Absa Cape Epic

About a week prior to the start of the Absa Cape Epic, I got the news that I would a participant in this year’s edition of the race. This came about when my teammate Ischen Stopforth who would have been riding with Catherine Williamson fell whilst out training and broke her wrist.

Where and how do you start preparing for a mountain bike stages race covering 781km and 16300m of climbing in 8 days......?

To lessen the blow I received a new Scott 29’er full suspension mountain bike and new Scott Carbon shoes the week before the event.
It is always nice to get a new bike but my knees weren’t appreciating the slight changes and the feared tendonitis reared its ugly head. Fortunately I have a great chiropractor (and friend) and if it wasn’t for his last minute work, I doubt I would have started the Epic.

The event opened up with a 27km prologue. With all the hype around the biggest and hardest mountain bike stage race in South Africa, to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I think the last time I was so nervous before an event was when I stood on the start line of my first world road championships.
But once Catherine and I rolled off the start ramp, I immediately felt comfortable in a familiar environment which is racing. It was a very hot day and starting at around 11am wasn’t ideal, but Cath and I had a good ride on the technical course laid out in Durbanville and finished in just under 2h in 6th place.

I don’t exactly know how and where I got it from but between the prologue and the start of stage 1, a stomach bug got hold of me. I wasn’t the only one in the race village as a few riders joined me at the medical tent with the same symptoms.

The only memories I have of stage one (115km) and stage two (119km) which were held in the surroundings of Robertson was feeling flat, nauseas, stomach cramps and suffering every kilometre. Unfortunately this led to me and Catherine loosing time on our rivals and finishing 8th on both stages.

By day 4 I could keep my food down which was a good thing as stage 3 took us from our race village at Robertson to finish 149km later at our new race village in Caledon. As this was the longest stage ever in Epic history, I was very happy to discover that my symptoms had gone and that I was feeling like my old self on the bike again. We finished the stage in 4th place, moving up from 8th to 7th overall on the general classification.

At a 105km the stage 5 route laid out around Caledon was fairly short in comparison to the other stages. But the organisers made sure that it won’t be an ‘easier’ day out and included 2900m of climbing. The climbing wasn’t the only big challenge on the day as a strong wind decided to up the challenge.

Over a period of 8 days you really get to know your partner well. I’ve always known that Catherine is a really though girl which contributes to her being a great bike rider. On this specific stage we crossed a river just after the last water point. Cath managed to grab a piece of banana bread at the water point and put it in her back pocket. When she tried to ride through the river she fell and got soaking wet from shoulder to toe. As soon as we got going again she took the piece of banana bread out of her pocked and ate it ‘before it got soggy’. I almost fell of my bike as I couldn’t believe she just ate a piece of banana bread soaked in river water. She laughed and said there is no way she is going to run out of fuel with 20km to go. Now that is hard core J

Stage 6 was supposed to be a really nice stage, taking us from our race village in Caledon to finish 119km later in the Apple orchards at Oak valley. It started raining the night before, continued throughout the night and was still raining as we stood on the start line. By that time the route was already very muddy and we knew it was going to be a tough day out. The day turned out to be the hardest day I’ve ever experienced on my bike. The pouring rain continued throughout the entire stage. Riders got taken off the route at water points as they were getting hyperthermia.
I’ve never been so cold in my entire life. To make matters worse my gears stopped working 10km into the race due to all the mud. This left me stuck in my small chain ring in the front and my gears at the back were taking turns in shifting and not shifting. I was very very happy when Cath and I crossed the finish line after being 7h12min on the bike in pouring rain and cold. My hands were so numb from the cold that I could only get rid of the muddy kit while standing under a hot shower. Still Cath and I had a good ride, finishing in 4th place on the day which saw us moving up in the general classification to 5th place.

Stage 6’s route was laid out around Oak valley. I don’t think my body fully recovered from the wet and cold day before and I was still suffering from hypothermia as we rolled out for the start. I just couldn’t get going but was determined to finish what I started. I am sure everyone felt the same as despite it being a warm beautiful day a few riders were dressed in sleeveless jackets and arm warmers. Even race leader Burry Stander was riding in leg warmers and a jacket. The 85km distance was deceiving as we thought it would be a ‘shorter’ stage but it was another long day in the saddle taking us 5h 10min to complete. By now my saddle turned into by biggest challenge and I don’t think I will be lying if I say that I was standing as much as I was sitting during the stage.

Stage 7- Finally the last stage had arrived. This was quite evident as for the first time, there was a vibrant atmosphere on the start line. The final 64km took as from our race village at Oakvalley to finish at the beautiful Lourensfoord Wine Estate in Somerset West. To cross the finish line at the end was overwhelming for me. I’ve completed my first Cape Epic which for me was a very huge mental bridge I had to cross and I had done it.
Catherine and I had a great Epic. We were very consistent finishing 5th in the end with an overall time of 43h 14min.

I’ve learned a few things at the Epic that you have to be aware of before taking to the start line. If you look at the route profile, count the number of climbs on the day. It will tell you how many times you will be pushing or carrying your bike for the last 100-500m to reach the top. When you see riders starting to dismount for the climbs start preparing yourself for the stampede to come. You will have tire marks on your calves and ankles to show for it. Then finally when you’ve reached the top don’t start smiling yet because the rocky descent to come might be worse than going uphill.

Now I know why they call this MTB race THE EPIC!

Final results:
1st Sally Bingham & Ester Suss ( Wheels4Life)
2nd Theresa Ralph & Nina Gassler (Biogen Britehouse)
3rd Karien van Jaarsveld & Jane Nueslli (MTN Qhubeka)
4th Ivonne Kraft & Elisabeth Brandau (notebooksbilliger.de)
5th Yolandi du Toit & Catherine Williamson (Team bizhub-fcf)

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