Centurion Vaude, with two podiums in the last three editions, are among the foremost stage race teams in the recent history of the Absa Cape Epic. The pressure will thus be on Daniel Geismayr and Jochen Käß to continue the team’s strong performances, but with Tristan de Lange and Vinzent Dorn riding in support of their cause the experienced duo could once again place well on the general classification standings.
Geismayr is a proved marathon specialist, with a silver and bronze medal in the last two editions of the XCM World Championships. He also placed third at the 2017 Absa Cape Epic, alongside Nicola Rohrbach. Käß meanwhile is the inaugural e-bike World Champion – having won the crown in Sillian, Austria – last year. He and Geismayr have proven a winning combination before, claiming the 2017 Swiss Epic victory over Konny Looser and Oliver Zurbrugg.
With new Centurion Vaude teammate, Dorn and, their temporary addition to the squad, De Lange providing support Geismayr and Käß have insurance in the case of a mechanical or serious puncture. “Our riders underwent a special preparation for the Absa Cape Epic, including some training camps at warmer places than Germany and of course we did a lot performance testing” the Centurion Vaude team manager Bernd Reutemann explained.
Elaborating on their build-up Reutemann continued: “But not only the riders, also our team mechanics were and still are preparing for this big race; constantly searching for small bits and pieces to optimize. In the run-up to the Absa Cape Epic, we will also take part at the Tankwa Trek for the final tuning. And finally we have set up a second team with our team newbie Vinzent Dorn together with the Namibian local rider Tristan de Lange. These two young guns will complement our long-time top riders Daniel Geismayr and Jochen Käß.”
“Like the years before, the 2019 edition of the Absa Cape Epic has a superb starting field with a lot of high-class teams and riders” Reutemann reflected. “For us it will already be the 9thparticipation in the Absa Cape Epic. With two stage wins last year and a solid 5thplace overall we already showed that Team Centurion Vaude can be counted on, even under unlucky circumstances like last year. In 2017 we even finished on the podium so for this year the goal is clear! We will go all in and hope for the best of luck.”
Karl Platt and Christoph Sauser win NTT Masters category in fine style
