Cape to Cape release 2016 course
The Cape to Cape organsiers have started to release the details of the race for 2016 - here's a look at Stage 1.
Stage 1 for 2016 receives the status quo treatment with very few to zero changes compared to the course used in previous years. While the tracks used are the same, the conditions experienced are never the same as the year before kindly thanks to Mother Nature. The weather conditions in the lead up to the Cape to Cape every year are always the determinant of the difficulty level of Stage 1 with so much of the course being comprised of a sandy base.
Don't miss our Cape to Cape wrap from 2015
With a start line at the extraordinary Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in Augusta, be sure to check out the views as you roll out with over 1000 other competitors and up the first climb where the view seems endless! Riders are rewarded for climbing straight from the gun with a fast flowing descent down into the valley where the foliage is dense and the fire roads raw in nature.
Cresting the famous Heartbreak Hill, a 1.8km steep sandy menace, riders are able to enjoy some fast, flowing course alignment as they head towards the coast. Most enjoyable in this section is the Green Hill Road descent where speeds of 60km/h can be clocked! Deepdene Beach is next on the radar where riders may experience the hardest 2kms of their life as they battle along the shoreline. Hopefully Mother Nature plays nice and the beach is rideable like in 2015!
Once off the beach and over the looming sand dune riders only have one real obstacle between themselves and the finish line. Aptly known as Hamstring Hill, riders will have to be careful not to do a Hammy as they get up the steep pinch in front of them! From here it is all smooth sailing in to the picturesque finish line location of Hamelin Bay.
The sandy nature of Stage 1 offers a challenge most riders haven’t experienced a great deal of before but are ever keen to tackle, no matter how daunting Heartbreak Hill may be! In the 2015 edition we saw hot, calm conditions in the lead up to the event offering a beach in perfect condition but dry, soft, dusty climbs everywhere else. In 2014 we saw more stormy conditions in the lead up offering a soft, chopped up beach but damp, hard pack climbs elsewhere. What will 2016 bring?
Want to experience the Cape to Cape? Registrations are still open.
