Gravel and Grape

Riding The Gravel and Grape Extreme

Ico Schutte / 11.05.2017

A couple of weeks ago I received an invite from Mikayla Oliver, an old friend and ex professional racer, she was looking for a teammate for the Gravel and Grape Extreme 3 day stage race. I quickly opened up the website and with words such as “gnarliest, purest, expertly hand-cut singletrack”, “well-stocked arsenal of rock-hopping, berm-bending, switchback-sizzling talent” I knew this was an event that I had to do.

We arrived in the Breedekloof wine valley, the sun peaked over the mountains with a red glow while riders where herded into cattle trucks to be transported to the start of day 1. From the get go it was clear that the short 67km will not be a walk in the park. The roads were rough, sandy and rocky making it hard to maintain speed and momentum. After around 10km we got to the first single track of the day, let the fun and games begin!

Traversing around the foothills of the surrounding mountains we got loose steep and challenging climbs; thankfully every climb was rewarded with a super sweet mostly single track descent. This set the trend for the weekend. Hard climbing and fast descending! During day one we experienced it all, sandy flats, rocky single track, steep and sweaty climbs thankfully washed away with a short burst of rain and a final fast and furious flat ride to the finish. We crossed the line in 4th with a time of 4:14 an indication of the difficulty of the terrain. 

The race village boasted all that you would expect; scrumptious lunch, refreshing craft beer, and world class wine from the surrounding estates. (breedekloof.com)

Day two arrived with another spectacular sunrise sending golden rays through the dust as we headed out for 66kms of extremely hard but fun riding. Heading out into the opposite direction than the day before we were in for a sensory overload, another day spent riding some of the finest single track, weaving through the rugged rock lands of the Breedekloof. The technical aspect of the riding pleasantly surprised me, it really returns to raw mountain biking, something that has been lost in the latest corporate appeasing races you find popping up all over.

The technical terrain also proved challenging for the pro men field as the leaders Erik Kleinhans and Matt Beers suffered a crash and mechanical issues during the stage, however a staunch effort from them meant they retained the overall leaders jersey.

Special mention has to be made to the water points where we could indulge in homemade sandwiches, boiled potatoes, sausages and even chocolate fudge brownies for desert.  We had a daily struggle between racing and spending enough time to enjoy all the snacks on offer!

Day 3 was promised to be the highlight of the event, I was skeptical how could it be any better than what we already experienced? But my, oh my, it did not disappoint.

Heading into the Slanghoek valley we had to endure a very tough climb snaking its way up switchbacks and onto the ridgeline before we could descend a magical flowing trail back into the valley. Although the day was a short 50km the first half of it was spent on pristine single track making it one the best days of the event. The second half of the day we climbed through the vineyards before descending another glorious trail and back into the valley for the final few kilometers of flat riding back to the finish, this was in the only few easy kilometers we had in the 3 days and we made the most of it speeding back towards the South African hospitality awaiting us at the finish line.

In the ladies field we had the super tough Nicky Giliomee riding with a broken foot take the top spot together with her partner, the legendary, Catherine Williamson.

The gravel and grape is a new addition the racing scene and in only its 3rd year it has impressed some of the best cyclists in South Africa. If you are an avid mountain biker that enjoys the true nature of this sport make sure to add this race to your calendar.  Preparing for the Epic the extreme event is a great event to test your skill and mettle. For the less brave they also offer an adventure event over 2 days with shorter distances.

For more details and full race results: Gravelandgrape.com