MTB

Absa Cape Epic team names – from fun to unfathomable

By Absa Cape Epic

The training is done and the Prologue looms … but what do some of the Absa Cape Epic team names mean?

Well, it’s difficult to tell: what to read into ‘OK’, ‘Tomatoes’, ‘Marshmallow’ or ‘Peculiar Ladies’? And team ‘Booooraquesbrascatraca!!’ is a Brazilian combination, but Google and some local Latins can shine no light on what that means.

Then there are those that give some indication of their approach as they face the eight-day challenge. They include ‘4Fun’, ‘Hope’, ‘Last Minute’, ‘No Illusions of Grandeur’, ‘NoPainNoGain’, ‘Tortoises’ and ‘Sanity Questioned’.

And those that are proud of their roots: ‘Biking Vikings’ (Denmark), ‘Chilean Train’, ‘Epic Israel’; ‘Gauchos’ (Uruguay), ‘Les Rosbifs’ (England), ‘Manx Misfits’ (the Isle of Man) and ‘Paddy and Pole’ (Ireland and Poland).

And the requisite reference to alcohol from ‘Blood, Sweat and Beers’ and ‘Gears ‘n Beers’.

Age gets a reference from ‘Old Cranks’, ‘Rusted Old Men’, and ‘Squeaky and Creaky’. And “Fatboys” are presumably, er, on the large side.

‘Driepoot’ is a wry reference to the fact that one team member, Reuben van Niekerk, has just one leg. Reuben has finished the Cape Epic three times.

The South African nature of the event is evident in ‘Rambo en Riempies’ and ‘Ratels’. And some cool guys came up with ‘Red Hot Chilli Peddlers' (although one hopes they are more pedallers than peddlers).

And then its gets, well, a little below the belt. What on earth are ‘Deez Nuts’ referring to? And ‘World Famous Salty Balls’? And surely ‘NAD Pro MTB’ anticipated that somebody in the vast Cape Epic crowds will roar out ‘Go NAD’?


* The 2017 Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race takes place from 19 to 26 March and the much anticipated route can be viewed here.