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Cape Epic, RSA |
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| Date: |
02.04.2005 |
| Description: |
Mountain Bike Stage Race |
| More information: |
http://www.cape-epic.ocm |
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| Diary:
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| 08.04.2005 |
Saturday 02.04.05
135km, 4.40 hrs, second place, 10min. back, second overall.
Quite a lot of things are new to me in the Cape Epic.
You ride with a team mate, Ss you have to finish together.
I have never done an 8 day mtb stage race, and I am talking about riding every day from 100 up to 145km! Except the last day will be below 100.
Some stages are taking off at 7:00 in the morning. Every Bike-Pro is still sleeping at this time!
And today I was really still sleeping up the first climbs after the race started. There were some nasty steep climbs in the rainforest of Knysna when team Giant with Roel P. and Bart B. put the hammer down. I only had travelling legs and I just did not expect a fast first hour.
The team pressure was on me and I had to keep up with Frederick, my team mate. Finally we found a good pace and rode steadily and saved four seconds. Towards the end, the race terrain got fast over tar and gravel roads. Bart B. with his big engine and gears put so much time on us there.
Sunday 03.o4.05
145km, 5.17 hrs, first place!
We started out so much easier today. Everybody knew it was going to be a long day in the saddle and the the race time would sharpen the bunch.
After riding in the forest yesterday I really enjoyed having open wide scenery. I am not a forest guy, and I enjoyed seeing South African landscape I have never seen before, riding on trails you would not really find it, and also passing farming houses in the middle of nowhere.
After mid race time, we and the other 3 top teams where the only guys up there any more. But there was still a long time to pedal over many steep gravel hills towards the finish line, and we made it first in the sprint. Well, Bart won it, but since it is a team race, it is all about the second rider, and Bart's team mate, Roel, finished behind Frederik and myself.
Monday 04.04.05
105km, 3.11 hrs, second place, 2min back, second overall.
My head was not prepared for a hard race today, because the race altitiude profile looked easy and this was also true out there, but riders do make a race fast, and hard and exactly this happened.
The first 1.5 hrs I had no good legs but in time I got into the race spirit.
Unfortunatey, after a big river crossing (here you ride always with wet feet, I hate it!), there was a technical uphill. Bart and Roel took the opportunity there and broke away. At this time my parter Frederik had been too far behind and we could not catch up any more.
Towards the end, over rolling hills, we managed to break away for second place.
By the way, we have a motor-home here because it is camping time here. There would be no chance to have enough hotels and hostels around the finish stages for so many riders and staff. So there are set up a 1000(!!) tents at every stage, but Frederik and myself are lodging in our cozy camper.
Tuesday 05.04.05
110km, 4.11 hrs, second place in sprint finish, second overall
The Kenyan Team attacked from the start and we took it easy the first two and a half hours, but after we entered into a nature reserve we put the hammer down. There it was very rough with big stones, creek crossings and very tough rolling. Frederik and I made a little gap on Bart and Roel, but not enough to keep on going for the last 30km, which were all on tar road.
Finally we sprinted on a big road in town. It was too straight and open for me. No sharp corners like the last sprint where we won against them.
I felt sorry for the Kenyans who got caught mid race time. So far the podium looks the same every night.
The best time of the day is always coming back after the race to our camper, taking a shower (very good camping showers on trucks) and then checking out our food buffet, cooked from our super mechanic Benno who is also a 5* chef !!!
We eat dinner in the big riders/staff tent. There it is so crowded and I hate to stand in line for food. But afterward I enjoy the cold beer when I come back to the camper.
Wednesday 06.04.05
107km, 4.12 hrs, 4th, two flat tires, second overall
I still feel very good and especially today on the first long climb I had the best legs so far in this tour.
We also entered into a game reserve with elephants and lions. But we did not see any. Probably still better not to see a lion then to be eaten by one!
It was cool today to ride the first 2 hrs over rolling hills with real African scenery. Unfortunately this spirit turned pretty quick into pumping tubes.
I flatted and our two co2 bombs did not work. I promise the co2 were originally empty and we did not make any mistakes to handle it!
At least after a while we got a small pump from another rider, but we lost so much time, and even with hard chasing, we could not reach the front group again. Especially because some top riders put the hammer down up front...not the gentle way!
Well, our race spirit got even lower after my second flat, and we even managed to break the borrowed pump of the Czech team! 10 min. later this guy flatted as well, and sure they were waiting for the pump.
Coming over the finish line I was pretty surprised that we still finished 4th.
Thursday 07.04.05
110km, 4.10 hrs, second place in sprint finish, second overall
I did not feel good during the first half hour and was happy when we hit a big tar road towards the second water station. We rode very slowly there and before we turned into a very rocky, long, steep uphill, our group had got very big.
Exactly on this climb, we got away from the Giant team, like on the last big one. But Bart always chased us down again in the long flats....
So we needed a good sprint tactic today! Frederik attacked 3km ahead of the finish line and I stayed quiet behind Roel and Bart. With 1km to go Bart gave the Frederik chase up, and now it was on me not to finish not last of us three... I did not manage it! I was concentrating on Roel (we let Bart go) for the sprint and finished just a little bit behind him.
Friday 08.04.05
115km, 4.10 hrs, second place in sprint finish, second overall
Two big hills. The first one over 1000 m. Very rocky and steep, and the second one was a tar pass, where I also train a lot on it when I am in Stellenbosch.
We and the Giant boys just broke away on the beginning of the first big hill and put the hammer down for the whole day. I did not feel the best today. I think it has been again because my head was not prepared for a hard day, and I knew the location of the finish too well. The problem of this has been that we came so close to the stage location, but still rode all the bloody sandy and rocky trails all around there for one hour... and in the sprint we lost again! We had no tactic today. Just pedalling hard and we did not make it again. 3:1 for Giant!
The best time of the day is always eating Benno's lunch buffet in our camper van. A lot to talk and joke abut the stage and so on. Our South African soigneur or "big daddy" Francois who is a power weight lifter as well, can always eat soooo much. Today's lunch 15 eggs and at least 5 ugly weird chicken sausages within a few minutes, and this was the protein only!
Saturday 09.04.05
45km, 1.51 hrs, second place in finish, second overall,total: 31.46 hrs
We knew before the start that there was no more chance to take the overall win, except if a technical problem or if a Lion stopped the team Giant!
Almost all the trails of today's stage I know like my own pocket! It was a great feeling to race on these trails where I normally train during my Stellenbosch stay.
We took off really fast to help the Swiss Team with Sandro and Thomas to try to get the back on 3rd. overall again, but unfortunately this did not work out.
Already, after 15min., it was like always. Team Giant and we took over the lead. In the downhills we put time on them and in the flat they managed to come back again.
Coming to the finish line we two rode in front and the Giants were easy behind. I thought, now we are going to celebrate the end of the tour together and we will not sprint any more. Well we two did not, but the flying Giants sprinted us down just before the finish line again...
It is up to them to create their own image, especially on a race like this! But who cares if you win 6 or 7 stages of 8... or do you know how many stages Miguel Indurain won in the Tour the France? Not me, but everybody remembers the gentle manners of Big Mig!
Thanks to the whole Cape-Epic organisation, our team staff Benno and Francois and to friends who made our racing and stay so pleasurable. There were some tough moments during the races, but all in all I had such a fun time and laughs that I wanna be back next year again!
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Guestbook entries:
Add your own comment to this race / event?
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| 28.03.2007 08:36:39 |
Cape Epic |
| From rodger hoffman, Cape Town, South Africa |
Hi i was reading your stuff on the Cape Epic, great information. I too m involved in the Epic this year for 2007. Check out my blog http://rodgerhoffman.wordpress.com
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| 08.08.2005 03:40:52 |
Tire set-up for Cape Epic |
| From Lee Ming, Central, Hong Kong |
What tire set-up did you use for the cape epic? I'm racing in 2006.
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GMT
