You can only ride so fast through single track
and that also means you can only lose so
much time.
Stage Five, torture. The Cape Epic has
evolved in numerous ways over the years
including borrowing concepts from the Tour
de France. So now it has the 'Grand Depart',
the 'Grand Finale' and the 'Queen Stage.' It
lived up to its billing with brutally tough climbs
- the Gantouw Pass, the Nuweberg Pass, the
Concrete Steps, King’s Climb. But to be truthful
the hardest part of this stage were the last
three short but very steep, off camber wine
road climbs into Stellenbosch. These were
truly soul destroying.
We made it through the Queen Stage
but this was certainly our darkest day by
far, finishing up in 14th place in Masters. A
puncture about 20 km into the stage didn’t
help matters.
It is amazing how expectation and
anticipation can affect performance. Stage
Five was billed as the Queen Stage and
Stage Six was set out as the fun stage on the
single-track trails around Stellenbosch. But
the consensus was that Stage Six was harder
than Stage Five. The obvious reason is that
CAPE EPIC MASTERSclimb, Minter came up beside me and
indicated to grab his pocket which I did
without hesitation. It was like an ambush.
I felt for his cranks as max wattage went
through them. If I had a horn I would have
blown it for sure – we pulled away from the
Privateer team before they could even check
their heart rate monitors!
We hit the crest of the climb and then
powered downhill onto the lush green finishing
straight in Stellenbosch. Now this is why I love
mountain bike racing – so much adrenaline
in that little episode. It made everything worth
it! And it truly highlighted that a team can be
stronger than the sum of its parts.
The next day we arrived safely and
ecstatically at the finishing arch at Val de Vie.
We had made it! Such an emotional feeling to
finish on the lush green polo fields of the Val
de Vie Wine Estate. Made even more special
by the fact you get to share this with your race
partner with whom you have just endured
eight days of intense highs and lows on your
mountain bikes.The final word
If you are looking for a life changing
experience the Cape Epic is well worth it.
With the right preparation and mindset, it's
truly achievable by anyone. And I strongly
believe it should be on the bucket list of all
mountain bikers – racers and non-racers
alike, for the simple reason that the race
is more than that – it truly is a life
changing experience.everyone expected Stage Five to be so hard
and paced themselves accordingly. At the
end of the day there are no easy stages at
the Cape Epic!
We had a good consistent day and we
finished up in our 'customary' eighth place.
However, it was touch and go over the last
3 kms as we were locked in a duel with the
Masters team from Privateer Magazine. We
got a gap on them through a bit of single-
track but with 900 metres to go they caught
us on a fire road climb, just before the
finishing straight.
As they slowly inched passed us on theRight: The lush finish line is a
stunning way to complete the race.
Below: “You boys sure you know what
you're in for?”