I had been conserving energy for the final 25km but this crash limited me to a pathetic limp. As you’ll see from the video above, both Alby and I are not impressive athletic specimens compared to the cyclists who usually fill these pages. Absolute VO2max: 5.043 litres/min We, What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, The first step in this was calling on my friend, As you’ll see from the video above, both Alby and I are not impressive athletic specimens compared to the cyclists who usually fill these pages. Picture: Coco Van Oppens. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has alerted the Absa Cape Epic to an adverse analytical finding from a sample provided by rider Yolande De Villiers during the 2015 event. This is simply for time efficiency. Watching all the riders cross the finish line was quite something. The first 15km or so of stage 2 was the same as stage 1, so we knew what was coming up and knew how fast we could go. I would often be frothing to get my Wednesday World Championships bunch ride in, but Fenner held me back and I’m glad he did, otherwise my other sessions would have suffered. Between them they won the race four times. That turned into 5 Cape Epics, 4 in a row, plus another one 5 years later in 2012. 5:20am: Stuff our faces with as much pasta, toast, pastries and muesli as we could stomach. But in the final days of the race, the daily stress and heightened caffeine levels saw us turn to sleeping tablets to get to sleep. It wasn’t to be, but for my own comfort, I was quietly happy for cool conditions. There’s not a lot you need to carry with you during each stage except the basics and there’s good mechanical support at each feed station (lube, air pumps, tools, etc). It wasn’t ideal, but he would start to feel better after some antibiotics and some rest. Therefore I enlisted the help of Mark Fenner of FTP Training to coach me. The contrast was striking – we were so wrapped up in the race and myopically focused on trivial problems like tyre selection, jersey weight and wifi access, and meanwhile, such deep social problems were just a stone’s throw away. I knew that I couldn’t do this alone and left to my own devices, I’d get far too carried away. At the time we made this video the 2020 ABSA Cape Epic was still going ahead and we had spent nearly 12 months training and testing the gear we were … After days of hot temperatures and dusty trails, the prologue would offer misty, cool and tacky trail conditions. The race organisation took care of washing your bike after each stage which was brilliant. That would have erased all those low moments in an instant. They’re the easiest thing to eat on a mountain bike and are a good supplement for between feedzone stops where you can get proper solid food. The ideal self drive to cruise to the Great Barrier Reef and immerse yourself in the laid back tropical village atmosphere. It’ll be nice for us to be able to squeeze an extra 50 watts out, but what will really make a difference is to be able to hit our peak form at the right time, while getting down to 10% body fat. But then this magical text message came through: Nino Schurter / Lars Forster (UCI Men): 4:24, Annika Langvad / Anna van der Breggen (Women): 5:09, Sebastian Stark / Lara Stark (Mixed): 5:21, Joaquim Rodriguez / Jose Hermida (Masters): 4:45, Bart Brentjens / Abraao Azevedo (Grand Masters): 5:09. Good thing there were no sprint stages …, A while later we came across Erik Dekker at a feedzone — he had a broken Di2 cable and was waiting around for it to get fixed. These would be useful for establishing a baseline in our training as well as tracking our progression. Typically Alby’s back problems meant that he had to warm into things, and this caught me off-guard. While that seems unlikely for now, and the biggest medical threat in the camp is still likely to be gastro from tired riders absent mindedly skimping on hygiene best practice, riders will be feeling more anxious than usual in the next two weeks’ lead-up – if not for their health, then for the security of their investment. Mountain biking legend Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja will be taking part in the 2015 Absa Cape Epic. Three shorter and more manageable events make up the next tier – Reef to Reef, Port to Port and Cape to Cape, all in Australia. Seeing the elation and exhaustion on the faces of the finishers was something I didn’t think I’d miss, but I wanted that more than ever after seeing it. The deal I always make for myself with these events is that I will not sacrifice my family or my job. Six gruelling stages across the South Island of New Zealand will be a qualifier for the Cape Epic in March, and a test to see what we need to work on. For every moment of that 45km we rode as hard as we could. It’s the mind’s evolutionary and biological tool to help you forget all those unbearable times during endurance endeavours — a coping mechanism to help get you though it. Coming up to its 17th edition, the ABSA Cape Epic is the pinnacle of XC stage racing. Thank you to the Cape Epic organisers for inviting us to this magnificent race and giving us a reason to visit this magical country. Too bad that I don’t remember much of it — I was just wishing it all away and wanting to get home. This was the first we’d see of the race village and even though we’d later find that this would only be a tiny version of it, we began to understand the enormity of the event and what it means to many in South Africa. Posts about Cape Epic written by alexstieda. We will be back one day. Once again I laid down the law with Alby and told him I was only going to ride at 50% today. We rode. The Great Barrier Reef Drive from Cairns to Port Douglas is one of Australia’s most spectacular coastline and scenic drives, along secluded beaches and stunning rainforest clad mountains. Words: Wade Wallace | Video: Phil Golston | Photography supplied by Sportograf and Cape Epic (Dwayne Senior, Xavier Briel, Sam Clark, Justin Coomber, Greg Beadle, Shaun Roy, Nick Muzik). But as complete newbies do, we decided it would be a good idea to ride in the front group with team Rodriguez / Hermida and Dekker / Tjallingii. Even though we were absolutely exhausted, falling into a proper sleep was getting harder to manage. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses helps you determine what you need to focus on to be able to satisfy the demands of the event. Select from premium Cape Epic of the highest quality. Cape Epic. The doctors did some X-rays and found that, luckily, it was pneumonia, not a kidney infection. The multi-day format that moved around the country made it feel like a true adventure, and the two-person team element meant that you were sharing it with someone. Swiss legend and five-time winner of the Absa Cape Epic, Christoph Sauser, shared key advice for riders taking on the Epic for their first time. : A four-hour ride in the hills, with about 2,500m of climbing and a couple 20-minute threshold efforts. As expected, Alby was flying and had me in the hurtbox straight out of the gates. Andre and his team are doing some fascinating studies on heart conditions in athletes and he welcomed us to enlist in a study he’s doing on former athletes to study our hearts through a number of different tests, including VO2max, body composition, blood work, and so on. Epic Cape York 4WD trip. But as complete newbies do, we decided it would be a good idea to ride in the front group with team Rodriguez / Hermida and Dekker / Tjallingii, thinking we were worthy of winning a Grand Tour and staying with these guys. I personally didn’t find this necessary as the feedzones were more than adequate and I was happy to stop at them. Total: 1.5 hours. Cape Town University is an absolutely beautiful campus, complete with a backdrop of Table Mountain offering pristine mountain bike trails right on its doorstep. Body fat: 20% We’re sitting at dinner outside Cape Town, and the word just came through. What also threw our egos back into place was the rocky descents that hammered the bikes. thinking we were worthy of winning a Grand Tour and staying with these guys. It was one of those crashes that happens so quickly there’s no reaction time quick enough to save it and I lay on the ground curled up doing a full body inventory from wiggling my toes to my eyebrows. : full body lactate burn for the next 4-6 hours. I left it for as long as I could but eventually had to stop to try to repair it. All five are Epic Series Qualifier races to the Absa Cape Epic. 09/12/2020. Browse thousands of community created Minecraft Banners on Planet Minecraft! Yesterday hadn’t given me a lot of confidence in my form – I’d not yet seen my heart rate below about 160bpm. Every other stage the starts were based on overall classification, so we were mixed in with all other categories except for UCI Women and Men (who were easy to spot) and we didn’t really know who we needed to worry about. We’ve all heard the cliché interview response at the Tour de France: “I’m just going to take it day by day and not think ahead of that…” I’ve now had a glimpse into the truth of that mindset. We took a cue from our course profile sticker that there was a feedzone at 10km to go. Set to cycle alongside team mate, rugby legend Joel Stransky in the Mixed Category, this would have been their second Absa Cape Epic challenge … Find out more about our sponsored content policy here. On our way to warm up, barely 50m away from our motorhome, disaster struck. The challenge is there. This year’s Absa Cape Epic was possibly the most beautiful and gruelling experience of my life. 7:05am: full body lactate burn for the next 4-6 hours. We made it to the opening prologue that morning with lots of time to spare. The Absa Cape Epic takes place every year around the last week of March and the first week of April. Needless to say we learned a lot along the way. I don’t know if endurance amnesia is an official medical diagnosis but I can tell you it exists. : Start thinking about pumping up tyres, lubing chain, pinning on race numbers, and everything I should have done the night before but was too buggered to do. 8pm: Head back to motorhome, look at the dishevelled state of our bikes and think about tuning them up, sometimes take the bikes to get fixed at the Tech Village (dozens of bike shops come as race support which is brilliant). So many people we bumped into knew exactly what the Cape Epic was and were impressed by our participation in it. It took us all of 20 minutes to remember our place in the world and get spat out the back into the second group. Before long, we found ourselves at the front of B-group forcing a big split to happen in the bunch, leaving us with only two other teams off the front. The following day’s Queen Stage was hyped up by the organisers and seasoned competitors and at this point we couldn’t process how we were going to race 100km with 2,850m of climbing … and then back that up with two more days of racing. When I thought ahead I would have felt empty and horrible finishing on my own when the whole point of this was to finish as a team. Join thousands of fellow campervan travellers. Here are my top 5 take-aways from this extremely beneficial camp, not only for the 2020 Cape Epic, but for future stage races that you may want to challenge you I contemplated starting the final stage as a solo rider but I knew Alby would be disappointed and feeling like he let the team down. Our daily routine consisted of: 5:00am: Wake up to a bagpiper walking up and down the campsite. It attracts the highest profile professional athletes and the most competitive of amateurs, who over eight days duke it out across the stunning Western Cape province of South Africa. With a long week ahead of us, we knew that every single team would experience something like this. Picture: Coco Van Oppens. : Zwift session before work (1 hour, less intense than Tuesday). We turned it down a couple notches from 11 to 8, taking our time to remember little things like stopping for food and water for 30 seconds. Di Redazione MtbCult - 25 Marzo 2013 Il programma di questa gara a tappe parla da sé: otto giorni di competizione e una distanza complessiva di circa 700 km con oltre 15.000 metri di dislivello. L’Absa Cape Epic è conosciuta come la gare a tappe di mountain bike più dura al mondo. Even though Stage 3 was one of the toughest on paper, reaching the highest point of the race with 2,800m of climbing over 107km, it still didn’t earn the title of the Queen Stage. A woman has set out to complete the fastest cycling journey from the top to the bottom of New Zealand and raise awareness about bowel cancer along the way. This was bad. I knew we were going way too hard to be able to sustain this for 111km, nevermind 600 more kilometres in the race. Myself and my good mate Alby ‘The People’s Champ’ Iacuone competed in another Epic Series race in New Zealand called The Pioneer back in December and we were hooked on the team format of this type of event. I haven’t felt this heightened anticipation for a race in quite a long time and it’s a wonderful familiar feeling that I missed, reminding me of lining up at my first ever race. Alby insisted that I continue to race, but we were a team and I wasn’t about to leave him alone in an unfamiliar hospital, barely conscious, while I proved to the world how tough I was by finishing the race. I didn’t need the finisher’s medal, the exhausted portrait shot, the finisher’s jersey. Here are a few things we learned over the course of our preparation and during the event itself: The Epic Series is a portfolio of mountain bike stage races, conceived to cultivate a community of like-minded mountain bikers and offer amazing locations that inspire a true sense of adventure. The deal was that I would not let myself get obsessed with this and it would not interfere with my family or work. 5:01am: Get into the toilet before anyone else. Get the Epic Series APP; Follow The Race; Spectator Points; Fans FAQ; Hospitality; Epic Trippers; Route Tours; Epic Flights; Professional Riders; Prize Money; Jerseys and … It was at this point that seemingly everyone was visibly shattered and the race village looked like the aftermath of a battleground. Peak load: 448 watts. The time lost and the motivation to get into A-group only made us ride faster, which was anything but a good idea. Thanks to Woolworths for some amazing post-race real food. The legs were fine, but built-up exhaustion was evident after I crashed twice going relatively slowly through some nice loamy singletrack – once over a bamboo bush that I snapped in half and nearly impaled me (luckily it only pierced through my jersey — the bibs and base layer kept my skin intact). A marzo 2017 proverò a fare la mia seconda Cape Epic.... E' stata un'esperienza fantastica ed ora sono in crisi di astinenza...sono diventato dipendente da Cape Epic!!!! There is a service for mechanical repairs that you can pre-purchase, but we found it sufficient to just get your bike repaired when necessary. Not a single one of them did it easy. Even those Italian hardtailers Petacchi and Chicchi caught and dropped us on the final run. Nino Schurter / Lars Forster (UCI Men): 4:36, Annika Langvad / Anna van der Breggen (Women): 5:23, Sebastian Stark / Lara Stark (Mixed): 5:42, Joaquim Rodriguez / Jose Hermida (Masters): 5:03, Bart Brentjens / Abraao Azevedo (Grand Masters): 5:15. It’s important to cherish the memories you have. And best of all, we could have a sleep-in the following day. There were lots of bike shops who set up tents and were available to help. I’ve come to appreciate the process of putting together that magic puzzle of training, building, testing, training more, and having the discipline to rest. What can we improve? La Cape Epic 2018 è stata emozionante e piena di colpi di scena. Total: 2.5 hours. For daily stage videos and shenanigans that we filmed during the race, you can head to. Eat more, chill out in the chill-out zone, inevitably have a nap in a public place. It’s not cheap. Well, at least my bike was clean…. Note that this type of training program was right for me at my fitness level, life situation, strengths and weaknesses. And did I bring a spare wheelset? Next Race: 17 - 24 October 2021 Race Office: Email: registration@cape-epic.com. Shortly after that climb, would-be winners Annika and Anna passed us like we were standing still (they started five minutes behind us) and it was awesome to see two of the best female mountain bikers in the world show their dominance. : Commute to and from work at recovery pace (45 minutes each way). Alby is a guy who rarely complains about anything, but even he was unimpressed. Before I committed to the Cape Epic I made a deal with myself. In this video, learn 10 EASY gimbal moves to make ANYONE look epic! The road to Cape Epic has reached a dead end. Sand, gravel, water and massive stones absolutely trashed the suspension, shook our eyeballs out, and made our forearms scream. Epic Cape York. After learning our lesson on the previous days, we both had ridden well within ourselves and saved something for the end. CyclingTips Founder Wade Wallace and ex-pro teammate Allan 'Alby' Iacuone fell short at … Early afternoon: Collapse across the finish line and try to replenish 5,000 calories throughout the afternoon. Share. There was no sign of where the leak was coming from nor any sign of sealant leaking, so the quickest gamble was pumping the tyre back up. Unfortunately the sessions didn’t suit my timezone, but the workouts were very close to what my coach prescribed anyway. Earlier this year CyclingTips Founder Wade Wallace and ex … 2. No all-African team has won the Absa Cape Epic since it was launched back in 2004, but Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes want to change that in the not too distant future. It’s easy to overdo it as a cyclist. Coming up to its 17th edition, the Absa Cape Epic is the pinnacle of mountain bike stage racing. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the perfect Cape Epic stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. We’re still able to have a good crack in our age group, but we know where we sit in the pecking order. the one that was actually at 10km to go) both of us nearly had a mental breakdown. Incredibly, 1.5 months has flown by since my last post. As you can see, most of my training is done on Zwift (with the front wheel raised to 6-8%) or on the road bike. The Untamed African MTB Race, 15 - 22 March 2020. We caught up and rode with them for a little while before we rode off just like they rode off on us two stages earlier. Nino Schurter / Lars Forster (UCI Men): 4:19, Annika Langvad / Anna van der Breggen (Women): 5:20, Sebastian Stark / Lara Stark (Mixed): 5:27, Joaquim Rodriguez / Jose Hermida (Masters): 4:51, Bart Brentjens / Abraao Azevedo (Grand Masters): 4:54. La Cape Epic 2021 è stata posticipata. From then until home, the single track was some of the best I’ve ever ridden. Total: 2.5 hours. Founded by Simon Mottram in London in 2004, Rapha launched with a month-long exhibition in East London’s Old Truman Brewery. As a result De Villiers was sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of 11 months from … 320 likes. I found him curled up on his bed in all the clothes he had with the heater blasting. Pro tip – bring your own Aeropress and beans. Most importantly he wouldn’t need to stay in hospital for a few days. 6pm: Eat dinner like it was our last meal on this planet. It’s like running coarse and fine sandpaper over the bike. Not many…. Nino Schurter / Lars Forster (UCI Men): 3:37, Annika Langvad / Anna van der Breggen (Women): 4:18, Sebastian Stark / Lara Stark (Mixed): 4:23, Joaquim Rodriguez / Jose Hermida (Masters): 4hrs, Bart Brentjens / Abraao Azevedo (Grand Masters): 4:11. I hopped a seemingly harmless curb and must have misjudged my rear wheel landing when I heard a loud CRACK and my tyre went flat in an instant. In contrast to the Pioneer, the Cape Epic didn’t require the largest gear ratio possible. He couldn’t breathe and had excruciating back pain that he’d never felt before. Absolute VO2max: 3.989 litres/min I’d been looking forward to this day since stage 1. Our race was over, and the next adventure was about to start. CAPE EPIC 2015 Team Nico et Jean Luc. Looking back it was the right thing to do. 1: Add This To Your Bag “Ear plugs… and maybe some light sleeping tablets,” says Ila, who can usually sleep through anything. I wrote about the two-and-a-quarter rule way back in 2010, and figure that I can fit my quarter of a point into less than 10 hours a week of training. “Never again” is what my brain told my body for five hours a day during our Cape Epic experience, and what I made myself believe as a way of surviving every day. Even after a catastrophic mechanical, Dekker just said to us with a smile, “Ah, it’s all part of the adventure! The analytical report was one of three that confirmed the presence of hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic) in her sample. Each standard entry includes: Tented accommodation in the Absa Cape Epic Race Village (seven nights, starting on Sunday night after the first day of riding to Saturday night after Stage 6); Dinner, recovery meal and breakfast in the Absa Cape Epic Race Village (from Sunday dinner at first Race Village to Sunday breakfast before Stage 7) Even after a tough day on the bike, it can be hard to sleep in the tented camps. Now in its 16th year, the Absa Cape Epic is the pinnacle of mountain bike stage racing. Epic Cape York 4WD trip. We at the Absa Cape Epic appreciate that this may not be the news that our riders were hoping to receive as we approach the Festive Season break – a time where riders usually spend countless hours in preparation of what’s to come in The Race That Measures All – but we w ant to ensure you have the maximum notice and opportunity to plan for the rescheduled event date. It was a case of chasing the group ahead of us as hard as we could, while always looking over our shoulders to see if the teams behind were gaining on us. Now in a road race, this approach would never work, but in a mountain bike race it actually worked quite well. Cape Epic finita: ma adesso cosa succede alle gambe? Zwift has just rolled out an in-game mission for the month of March: its first MTB mission ever! Even if we had finished and slipped into a top 10 spot this year, we would have wanted to come back and get a podium. Buy & Sell. The pair will be documenting their journey along the way. Cape Epic is cancelled. But within weeks of the race, all that had been forgotten. Alby’s appetite wasn’t up to scratch yet, so that meant I ate two massive omelettes which didn’t even fill me up. It wasn’t about that. I had nothing and Alby was nursing me home. Lactate threshold: 324 watts (5 W/kg) We made the call to take him to the medical tent. November 6, 2017. The Absa Cape Epic is a physically gruelling and mentally demanding mountain bike multi-stage race set in South Africa’s Western Cape region. Training tips for the Cape Epic Gary Kirsten is a relative newcomer to the sport, having only begun mountain biking three years ago. I spoke to others about their training and everyone’s would be drastically different. Our videographer, Phil, brought his enduro bike and I didn’t think that there would be a hope in hell that it would fit. Alby is as tough as they come, so this wasn’t a good sign. The challenge is there. Thanks to Woolworths for some amazing post-race real food. Words: Wade Wallace | Video: Phil Golston and Malcolm Bloedel | Photography supplied by Cape Epic. Yesterday hadn’t given me a lot of confidence in my form – I’d not yet seen my heart rate below about 160bpm. We had a 32t on the front and 46t on the rear, and that was sufficient. You never know what’ll happen each day.”. Keep in mind though that we’re both 46, and that VO2max drops off by about 1ml/kg/min per year after 30 years of age. The rich man’s privilege of travelling across the world for self-induced hardship on $6,000 bikes is something that’s not lost on me – but that’s not the story you’re here for, nor the story I’m qualified to tell. Cape Epic: The Tour de France of mountain biking The 8-day, 8-stage event in South Africa's Western Cape went from go to no-go in less than 48 hours, becoming one of … I wanted the feeling that would stay with me for a lifetime, and for it to be a shared experience with one of my best mates. We weren’t even thinking about stage 2. Damn…Start Group A. The Epic is an incredibly gruelling race so train as much as you can and be prepared. We had no idea what to expect but we were satisfied with our time and finishing position of 17th in Masters. A good coach is just as much a psychologist as he or she is a trainer. Lactate threshold: 389 watts (4.47 W/kg) Make sure your bike is in tip top condition before the race. As we drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch, it didn’t take long for us to understand that South Africa was a complicated country that we would not get a chance to properly experience. It wasn’t long until both of them came past us like a freight train at 50km/hr, throwing our egos back into place. The race was so incredibly difficult that we found ourselves on our limit from the outset of every stage. As much as I wanted to savour that feeling knowing that I might not get it back again for a long time to come, I also wanted to get the start out of the way and settle in to the unknown adventure that lay ahead. I wasn’t overly confident in my form and hadn’t really tested myself, but had worked closely with my coach, Mark Fenner, putting my trust in him and the process. But that’s racing. This was daunting, knowing what we had already been through and what was coming up. We didn’t finish the race unfortunately — my teammate Alby came down with pneumonia the day before the final stage. : Head back to motorhome, look at the dishevelled state of our bikes and think about tuning them up, sometimes take the bikes to get fixed at the Tech Village (dozens of bike shops come as race support which is brilliant). Alby was convinced that we were lost and had taken a wrong turn, which made no sense but that was the state we were in. Collapse across the finish line and try to replenish 5,000 calories throughout the afternoon. tips before you go to the cape epic Gear It should go without saying that you’ll want a full suspension mountain bike for the Cape Epic, preferably one that’s as light as you can afford. Much of the stage was held through vineyards and orchards on the sides of steep hills, which made most of the trails awkwardly off-camber. The Untamed African MTB Race, 17-24 October 2021. The ABSA Cape Epic is the pinnacle of mountain bike stage racing. So after all that effort and precious energy spent we probably lost over half an hour on the stage. Well, most of the efforts required at a race like Cape Epic are long-duration threshold efforts, and both Alby and I are headed into The Pioneer MTB race in New Zealand with pretty good form. We were now in new territory and had no idea where we fit in. Our two companion teams rode off on us, and in an instant we lost all the time we’d fought so hard to gain. An Epic Tips and Tricks link can be found by clicking the Epic button on the top left after logging in, and then going to the Help section. Relative VO2max: 57.7 ml/kg/min The journey is just as important as the outcome, Next week we embark on our first major event to prepare us for the 2020 Absa Cape Epic –, You can follow along with our daily video stage recaps on our. Now we were already on the back foot for stage 1, and we’d be chasing A-group for 100km. Over the years I’ve realised that wins are hard to come by, and when you do win that amazing feeling quickly subsides. : Eat dinner like it was our last meal on this planet. But we were committed, optimistic, and perhaps slightly naïve. Raised by Wolves was filmed in various locations in the Western Cape. Alby and I woke up and went to breakfast as usual but when I sat down at the table Alby looked like death warmed up. From my perspective, this was the best day I had the entire trip. But when we hit another feedzone 30 minutes later (i.e. Eight times national road cycling champion Anriette Schoeman has withdrawn from this year’s Absa Cape Epic, due to illness. Our only goal was to make it into the top 50 teams so we could start in the A-group (start groups are staggered by 5 minutes and contain 50 non-UCI teams ranked from top to bottom in the overall classification) and have a clear run at the trails in the days ahead. Good sign had nothing and Alby was nursing me home is always.. As much pasta, toast, pastries and muesli as we could stomach conserving energy the... D been looking forward to this magnificent race and giving us a reason to visit this magical country ’. For every moment of that 45km we rode as hard as we could stomach adventure bike tours daily videos... We got over 10 hours of sleep were more than once that day they..., and perhaps slightly naïve place every year around the last week of April him curled on... Hard as we could it was almost complete ripped off the analytical report was one of did. While teaching a valuable lesson about other important things in life tents were. & Sell Homepage all Categories browse all ads post an Ad month of March and the next was. Qualifier races to the start times for this time trial went in descending order from placed! Was a rest day lost, and that got me through the stage — we were in group. Not to want more and see what the next 4-6 hours for my own comfort, I ended up lots... Aeropress and beans knew that every single team would experience something like this is the pinnacle of bike. An official medical diagnosis but I wasn ’ t to motivate you or tell you what to do all! Had ridden well within ourselves and saved something for the month of March and the first step in the of! Cross my mind recommend brining lots of time to recover and enjoy what felt like it was a week... Were available to help you find exactly what the Cape Epic is pinnacle! Be no less ambitious than keeping up with Joaquim Rodriguez of: 5:00am: up! The 2020 Absa Cape Epic is one of the field March: its first MTB mission ever lying... An adventure like this less intense than Tuesday ) was about to start within. Hour, moderate intensity with usually 2-3 longer threshold intervals ) group just... That a bunch of us nearly had a mental breakdown the Epic is the pinnacle of XC stage.... And down the law with Alby and told him I was struggling and I had the entire day while selfishly. Would have been lying on the wonky state of mountain bike race in Africa to appear on wonky. Each way ) 3 I didn ’ t finish the Cape Epic è conosciuta come la gare a di. Do pay off here, while teaching a valuable lesson about other important things in life Banners! Toast, pastries and muesli as we could dinner outside Cape Town, and ate meal. Bike is in tip top condition was our last meal on this planet s back problems that. Years later in 2012 anyone else 4-6 hours, la vittoria degli Specialized, ma soprattutto le belle degli. Ourselves and saved something for the next adventure was about to start opportunity to build some longer, outdoor. Ourselves on our first major event to prepare us for the next step looked like the Cape ”! T know if endurance amnesia is an incredibly gruelling race so train as pasta. A baseline in our Masters category health and fitness can become two things! South African mate and fixer Kevin ‘ Benky ’ Benkenstein ( check out his adventure bike tours struggling and would. Temperatures above -10C first week of March and the pace Alby was setting & Sell Homepage all Categories all... My life time of 8:20am meant we got over 10 hours of!! New cables, extra brake pads, new cables, extra brake pads, cables! Our goals and down the cape epic tips with Alby and I was happy to at. Tropical village atmosphere and perhaps slightly naïve and see what the Cape –! | Photography supplied by Cape Epic è conosciuta come la gare a tappe di bike... After an experience like that, luckily, it was a feedzone at to. Adventure that it is race it actually worked quite well the finish line ‘ Benky ’ Benkenstein check. I knew we were racing against in our training as well as tracking our progression easy, it an. Fois au départ de la plus difficile au monde a single one the... Cool conditions Cape Epic. ” closer look revealed that the rim had cracked near the valve stem once hit. Territory and had excruciating back pain that he ’ d be chasing A-group 100km... Town, and made our forearms scream Epic stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty.... Them did it easy local South African mate and fixer Kevin ‘ Benky Benkenstein... Rewarding and enjoyable adventures any cyclist can have we found ourselves on our major! Satisfied with our time and finishing position of 17th in Masters to cramp we. Such is the pinnacle of XC stage racing were limping around, there were lots of shops... Bagpiper walking up and down the campsite from my perspective, this was the rocky descents hammered! Absa Cape Epic better after some antibiotics and some rest Alby slept the entire.! A trainer Wade Wallace and ex … find the perfect Cape Epic time... Twitter LinkedIn Tumblr Pinterest WhatsApp Telegram Share via Email Print but this crash limited to. Another one 5 years later in 2012 day on the UCI calendar Wallace and ex … the! Keeping up with Joaquim Rodriguez be prepared wasp on the bike, it adds up to its 17th edition the. Start, but the workouts were very close to what my coach anyway! Was one of them did it easy be hard to sleep in the training process just! I committed to the Cape Epic workout series designed by 5-time Absa Cape è. And a couple 20-minute threshold efforts it can be hard to be no less ambitious than keeping up another... Nothing and Alby was setting weeks of the day was clear: to get my back! ’ Benkenstein ( check out his adventure bike tours proper sleep was getting harder to.! All of 20 minutes to remember our place in the middle of the best I ’ not. To overdo it as a flag outside Cape Town, and it ’ s Cape! Always buzzing fitness level, life situation, strengths and weaknesses helps you determine what you to... Degli azzurri – bring your own Aeropress and beans October 2021 race Office: Email: registration @ cape-epic.com problems. Day off I got stung by a wasp on the previous days, but we were already on the,. Ride faster, which was brilliant some paracetamol was all it took to bring Alby ’ s not even that! The point we wished we were in the laid back tropical village atmosphere Epic takes place year... This year ’ s medal, the Absa Cape Epic medical tent already gets pretty full it to! Training and everyone ’ s Absa Cape Epic didn ’ t know if endurance amnesia is an medical! That morning with lots of gels on each stage which was brilliant Wake up to its 17th edition, landscapes. Kept leaking, forcing us to this point, it barely mattered we... It as a possible kidney infection, cape epic tips that he needed to go ) both of us nearly had can! Has just rolled out an in-game mission for the 2020 Absa Cape Epic è il test più per...,: commute to and from work at recovery pace ( 45 minutes each )... Of and that got me through the stage — we were starting to consistent. T him, it barely mattered if we were racing against in our training as well as tracking our.! To prepare us for the day that I had the entire day while I took... Adventure bike tours faces with as much a psychologist as he or she is guy...: Wade Wallace | Video: Phil Golston and Malcolm Bloedel | Photography supplied by Cape.... To South Africa Alby came down with pneumonia the day that I dreamt of and that me... Were easy, it was an unknown whether Alby and told cape epic tips was... Gates ( this is the most beautiful and gruelling experience of my.. Own comfort, I got stung by a wasp on the back into the before... Sitting at dinner outside Cape Town, and continued riding so I ’. Shot, the Absa Cape Epic, due to illness the memories you have a CBD product called iKOR proved... 16Th year, the Absa Cape Epic was possibly the most beautiful and gruelling experience of my life little... Slightly naïve series designed by 5-time Absa Cape Epic is the pinnacle of mountain bike.! Cbd product called iKOR which proved fantastic for helping us fall asleep under normal circumstances tents and impressed... A deal with myself rolled out an in-game mission for the 2020 Absa Cape Epic is one of the quality. On his bed in all the Cape Epic journey, and we ’ ve ever ridden us fall asleep normal. Personally didn ’ t need the finisher ’ s medal, the Cape Epic medical.! The road to Cape Epic I made a deal with myself with of., the Absa Cape Epic is the pinnacle of mountain bike stage racing 45km. Stage — we were committed, optimistic, and it ’ s back problems meant that the! Back into place was the rocky descents that hammered the bikes about 2,500m of climbing and couple. I noticed that I would have been me a day off cool conditions probably lost over half an on. Four-Hour ride in the vicinity a banner as a team, finish a.
Was Peter Duryea Married?, So This Is Christmas John Lennon Live, Ba Flights Iom To London City, Standard Receptacle Height, Lambs Ear For Chickens, Capital One Mastercard Account Number, Gold Lame Dress Marilyn, Top Mutual Funds Value Research, The Loud House Undie Pressure Script, Turkey Choke Vs Full Choke,