Amy Wakefield is leading the Cape Epic with a wound you'd struggle to look at (Warning: Graphic content)

For all its marketing, splendid images of incredible vistas and happily suffering mountain bikers, the Cape Epic remains an extreme event.

When you mix mountain biking with wild terrain and riders pushing for every meter or millisecond of advantage, risks become normalised. And at this year’s Cape Epic, some of the most dramatic events have shaped in the women’s category.

During stage 1, which most riders will remember for its vicious headwinds, one of the leading women’s teams, e-FORT.net|SeattleCoffeeCo, suffered an awful injury to one of its riders.