23 Mar 2022

National Cycling Mountain Bike (MTB) rider, Bakang Ebudilwe is off to a good start at the ongoing Absa Cape Epic in Western Cape. 

Paired with South African cyclist, William Mokgopo, the 1Race combo completed the Absa Cape Epic 92km stage 1 on Monday, 15 minutes before the cut off time. 

The pair traversed the harsh conditions and intense 2 850m of climbing, clocking 9:31:38:2 navigating around the Helderberg Basin, in Lourensford Wine Estate. 

“Stage one was very brutal, I have never endured anything so intense in my cycling career,” stated Ebudilwe. 

The category winner, Suenos Café CBZ Asfalto pair from Costa Rica clocked 06:51:06:2, giving 1Race team a time difference of 03:20:28.

1Race Team registered 01:36:04:9 for the 24km Cape Epic prologue on Sunday, claiming position 21 in the mixed category. 

The pair was 19 minutes 28 seconds behind the category winners Absa mixed team from Namibia and South Africa, who clocked 01:16:36.7. 

“We had a bit of a mechanical glitch with my saddle and my chains going dry due to the dust and we had to stop to fix,” said Ebudilwe. She noted that she managed her debut with the help of her partner, Mokgopo, who is more experienced. “This was Mokgopo’s 7th Cape Epic, and it was a great help for me as he kept telling me what to do during our ride,” she said.

The Botswana/South Africa pair improved their general classification, as they moved six notches up, from position 363 in the prologue stage to position 357 in stage one of the Absa Cape Epic. BOPA