ENTER SANDMAN
STAGE 2
START Hermanus High
School, Hermanus
FINISH Oak Valley
Estate, Elgin
86
KM 2250 M
DISTANCE
CLIMBING
RATING
150 | MTB | The Untamed African MTB Race
THE ROUTE
A teaspoon of cement is in order for the first moving day of the 2019 Absa Cape Epic,
as it packs challenge after challenge into its relatively brief 86km. Tyre choice and
pressure are sure to be decisive on Stage 2 where 10 arduous kilometres within the first
half of the day could prove definitive. The stage starts with an ascent of Rotary Drive
before crossing out of the Hemel en Aarde Valley to the west – into the sandman’s
playground. Dubbed The Machine, for the mysterious landowner known only by that
moniker, it provides a steep ascent followed by the day’s Land Rover Technical Terrain, a
rollercoaster ride along a trail carved out by motocross bikes. The key point of the stage
is a brand new singletrack, cut into the Hottentots Holland Mountains by Wildekrans’
Braam Gericke. This 6km climb gains over 500m in elevation and has been named the
Wildekrans Tokoloshe.