Absa Cape Epic
Cape Epic Stage 1 and Stage 2
Rebecca Rusch / 23.03.2009
Stage one was billed as the toughest single stage in Cape Epic history, and it lived up to its reputation. Several long climbs, intense heat and relentlessly technical descending led to over 100 people dropping out before the start of stage two. Although it was “only� 112k, the stage offered 2,769 meters of climbing, almost half of which was dished out on the torturous ascent up Groenlandberg, loose, rutted old 4x4 road that rose 500 meters in less than 5k, all of which was in baking sunshine. Africa at its finest!The descents were absolutely ripping and technical… and treacherous. We’ve heard of many, many broken bones and dislocated shoulders. Fortunately, a long winter didn’t take the edge off of our descending skills and we were passing people like it was a video game. Later, we chatted with one of the race photographers who was trying to keep up with Specialized riders Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander, who are among the favorites to win the overall title, and he said that not only where they unable to keep up, but that they had boiled the brake oil and had to finish the day on front brakes alone!
Both of us had been skiing the week before the race, so the fact and that temps were expected to crack 100 degrees (and that all of the forests we rode through had been burned by raging wildfires in the months leading up to the race – no shade!) caused us some concern. We consulted with Steve Born at Hammer nutrition prior to traveling to Africa and got some tips on dealing with the heat. We’ve been popping Endurolytes like candy and following their suggested protocol for Liquid Endurance. During the stage, we maintained a conservative approach, hoping to minimize possible losses rather than try to stay competitive on the day and potentially blow ourselves for the rest of the race. By the end of the stage, our strategy yielded uncertain results, as we dropped from 4th to 6th overall, and both of us were pretty well f*%#ed at the line.
Nevertheless, the excitement of racing through some of the most incredible terrain on earth more than made up for the difficulty (and self-doubt) of the stage, and we went to bed early, ready to go back to war the next day.See All Event Posts
