The ABSA Cape Epic is a physically gruelling and mentally demanding mountain bike stage race; it is regarded as one of the toughest in its category and is often referred to as the ‘Tour de France of mountain biking’. It takes place in South Africa’s Western Cape region, amidst a landscape that is arguably one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Africa.

Every year, the race follows a different route, taking riders through rough terrain, over rocky climbs and down thrilling technical descents. The race attracts professional and ambitious amateur riders from all over the world, who compete in pairs.

The two Austrians, Karl Markt and Uwe Hochenwarter (Team Wilier-Chaoyang), tackled what is arguably the world’s toughest mountain bike stage race from 15–22 March 2026.

Stamina, mental strength, peak physical condition and, of course, the best equipment are the ingredients for such a tour! After 8 days, 707 kilometres covered and 15,900 metres of climbing, Charly and Uwe fought their way to a sensational 4th place! Not only is this top-end finish an incredible result for the Austrians, but the two stage wins (Prologue and Stage) are also remarkable!

The five-spoke XeNTiS MOUNT X CC wheelsets played a lion’s share in this success; subjected to what was probably the toughest endurance test of all time during this race, they mastered it with flying colours!

Especially for this occasion, Leonie Kresch, who is responsible for the graphics, came up with something very special for the decals: the BIG FIVE adorn Charly and Uwe’s wheels specifically for this adventure!

The riders are accompanied on the five carbon spokes by lion, rhinoceros, leopard, buffalo and elephant!

Throughout the race, Uwe Hochenwarter kept everyone on their toes with messages such as “Tough race – top-notch wheels”, “MOUNT X CC is brilliant, everyone’s looking at our rims”, and “The wheels have passed the endurance test with flying colours – WORLD-CLASS”!

“I’m absolutely delighted that our XeNTiS MOUNT X CC performed so well at the Cape Epic under the toughest conditions – tests like this are almost impossible to simulate. The strong feedback on lateral stiffness, direct power transfer, tracking and durability clearly shows that our development work is paying off in practice and that a monocoque wheel is much more than just a visual highlight off-road,” says Philipp Graf, Head of Development at XeNTiS.

We at XeNTiS are incredibly proud to be part of this success! An Austrian quality product is conquering the international mountain biking world – XeNTiS MOUNT X CC – CAPE EPIC APPROVED!

#xentis #capeepic #carbonwheels #madeinaustria #mtb

Fotocredits: Sportograf; XeNTiS