Standing amid pre-race music and a predawn marine layer of clouds were just 900 of the 1200 riders who signed up for the hardest and longest event in the history of the Cape Epic.
"Udo," I called out from within the start box. "Which race is harder, this one or the Tour de France?" I asked with a smile.
In a thick German accent, Udo Boelts, a veteran of more than 10 Tours replied, "It is about the same. The Tour is longer, but this... in this you have no recovery, no smooth spinning and descents on which you can eat, drink and recover. This race, it is always go, go, go!"
copyright Sven Martin
Somehow, I suspected that might be the answer to my question. The Cape Epic is like the Tour without the chatty laughing from the peleton or occasional neutral pee breaks. At the stage finishes of the Cape Epic, you'll never see sparkling clean bikes and fresh faced riders. And you'd better bet your ass that the riders in this race are suffering from the beating that close to 1000 kilometers of prehistoric red dust, sand and volcanic rock can dish out on your hands, feet and tail.
This morning was tough at the Trek team camp. Jenny, who is in second place on our women's team, was sick and wore a look of dread on her face. I asked how she was doing. "Not good," she said, holding back tears. I knew she was not only sick, but also run down. Who isn't run down at this point? I know I am. Sleep deprivation, aching muscles, the hardship of brutal five-hour stages, the best competitors in the world; these things add up. I wasn't much feeling like putting my raw ass on a bike's seat for one more day, but I didn't share this. Instead, I said, "I'm proud of you. There's only one more short day after this! We're almost done."
Read the rest of my account, and view photos of Stage Seven, at the King of the Mountain blog.
Links to some of the race coverage are up on the News page.
Wish us luck, tomorrow is the final stage.
JeremiahLabels: Cape Epic 2008, Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
Another spectacular day of racing here at the cape epic. I had the pleasure of riding on the front of a 1200 rider pack as the sun filtered in to the desert floor. The camera motos and the helicopter are tough to get used to, but I would say that Chris and I are getting settled into the racing. We seem to stay steady and smooth as things fall apart for otherwise really fast teams.
We were rolling fast with a large group through quad-width trails on rolling desert mid-race, when we saw Burry Stander standing there with dust all over him and talking to a cameraman. I didn't even see a moto, so it was really strange, middle of nowhere. I guess he and Sauser are out. Sue and Jenny had a tough day after flatting. They missed the train of faster guys for the long windy sections of road. They're still in second though and I think they can hold it.
The truth of the matter is this is a race of speed but also attrition. I am looking forward to the reward of good preparation and steady strong racing that Chris and I hope to put on for the last 3 days.
Oh, we saw baboons today as we crested the mountain heading back onto the wetter side known as the "garden route." We were hammering on the road, I was on the front and 3 of them came scampering across the road. One had a baby on top of its butt hanging on for dear life.. :)
Later, wish us luck.
JBLabels: Cape Epic 2008, Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
Yesterday's Stage One was one of the first big stages of the Cape Epic, and it held up to its promise to be one beast-of-a-stage. The route covered three thousand-plus meters of climbing through dense, subtropical rainforest. The front of the race started out wicked fast, and even Bulls rider Karl Platt said the pace was like the blistering start of a cross-country World Cup. At Cape Epic, the difference is we still had 100 kilometers left to race!
Now though, reality is setting in. Some riders are facing the fact that in a rugged mountain bike race with 120-kilometer stages, they cannot race at all-out speeds day after day. I had some idea of what we would face; I have competed in La Ruta de los Conquistadores, Trans Alp and several other stage races.
Today we awoke before dark and headed to the breakfast tent, where riders from South Africa and from around the world were fueling up for the toughest stage ever in the Cape Epic's history. Some racers were already in riding gear, some wearing pajama pants, t-shirts and Crocs; some spoke German, some Italian, some Russian and even others many different styles of English. Common to all were bleary eyes and weary faces. Perhaps they were dreading the hardest day of the Cape Epic, or maybe the realization of seven more days of racing on noodle-legs, sore butts and raw feet was beginning to sink in...
You can read the rest of my recap from Stage Two at the Trek/VW team diary.
And be sure to check out our latest photos. If you haven't seen it already, Cycling.TV is providing awesome real-time coverage and daily shows. There are links on the News page.
Enjoying the adventure,
JeremiahLabels: Cape Epic 2008, Endurance Racing, Epic Adventures
