USWE GRIT Episode 2

The first stage of the Absa Cape Epic 2022 is taking our athletes on a 92-kilometer journey into the wilderness of South Africa. Exposed under the extreme heat of the sun you are really put to the test, and you must perform your absolute best to have the energy for the brutal 2850m of climbing. There’s nowhere to hide!

The dream team of multiple world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and the experienced mtb cyclist Robyn De Groot is currently the leaders in the Womens class. They are maybe rivals competing on other races, but now they are fighting side by side in this extreme heat hydrated by using the USWE MTB Hydro 3 and the Outlander Pro hydration pack. It's Robyns last Cape Epic race, so she’ll definitely be pushing all limits all the way to the finish line at the final stage.

Exposed

The winning team of stage one was the Canyon Northwave MTB with a time of 04:57:36.7 (hydrated by USWE Outlander Pro ) The rest of the athletes and weekend warriors rode for more than 5+ hours, totally exposed to the South African sun.

Hydration is a key element when racing under extreme heat conditions, long distances, and multiple days of racing such as at the Absa Cape Epic. If you don't stay hydrated you will quickly loose energy and you’ll risk getting dehydrated (dehydrated = stop racing). Many of the cyclists at the Absa Cape Epic are wearing hydration packs at the marathon stages, to minimize the risk of getting dehydrated and to have the flexibility of using both bottles and hydration packs to dose the right amount of nutrition, without having to stop at every water point.