The very first prologue in the five-year history of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas, which is a common feature in grand tours on the road, set the seeding order for Saturday, 29 March 2008 Stage 1 of the magical untamed mountain bike stage race.

The showcase of a fast 17-kilometre circuit took place on the Pezula Private Estate in Knysna, which challenged riders due to some loose and rocky sections as well as slippery forest tracks. The 1 00 teams raced for the honours of wearing the yellow and leader jerseys out of Knysna, for Saturday's 123-kilometre stage race between Knysna and George.

After a 10-kilometre warm-up cycle to the Pezula Field of Dreams, teams were allocated a specific time from 8am to start the prologue, with 30 second intervals between each team.

Men's Category

The Men's Category for the prologue was won by the South African team MTN Energade of Kevin Evans and David George at a time of 31:04. They were followed by Cannondale Vredestein, with team members Roel Paulissen (Belgium) and Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) completing the challenge at a time of 32:01 minutes. In third place was the German Bulls team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm (32:21 minutes).

Kevin Evans is a three-time South African Marathon Champion and overall winner of the Drifter Series. He is the only South African to have placed 3rd overall at the Absa Cape Epic (2005). He placed 4th in 2006 and won the Best African Team Jersey in 2007. David George is a three-time Giro del Capo winner.

Women's Category

Susan Haywood (United States of America) and Jennifer Smith (New Zealand) from VW TREK WSD won the Ladies Category in a time of 42.51 minutes, ahead of Pia Sunstedt (Finland) and Alison Sydor (Canada) from Rocky Mountain in second place (at a time of 43.30 minutes). South African team ABSA LADIES (Erica Green and Hanlie Booyens) took honours in third place at a time of 43:42 minutes.

Haywood has been a 24-Hour Solo World Champion, two times Pan American Champion, two time NORBA short track National Champion and won the 2007 Trans Rockies. Her teammate Smith secured a fourth position at the XTERRA World Championships in 2006.

Masters' Category

The Masters Category was won by the Adidas William Simpson team made up of South African Shan Wilson and Italy's Walter Platzgummer. Their winning time was 36.24 minutes. They were followed by Absa Masters Doug Brown (South Africa) and Barti Bucher (Switzerland) at 37.15 minutes. In third place was Pragma Masters M.C. Franken (South Africa) and Peter Buggle (Ireland) at a time of 38.30 minutes.

Shan Wilson placed 3rd in the inaugural Absa Cape Epic and 5th in 2005. He is still holding the South African record for the most stage wins. This is his first year in the Masters category. Walter Platzgummer is a multiple Transalp Champion and one of the strongest Master endurance racers in the world.

Mixed Category

Joybike guided by VMT and Maloja won the Mixed Category. This German team of Ivonne Kraft and Nico Pfitzenmaier completed the prologue in a time of 40:15 minutes. In second place was Cyclelab Toyota's South African team of Johan Labuschagne and Yolandé de Villiers at a time of 40:25 minutes. Third place went to Novatec — CK MTB Dohnay, with team members Tomas Legnavsky (SVK) and Janka Stevkova (SVK) completing the prologue at a time of 41:37 minutes.

De Villiers said that she is looking forward to Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic. "There is a lot of climbing, and I consider it to be one of my particular strengths."