing to 13th overall, the pair returned in 2013 also finishing 13th overall. In 2014 Schurter raced with South African Philip Buys, his only non-Swiss Absa Cape Epic partner thus far.