It's a big freaking bike race, this Cape Epic.
To put it in perspective (for Singaporean and Malaysian readers especially), try to imagine a Jamboree ride with 1200 riders, but at 100km distance on average. That's 2 to 3 Jamborees joined together, done in a single day.
With upwards of 16000 metres of climbing. Comparisons to climbing Mt. Everest twice would be made, but that isn't really the point. It's being done on mountain bikes - though, like Mt. Everest, making the summit counts for nuts if you don't make it down alive... there is an almost equivalent amount of descending too.
This is done for 7 days straight, not including the prologue stage.
The 2013 Cape Epic - with the tagline of 'The Magical and Untamed Mountain Bike Race' - is something like that, with an official total distance of 706km spread over 8 days.
The race highlights South Africa's magnificent Western Cape region, a land of rugged mountains, sweeping countryside vistas, and hot, dusty, rocky, and eminently MTB-able terrain. There really is no better way to admire the landscape other than by sampling but a small portion of it, for a little over a week, on a mountain bike.
How big is this race? Another indication: this being the 10th anniversary of the Cape Epic, there is nothing short of a who's who list of mountain biking luminaries racing.
7 of the top 10 Olympic XC riders at London 2012 are represented here. This includes Jaroslav Kulhavy, Gold Medalist. Just to whet your apetite, here is a picture of his bike:
Who else is here?
Nino Schurter, he of 27.5" fame and more crucially double XCO World Champion, double World Cup Champion, and Olympic silver medalist.
And Marco Fontana, only the Olympic Bronze medalist, which he won despite his world-renowned snapped seatpost on the last lap of that Olympic race.
There are a host of World and National Champions for XCO (Olympic-format), XCE (Eliminator) , XCM (Marathon) represented here.
Then there are the old bird luminaries: Bart Brentjens (the first ever Olympic MTB Gold medalist) Thomas Frischneckt, the most decorated XC MTBer ever; Cristoph Sauser of course is here - teaming up with Kulhavy in memory of the late Burry Stander. Cycling greats like Stephen Roche (1987 winner of the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the road cycling World Championships), Alex Stieda (first North American yellow jersey holder), among others.
Personalities from the industry giants are also attending: Tom Ritchey and Keith Bontrager, but also Gerard Vroomen (of Cervelo fame), Andy Ording (Zipp), and Andy Kesseler (BMC).
It is a big thing this is widely regarded as the 'Tour de France of mountain biking', and it receives huge publicity and coverage both in the lead-up and during the actual event.
So far, this is the only day that I've had a breather and managed to find enough time to bang out this first part.
The contents had been stewing in my head for much of the past 3 days, but only because of more immediate concern was my own survival.
Today's stage is 'short' at only 92km, or 2x 45km Jamborees, with 1950m of climbing. Short enough to finish before lunchtime - even though the race leaders had long wrapped things up.
The previous day was a long but manageable 146km and 2350m of climbs; and the day before that, a 103km slog that included lots of sand walking (although the pros referred to how they move through these sections as 'running') - this stage climbed 2500m.
I think the 'sand stage', as i refer to Stage 1, set the bar pretty high... it seems everything we've done so far is manageable compared to that day. Even today's stage: after having done the last climb 200m vertical in 1.5km distance), we scoffed ath the race director talking things up perhaps a bit too much.
That being said, it is bloody hot today... hot enough that i felt good on some of the climbs and could keep a steady pace (along with a steady stream of sweat pouring from my head and dripping from my elbows).
I leave you now with a collection of photos: mere snapshots of what I have been going through for the past few days. You can have a look at the album over here on Facebook.
I'll update more depending on how much logistics there is / how smashed I am, possible at the end of Stage 5 at Wellington (another 'shorty' at 75km). ;)
To put it in perspective (for Singaporean and Malaysian readers especially), try to imagine a Jamboree ride with 1200 riders, but at 100km distance on average. That's 2 to 3 Jamborees joined together, done in a single day.
With upwards of 16000 metres of climbing. Comparisons to climbing Mt. Everest twice would be made, but that isn't really the point. It's being done on mountain bikes - though, like Mt. Everest, making the summit counts for nuts if you don't make it down alive... there is an almost equivalent amount of descending too.
This is done for 7 days straight, not including the prologue stage.
The 2013 Cape Epic - with the tagline of 'The Magical and Untamed Mountain Bike Race' - is something like that, with an official total distance of 706km spread over 8 days.
The race highlights South Africa's magnificent Western Cape region, a land of rugged mountains, sweeping countryside vistas, and hot, dusty, rocky, and eminently MTB-able terrain. There really is no better way to admire the landscape other than by sampling but a small portion of it, for a little over a week, on a mountain bike.
How big is this race? Another indication: this being the 10th anniversary of the Cape Epic, there is nothing short of a who's who list of mountain biking luminaries racing.
7 of the top 10 Olympic XC riders at London 2012 are represented here. This includes Jaroslav Kulhavy, Gold Medalist. Just to whet your apetite, here is a picture of his bike:
 |
| Seatpost to handlbar drop is unmistakeable!!! |
Who else is here?
Nino Schurter, he of 27.5" fame and more crucially double XCO World Champion, double World Cup Champion, and Olympic silver medalist.
And Marco Fontana, only the Olympic Bronze medalist, which he won despite his world-renowned snapped seatpost on the last lap of that Olympic race.
There are a host of World and National Champions for XCO (Olympic-format), XCE (Eliminator) , XCM (Marathon) represented here.
Then there are the old bird luminaries: Bart Brentjens (the first ever Olympic MTB Gold medalist) Thomas Frischneckt, the most decorated XC MTBer ever; Cristoph Sauser of course is here - teaming up with Kulhavy in memory of the late Burry Stander. Cycling greats like Stephen Roche (1987 winner of the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the road cycling World Championships), Alex Stieda (first North American yellow jersey holder), among others.
Personalities from the industry giants are also attending: Tom Ritchey and Keith Bontrager, but also Gerard Vroomen (of Cervelo fame), Andy Ording (Zipp), and Andy Kesseler (BMC).
It is a big thing this is widely regarded as the 'Tour de France of mountain biking', and it receives huge publicity and coverage both in the lead-up and during the actual event.
So far, this is the only day that I've had a breather and managed to find enough time to bang out this first part.
The contents had been stewing in my head for much of the past 3 days, but only because of more immediate concern was my own survival.
Today's stage is 'short' at only 92km, or 2x 45km Jamborees, with 1950m of climbing. Short enough to finish before lunchtime - even though the race leaders had long wrapped things up.
The previous day was a long but manageable 146km and 2350m of climbs; and the day before that, a 103km slog that included lots of sand walking (although the pros referred to how they move through these sections as 'running') - this stage climbed 2500m.
I think the 'sand stage', as i refer to Stage 1, set the bar pretty high... it seems everything we've done so far is manageable compared to that day. Even today's stage: after having done the last climb 200m vertical in 1.5km distance), we scoffed ath the race director talking things up perhaps a bit too much.
That being said, it is bloody hot today... hot enough that i felt good on some of the climbs and could keep a steady pace (along with a steady stream of sweat pouring from my head and dripping from my elbows).
I leave you now with a collection of photos: mere snapshots of what I have been going through for the past few days. You can have a look at the album over here on Facebook.
I'll update more depending on how much logistics there is / how smashed I am, possible at the end of Stage 5 at Wellington (another 'shorty' at 75km). ;)
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