Villafane had some big shoes to fill when lining up at the 2022 Absa Cape Epic. Before her lay a string of victories, with a perfect score in the Cm.com Women’s category. Think of the names that were engraved on the trophy: Lüthi, Langvad, Courtney, van der Breggen, Stigger, Frei. Defying the doubters, her and Batten took over the race lead on Stage 1 and managed their week perfectly to take a historic first victory for Argentina. After that breakout performance, Villafine switched her focus to gravel racing and returned to mountain biking at the World Championships in Les Gets to ride XCO, XCC and also eMTB – a strong a varied build up. Nash is the most versatile athlete in the field – she’s competed in both summer and winter Olympics, won UCI World Cup mountain bike and cyclocross races and holds several National titles, highlighting a career spanning decades. She’s even raced at enduro events. In her mid-forties, she’s still got it – starting far back in the field she placed a highly respectable 16^th at the Snowshoe UCI World Cup in 2021. Nash won’t be the first Czech winner (Kulhavy won in 2013 and Hynek in 2014) but this is certainly a title she’ll be keen to have on her glittering and diverse palmares. It may be an unusual combo, but Specialized Factory Racing has taken some long bets before and it worked out – they’ve done their homework on this selection, long in advance. Considering Villafane and Nash have the full support of the winningest team in history, with 17 years of intel gathering, refining, supporting and mentoring plus a special x-factor, the safest money is on these two.

The dark horse status assigned to this team is tenuously based on their Absa Cape Epic newbie status. Aside from that, this team is a solid bet for podium time, barring incident. Calderon and Steinburg are both highly experienced mountain bike stage racers and marathoners (Calderon on the road too), with several wins chalked up between them, individually. So, it made perfect sense to combine their firepower and aim for the most coveted title in the sport. Calderon’s early season racing saw her on the podium in the build-up to the race, so she’ll look to keep up that momentum. Steinburg raced XCO earlier in her career before focusing on the longer races. What she’s learned over the course of her career is that she’s the kind of rider who gets better as the race goes on. On an eight-day stage race that’s certainly an advantage, but with that comes a potential weakness – that the high-speed Prologue and early attacks on the early parts of Stage 1 may put the Cannondale Vas Arabay team under pressure. Also, they don’t have much experience racing together. Rivals will need to figure that all out early on in race week to have the greatest impact possible, before it’s too late.

Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill have combined for the Absa Cape Epic once again, although in 2023 it is far later in the game than when they teamed up in 2018 and won the inaugural Absa African Women’s jersey. Wakefield and Lill are two of South Africa’s most talented mountain bike racers across disciplines; the proof lies firmly in the recent results with Wakefield being crowned 2022 National XCM Champion only to be dethroned by her new partner just a few weeks ago. These two riders have always had the utmost respect for each other, something that only comes from racing together and against each other for many years and this dynamic is sure to stand them in good stead as they tackle the trails of the Western Cape. Although stage wins are on the cards for Wakefield and Lill, the pair is motivated to go for the category win and their sites are firmly set on the orange CM.com Women’s category jersey as well as the Absa African Women’s jersey.

When it comes to momentum, Efficient Infiniti Insure is surely still buzzing from an excellent stage win at the Grand Finale of the 2022 SPAR Swiss Epic. They also finished 3^rd overall. From a performance like that, athletes not only gain confidence in their own abilities, but also in the partnership. Even the finest teams in the sport concede ‘morale is everything’ and this will play an important role in kickstarting their 2023 campaign with an excellent showing at the Prologue. The Namibian is no stranger to racing on rugged landscapes – she’s a multiple National Cross Country Champion. Plus she’s earned so many road titles she’d be forgiven for losing count. The Mauritian comes from a road background and took to mountain biking seamlessly. She has a new coach, who has reported significant gains to her already impressive engine. Looser is looking to improve on her previous 6^th place and le Court on her 7^th, the pair will also contest for the Absa African Women’s jerseys. That prospect is more than feasible considering they’ve both found the ideal partner to pull that off. Le Court’s 29^th birthday falls on the day of the Prologue, but they’ll not expect any gifts from their rivals who know, the latter half of the week plays to the all African team’s strengths.

Hill has placed sixth (twice) at the Absa Cape Epic. Even though she won the Absa African Women’s jersey in 2019, racing with Theresa Ralph, it’s a widely held notion that this does not reflect her capabilities as an athlete. The race is undoubtedly one of the key focus points of her season (like every other South African mountain biker) so she would’ve been bitterly disappointed after abandoning in 2022 on Stage 5 due to health issues. Hill has come a long way since her collegiate days in the US and fans who’ve been waiting for her to hit her stride at Absa Cape Epic will know that in 2023 she’s stronger and wiser. Her new partner, Harmzen-Pretorius, is a regular on the local mountain bike racing scene, with some podiums and a win to her name. She’s only finished one Absa Cape Epic, placing 8^th and she has set her cross hairs high for the 2023 edition. They raced at Wines2Whales together, forging that all important bond and in early season races in 2023 they’ve been quietly building their form. They will do best to focus on their own efforts, racing within themselves, knowing that their patience inevitably will have its rewards.