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Evans seeks the perfect 10 with Knox at Cape Epic

· By Press Office · 0 comments

The 2015 ABSA Cape Epic will be the 11th one that Kevin Evans starts. He’s hoping it’s going to be the 10th one he finishes. He’s also hoping he finishes it with a few podium visits and a smile because it could be his final edition as a professional racer.

ccs-62657-0-91788300-1426250861.jpgKevin Evans is aiming for his 10th ABSA Cape Epic finish and to contest the African team title with team Biogen-Volcan teammate, Max Knox. // Photo credit: zcmc.co.za

In terms of South Africans, only the late Burry Stander has achieved more success than Evans at the world’s most significant mountain bike stage race. While he’s never won the race overall, in his almost career-long quest for the coveted victory, Evans has finished second once, third three times and fourth three times. He’s won a total of four stages and finished as the top African team on five occasions.

In 2011 Evans crashed out with a broken collarbone and in 2013 he missed the race following complications with appendicitis, which affected his health for more than a year. His ‘worst’ two finishes were a seventh place in 2007 and 15th last year when he was given a one-hour time penalty for cutting a corner on a crowded switchback ascent.

“You could say I’ve had my share of bad luck, when it comes to the Cape Epic. But I’ve also had my share of good luck. It’s just that the bad luck stuff makes for better news stories,” smiled the 36-year-old.

“I’m approaching the tail end of my professional racing career and this could well be my final Cape Epic. I’d like to end on a high note and feel that going into this year’s race I’m in the best physical condition I’ve been in for some time.

“Also the best mental form… The past decade of Cape Epics has certainly made me a lot wiser and I feel more relaxed than ever before going into this race, thanks largely to Biogen, our primary sponsor, which has allowed us to follow our own build-up strategy.

Evans will be racing for the second successive year with Max Knox. The pair are aiming to win the African team title in a race where this title is now decided by teams contesting a top five finish overall.

“We’ve had a low-pressure build-up, which has been good for us,” said Knox. “We were both on the podium at the Trans Hajar stage race in Oman in January, I won Sabie Classic in February, where Kevin was eighth; and we won the Garden Route 300 stage race two weeks ago. Our form is very good.

“Our training and recovery have also been superb and we’ve incorporated the Biogen energy and recovery products neatly into our supplementation strategy, which is so important for a race like the Cape Epic where one bad day, or even one bad hour, can end your hopes of achieving your goal.”

Having ridden most editions of the Cape Epic, Evans feels that the biggest change, besides the route format no longer being point-to-point, is the speed of the racing.


ccs-62657-0-84882200-1426250865.jpgMax Knox, winner of the 2015 Sabie Ultra-marathon, will contest the ABSA Cape Epic African team title with team Biogen-Volcan teammate, Kevin Evans. // Photo credit: zcmc.co.za.

“In the early days you could afford one off day and still recover to be in contention. But these days, with the high quality of riders and the sheer professionalism of the racing, you can’t afford to be caught napping or ill. The pressure is constant these days and you need to be at the sharp end of the race all the time,” said Evans.

While most of the top contender teams will have a back-up team riding in support, should the primary team require mechanical assistance, Evans and Knox won’t have this luxury.

“There’s definitely a benefit to having a support team riding for you. I should know, I was a support team rider in most of my five Cape Epics. But that also comes with increased pressure for both the contender team and the support team. We won’t have that pressure and that could well count in our favour,” said Knox.

Evans believes that the 2013 winning combination of Jaroslav Kulhavy and Christoph Sauser (Investec Songo Specialized) are the outright favourites for the 2015 Cape Epic title.

“It’s going to be tough for anyone to challenge those guys. They’re super strong, highly skilled, have loads of Cape Epic experience in Sauser and have an experienced, dedicated back-up team. The duration of the race is their challenge. Eight days in a row without any bad luck isn’t a given, not at the Cape Epic. I should know! But this year I’m hoping for a bit more of the good luck and perfect finish number 10,” grinned Evans.

Team Biogen-Volcan is seeded 10th and will kick off the 2015 with the 20km Prologue time trial stage at 12:04:05 on Sunday. There will be live TV coverage of the stage on SuperSport, followed by daily TV highlights and live coverage again of the final stage on Sunday 22 March.

For regular updates on team Biogen-Volcan’s progess, follow @BiogenSA on twitter and LIKE the Biogen page on Facebook.

Team Biogen-Volcan

Kevin Evans
Date of Birth: 6 June 1978
Place of birth: Johannesburg
Hometown: Plettenberg Bay

Career Hightlights
6 x winner South African National Marathon Series
5 x South African Marathon Champion
1 x South African Elite XCO Champion
1 x South African Time Trial Champion
4 x Cape Epic podium finisher (1 x 2nd place, 3 x 3rd place)
5 x winner top African Team at Cape Epic
6 x winner Sani2c
2 x winner joBerg2c
5 x winner Crater Cruise
Runner-up 2010 Giro del Capo
8th place 2008 Tour of Ireland
8th place 2009 Marathon World Champs

Max Knox
Date of birth: 27 March 1987
Place of birth: Pietermaritzburg
Hometown: Sabie

Career Highlights
Winner South African National Marathon Series 2012
South African Marathon Champion 2012
Winner top African team 2010 Cape Epic
Winner 2010 Cape Pioneer Trek
Stage winner TransAlp 2010
Stage winner BC Bike Race 2010
3 x winner Sani2c
2 x winner Sabie Classic
4 x winner Barberton Classic

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