On March 11, the team arrived in South Africa to take part in the Cape Epic pairs stage race, one of the most prestigious mountain bike events. The proven duo of Martin Stošek and Andreas Seewald (GER), the 2021 world champion in the marathon, will start. The supporting pair for the leaders Stošek/Seewald will be Petr Vakoč with a newcomer to the team, the Swiss marathon runner Marc Stutzmann. Together with Andreas and Martin, he took part in the Mediterranean Epic stage race in the east of Spain, which was their first race test. Subsequently, the riders moved to Girona for a training camp. Petr Vakoč and the only woman in the colors of the Canyon Northwave MTB Team Stefanie Dohrn also joined the team. The German biker ranks among the wider marathon runners and her greatest career achievements include winning the 4Islands pairs stage race and her recent victory in the Andalucía Bike Race in Spain.

After last year's Cape Epic, team founder Kristián Hynek moved from the role of racer to the role of team manager. He is not only the team boss, but also the mentor and technical advisor of the riders. His right-hand man is the team's co-founder, manager and mechanic Robert Novotný alias Giovan.

"I am glad that we can meet here again after a year," Kristián said at the beginning of the press conference. "As many have already noticed, in the first race of the season, a new member of our team – Marc Stutzmann – lined up in our colours. It's great that he's become another rider of our team. Marc is a great partner. The first big goal for us will be the Cape Epic, Martin and Andreas have great chances to win and I believe in them, I also have hopes for Marc Stutzmann and Petr Vakoč. I am also very glad that Czech fans will again be accompanied by Cape Epic Czech Television. From each stage, it will broadcast cuts on ČT Sport and ČT Sport Plus, the selected three stages will then go all live," Kristián said.

The Stošek/Seewald duo took second place in the overall standings at Cape Epic last year. For this year, they enter the race with at least podium ambitions: "Last year Andreas and I finished second and it was rather disappointing, we led until the last stage. We enter this year again motivated and well prepared. This year we had a slightly different race plan, we didn't ride the Andalucía Bike Race, which we won last year, but we rode the Mediterranean Epic and I also spent a lot of time in Mallorca, so I'm well prepared for the races," said Martin Stošek.

Andreas Seewald is clear about the peak of the spring season, the goal is victory: "Last year's Cape Epic was difficult, my injury cost us the victory. This year we are again going with the goal of winning and we want to succeed in the individual stages. I hope he stays healthy throughout the race."

As for the next race plans, great news for the team is the creation of the marathon World Cup. It will start in mid-May in Nové Město na Moravě in Czech republic and will continue with three more parts – in Italy, the United States and France. Of course, the biggest highlights of the season include the World Championship, which will take place in Glasgow in 2023, the European Championship, which will take place in France, and the national championships.

In 2023, the team will continue to use bikes from title partner Canyon, the Lux and Exceed, fitted with DT Swiss and Shimano components. For the Cape Epic, the Stošek/Seewald duo will even have a specially designed colours in green, which will distinguish them from the Stutzmann/Vakoč duo, who will ride bikes in purple design.

The colours of the Northwave jerseys have remained unchanged since last year. Purple prevails with gray and green. However, new partners have been added. The most obvious change is the new helmets from the Czech brand Force, as well as sponsors Squirt and INSTA360. Other important partners of the team are Koscom, Alpina, Future Cycling, Mercedes Benz Praha, Schwalbe, Paul Lange, Topeak, Ceramicspeed, USWE, 226ERS and SRM.

Team lineup for the 2023 season
Andreas Seewald – current World Marathon Champion, European Champion 2021
Martin Stošek – bronze from the European Championship 2021, bronze from the World Championship 2020
Marc Stutzmann – two-time medalist at the Swiss Championships
Petr Vakoč – one of our historically best road racers, winner of the Brabant Arrow, 2x participation in the Tour de France
Stefanie Dohrn – German marathon rider
Kristian Hynek – team manager, former professional, 3x medalist from the World Championship, European Champion 2012, winner of Cape Epic 2014
Robert Novotný – mechanic and co-founder of the team
Torsten Walter – physiotherapist

Link to team gallery HERE

Foto PC: Michal Červený