After the successful performance of our employee Björn and his team-mate Hans-Jürgen at last year’s edition of the Absa Cape Epic, we will have two Bike-Discount teams competing in the world’s toughest MTB marathon in 2024. The race kicks off with the prologue on March 17, but you can of course already take a look at the equipment our four riders have chosen for this huge challenge.
Contents
The race
In 2024, the route of the Absa Cape Epic will once again be a tough one. The teams of two have to cover a total of 617 km in the prologue and the subsequent 7 stages – not to mention the 16,500 metres of elevation gain. This means an average altitude difference of 27 metres per kilometre ridden. There is no question that the 20th edition of the South African stage race lives up to its reputation as one of the greatest challenges for mountain bikers.
Our teams
Team Bike-Discount Northwave
Our employee Björn will once again be riding alongside his team-mate Hans-Jürgen in 2024. Both will do everything they can to improve on last year’s performance and finish even higher up the rankings.
Björn Glasner, born in 1973, is a former racing cyclist and has taken part in the German Cycling Championships and the Tour of Thailand during his career. In 2004, he won the Rheinland-Pfalz Tour. Björn is participating in the Absa Cape Epic for the second time this year, after finishing 25th in the “Masters” category with his team-mate Hans-Jürgen in 2023.
Hans-Jürgen Juretzek was a German U23 mountain bike champion in his younger years. He returned to cycling in 2018 after a 12-year break. Hans-Jürgen has already successfully completed the Absa Cape Epic twice. In 2022, he finished 30th in the “Men” category and 25th in the “Masters” category in 2023.
For their return to the Absa Cape Epic, Hans-Jürgen and Björn have specifically chosen the Mondraker F-PODIUM RR XC-MTB and adapted the equipment and accessories to the challenges of the world’s toughest marathon stage race.
As for the wheels, our two riders have opted for the particularly light, stiff and yet good-natured DT Swiss XRC 1200 Spline® 29″ 30mm Carbon CL Boost and fitted them with a Maxxis tyre combination.
Hans-Jürgen and Björn are cycling with Extreme XCM 4 MTB shoes from Northwave and Garmin Rally™ XC200 power meter pedals , while their eyes are focussed on the route and the Garmin Edge 840 Solar GPS bike computer.
To protect their valuable bikes, Björn and Hans-Jürgen both travelled to South Africa with an Evoc Bike Bag Pro.
Team Bike-Discount PaiN
Paul and Niklas want to put their combined Cape Epic experience together in 2024 in order to achieve a good place in the overall standings.
Paul Häuser, born in 1998, has been mountain biking since the age of about 10 and is studying for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering in Aachen. He can look back on victories at La Hallonienne and the VulkanBike Eifel Marathon. This year will be Paul’s third participation in the Absa Cape Epic, where he came 30th in the men’s category in 2022.
Niclas Ranker, born in 1996, has been riding his MTB since the age of around 8 and lives in Cologne. He has victories at Sundern-Hagen and the VulkanBike Eifel Marathon to his name. In 2024, Niclas will be taking part in the Absa Cape Epic for the second time.
Paul and Niklas from Team Bike-Discount PaiN are riding the Cube AMS ZERO99 C:68X Race at the Absa Cape Epic. Both have DT Swiss wheels and are keeping a close eye on their performance data with the SIGMA ROX 12.1 EVO sensor. When it comes to tyres, both Niklas and Paul rely on the Pirelli SCORPION™ XC RC and the yellow Pirelli SmartSEAL sealant. We too are so impressed with this combination that we are offering it as a set, with the 240 ml bottle of sealant being on the house to celebrate the start of the Cape Epic.
