CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING USING THE NEW USWE HYDRATION PACK AT CAPE EPIC 2020

The 17th edition of Cape Epic is just around the corner. The USWE athletes Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic are ready to chase their first overall win, hungry for revenge after a close battle in 2019. But what is the team’s chance of victory?

We are looking forward to following some world-class mountainbike racing in South Africa starting off on March 15^th. Yes, that’s unless the Covid-19 (Corona virus) could have an impact on the race. The USWE athletes Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic from the Cannondale Factory Racing team, will be fighting side by side with Olympic gold medalists and world champs during the seven-day long race, covering 647 kilometer and 15 000 altitude meters.

Despite stage wins on each of the three last editions of Cape Epic, the Brazilian/ German duo has not yet visited the top of the prestigious podium. In 2019, they ended up with a silver medal. They finished only seven minutes behind the overall winners Nino Schurter and Lars Forster from the SCOTT-SRAM MTB-Racing team - the obvious five-star favorites for 2020.

At this year’s Cape Epic race, Henrique and Manuel will be racing with a special designed USWE hydration pack, the OUTLANDER PRO. A follow-up on the game changer from 2019 when they raced with the OUTLANDER 2 pack, being the first top team fighting for victory wearing a hydration pack.

The new OUTLANDER PRO is still on its prototype stage. But its performance has been sooo impressive, that the Cannondale team decided to use it in the race. With its extra ventilated harness straps and super slimmed weight, this PRO pack will for sure be one of Henrique’s and Manuel’s secret weapons in the race.

WHY HENRIQUE AND MANUEL ARE USING A HYDRATION PACK

According to Henrique and Manuel, flexibility is the main reason for using hydration packs in the race. Until now a hydration pack has most commonly beem seen as equipment for weekend warriors. By being able to play with a combination of bottles and hydration packs in the race, it gives them more flexibility to dose the right amount of nutrition. Also they don't have to stop at every waterpoint.

OUTLANDER PRO – WATCH OUT FOR ITS RELEASE DATE

The OUTLANDER PRO is a superlight race hydration pack developed and designed for optimal performance in Mountainbike and Gravel marathon racing. The pack is being stripped off to go minimum on weight and to maximize the ventilation at the front. The pack has an ultralight mesh-membrane harness with fixed size to make this happen. This is a core Factory Racing pack. It will be available on the market later this year. Stay tuned for more info!

OUTLANDER 2 – AVAILABLE NOW!

The success pack from Cape Epic 2019, the OUTLANDER 2 is a race pack streamlined to go light on your back. Geared-up with the award winning NDM 4-point harness that makes the pack 100% bounce free in action and gives stretch support for maximum breathing capacity. A 1,5 liters premium hydration bladder is included to keep you hydrated and focused.

SO, WHO’LL WIN THE CAPE EPIC 2020?

What are Cannondale Factory Racing team’s chances of taking the overall win? First of all, they’ll need help from their competitors to put extra pressure on the defending champions. At least four other teams on the starting list are digging for gold; the Italian quartet of Trek-Pirelli (team 1 and 2), the Czech guys from Ninety-One – Songo – Specialized 2 and the experienced Germans from team BULLS.

But since Manuel Fumic believes his shape is better now than one year ago, while Henrique Avancini appears to be as powerful as ever, we strongly believe that “the guys with the hydration packs” will end up as champions of Cape Epic 2020. Go-Go-Go, the Cannondale Factory Racing team!