Cape Epic Day #6
Written by Matthew:
Finally. A day of real mountain biking. Rebecca and I have been – in all modesty – constantly surprised by the relatively low level of technical skill demonstrated by most of the riders in the field. We’ve seen insane fitness and a huge amount of enthusiasm for daily suffering… but not a lot of skill on display. We’ve used this to our advantage, repeatedly, over the past week, but the opportunities for really throwing down on hairy single track have been few and far between. Not so today…
After the typical road racing madness for the first twenty kilometers – including watching one rider huck himself off a bridge as he was trying to pass the entire field during the neutral roll-out when the road pinched to a single-lane river crossing – we settled down to a solid, steady pace sitting in the top thirty teams and got on with our day in the saddle. Following a surprisingly technical climb (not particularly steep but rarely out of the granny gear), to a peak deep in a wilderness preserve called the Woolfkloof, we dropped into the finest descending of the entire race. Ripping down an ancient and heavily-eroded jeep track, we flew past riders who had stacked themselves on the big drops, bunged their bikes by smacking rocks or were just generally over their heads. Finally reaching the bottom, we looked at each other with huge grins and mentally high-fived each other all the way to the next moment that required our immediate attention.
Down from the Woolfkloof, we disappeared into a forest of Eucalyptus and Fynbos that hid a most satisfying, swooping, rolling single track that dropped a further 700 vertical feet and delivered the most satisfying single-track experience of the race. Of course, with a cumulative drop of nearly 2,000 ft, we had to climb back out to cross another peak in the Cape Nature Conservation area called Kogelberg. With the sun peeking out and a bit too much enthusiasm spent on the early parts of the stage, we pared our pace and steadily ground out the nearly one hour climb that topped out on a wind-blown ridge with a panoramic view of what seemed like all of South Africa spread below us.
We were surrounded by the teams with whom we had been racing for much of the past week as we punched out the last few, stiff, hot climbs and cruised the final, freshly built single track into Oak Valley, yet another gorgeous wine-making area in the Western Cape. 
We are sitting solidly in 6th place now in a stout mixed field. With just 60 km left to race tomorrow and a 10 minute gap to the 5th place team, the results will most likely stand. There is still a solid day with 1500 meters of climbing and anything can happen. As with each day, the goal is to stay safe, race hard and enjoy the scenery. We are looking forward to the final finish line and closing the books on an incredible week of racing and training.
Our final report will tabulate calories burned, kilometers climbed, heart beats, average speed and a host of other really interesting details that have been recorded on our Suunto watches this entire week. I guess it really was an 8 day work week.
Thanks for tuning in!
–Matthew
Cape Epic Day #5, Almost There!
I hate road racing. That’s the title of this posting for stage 5 of the Absa Cape Epic. Today’s stage was the last super long one, 111km and “only” 1546 meters of climbing. As usual, the first hour of the race was hard for me. I don’t have a stitch of fast twitch muscle and I usually require a long warm up before events. Logistically, it’s not possible here to warm up, so when the gun goes off, I’m pinned immediately. For many of the stages there are long sections of dirt or paved roads, so being able to stay with a strong group offers a huge advantage and the opportunity to rest and recover while still moving at a fast pace. Unfortunately, my diesel engine has not allowed us to stay where we want to be for the first part of the race. Once I’m warmed up and moving well, we then have to pick our way back up through the field and try to close the gaps between packs of riders. It ends up being like a very hard interval session that goes on for hours. Most days we end up passing people for the second half of the day, but today we really paid for the extra work.
Today felt like my weakest day of the whole race. I’m not sure why I was extra tired. Perhaps it’s the 500 km we’ve already ridden and 6 intense days of racing. I just wasn’t my normal self, I felt like I was working way too hard. I am really feeling the lack of miles under my belt, the heat and the challenges of a racing style that is not my forte. I know this is a long race, but each day is 5-6 hours with a very fast, explosive pace. Over 6 days, we’ve raced about 22 hours. Normally, I’d race that amount of time in one day.
The last 20 km of today’s stage was very hilly and the heat was intense. I struggled into the finish today and unfortunately we dropped from 5th to 6th in the mixed ranking. I was really affected by the heat again and am trying to take full advantage of the recovery this afternoon. Natasha and Claire have been incredible taking care of us with massage and nutrition. Our Specialized camp scene has been a welcome reprieve at the end of each day. It has been great to roll in, sip on recovery drinks, watch Benno and Dylan completely rebuild the bikes and share race stories from the day. There is a constant flow of people coming by Camp Specialized to say hi, get mechanical help and just hang out.
I am looking forward to the final finish line in Lourensford in 2 days. However, I will miss our nomadic lifestyle and the camaraderie that has developed around this race.
Tomorrow’s stage is 86 km with 1546 meters of climbing. It’s rumored to be the most technical stage in any Cape Epic race ever. Perhaps it will be less of a road race and will suit my strengths a bit more.
Cheers
Reba
Cape Epic Day #4
Report #4
Absa Cape Epic, Stage #4
114 km, 2202 meters ascent
This stage was reported to be an “easy” day. I think saying any day of the Cape Epic is a bit of an oxymoron. We are tired, bruised and the affects of this many days of racing are starting to show. Matthew and I are both feeling fine, but the legs are sore and the 5am wake up call is taking its’ toll on me!
The stages begin with a mass start of 1200 racers. Teams are lined up in zones based on their overall time and placing. Since we have been sitting in the top 5 in the mixed division, we are allowed to start in Zone A with about 200 other riders. You can feel the weight of the other 1200 riders pressing behind you and the starts are always fast and furious with a cluster of athletes jockeying for position. The first 30 minutes of these days are my least favorite part of the day. It’s difficult to keep track of your teammate, hard to stay safe in the jumble of riders and quite a rude awakening with no warm up.
Today’s start was a neutral roll out through the sleepy town of Greyton. A car was leading us out through the town and onto the open roads. Unfortunately, the course marshal must not have had his Red Bull this morning because he took a wrong turn and lead the whole entire field into a dead end road. The whole field was stopped and confusion set in. We were only 5 minutes from the start and rumor circulated through the field that there would be a re-start. The pack mentality made people push other riders and trample through gardens. The group was making its’ way back toward the start and then just kept going. The re-start never happened and in the confusion, Matthew was pushed over and I lost track of him. Hundreds of people passed us before we realized the race was proceeding despite the botched start. I rode for about 30 minutes not knowing where Matthew was. He was behind me working hard to catch up. When we finally found each other, we were among hordes of recreational riders. We’ve been riding in about 40th position overall for most of the race, but today’s start put us somewhere in the hundreds.
We spent the rest of the stage working through groups, passing people and trying to catch back up. Much of the day was on fast roads with a headwind. It was truly road racing for ¾ of the day and since we were back with slower riders, we were not in packs that could share the workload. Matthew put his nose into the wind and his head down to work. It took us about 2 hours to move into the top 10 mixed field. It took us another couple of hours to work into 6th place in the mixed division. The whole stage took us 5:41 and most of our effort was spent passing teams and working back up through the field after the botched start. We finished the day in 6th and maintained our 5th place in the GC. However, we now only have a 4 minute advantage on the next team, which leaves very little room for error.
As the race goes on, Matthew and I are definitely finding our racing rhythm and learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Today was frustrating to have lost so much time due to a mistake by the course marshal. However, we rode really well and cut our losses the best we could. It’s hard not to look at the standings for today and wonder where we should have placed. However, this race is very much an adventure and very few teams have 8 days in a row with no mistakes, mechanicals or mishaps. I crashed today and bent my wheel about 5 km from the finish. Luckily, it was still operational and got me to the finish line. The other Specialized team (Songo.info) with Christoph and Burry were not so lucky. Burry crashed early in the race and also damaged his wheel. After winning every single stage so far, they lost approximately 20 minutes and lost their overall lead. They are motivated to make a historical comeback and try to regain the lead. As I said, this race is an adventure and the fatigue is setting in for everyone. Bikes and bodies are getting worked, so anything can still happen.
Tomorrow is also rumored to be an “easy” day at 111 km and 2233 meters of climbing. The goal is to race well, stay upright and maintain our position in the general classification.
Cheers
Reba
Cape Epic Stage #3
Report #3 Absa Cape Epic, Stage 3
Although relatively short at only 73k, stage three packed a wallop. Just shy of half-way, we encountered a 2,000 ft climb, the vast majority of which was too steep, loose and rocky to ride. The summit ridge offered astonishing views of the incredible hill country known as The Overberg (over the mountains). Although this climb was the crux of the day, it was by no means the only challenge. After a howling fast start straight up a 1,000 ft. + loose double-track, followed by several kilometers of loose, challenging, off-camber vineyard service roads, we found our adventure racing backgrounds serving us well as we marched up a steep trail that would take us to the summit of the Boskloof, the tallest mountain in the region. With our bikes on our shoulders, we steadily worked our way through the field on the long hike and eventually saw the 3rd and 4th place mixed teams in the overall standings. Knowing that this was our best shot at moving into the top four in the overall standings, we pushcd relentlessly seeking seconds wherever we could find them.
The picturesque village of Greyton, sitting snugly against the mountains, was our destination, and after the insanely fast descent (max speed 35mph), we joined up with a pack of ex-roadies who stormed towards the final grinder climbs. Our legs had a hard time shifting from big-ring ripping to granny-gear grinding, but our minds were willing: we crossed the line in 5th, again, solidifying our overall position but failing to budge one step higher. After the race, we agreed that we couldn’t have gone any faster or raced together any better than we did. No flats, solid tactics, the courage to attack a hard course, no mistakes, good nutrition and hydration… it is a wonderful feeling to know that you’ve left it all on the trail, and that those who beat you were simply stronger on the day. We also wanted to share our observations on the total professionalism of the team that is supporting us.
Benno and Dylan, our mechanics, strip our bikes down every night, clean the chains link-by-ink, install fresh rubber every night (and even modify the tread for increased traction) and even use bike shine to make sure our rides are fully pimped at the line. And Claire and Natasha, our soigneurs, wake us with coffee, wash our clothes every day, massage the day’s punishment from our legs and generally make sure that we are presentable when we go to the line. And, in terms of psyche, it’s never a bad thing to be sharing a designated mobile home slot with the team that has won every single stage of the race so far… although the groupies and journalists are starting to get a bit tedious!
Thanks to Gary Perkin for the photos. See them all on my Facebook Fan Page
Pre-Ride Pictures
Here are a few photos I took during the pre-ride of the course in Cape Town. I’ll get some race photos coming as soon as I can.
-Reba
Cape Epic Day One:Full Report
The Cape Epic 2009
South Africa
I am finally over in South Africa and have started the Cape Epic, a 685 km, 8-day mountain bike stage race. The route passes through mountain and wine regions and will feature over 14,000 meters of climbing over the course of the week. It’s the largest and most competitive stage race in the world and the team rosters are packed with 1200 athletes, including Olympians, pro riders, World Champions and regular cyclists.
It is my second year competing in this event as my own Spring training camp and a great travel experience. I am here racing in the mixed division with my coach and friend, Matthew Weatherley-White. Matthew is an ex-road cycling racer, adventure racer and long time endurance athlete. We are using this race as a key building block to my season. We’ll be recording all of our heart rate data on our Suunto watches and compiling a training report when the kilometers are all logged. I am also traveling along with Specialized team riders, Chrisoph Sauser and Burry Stander. We’re camping for the entire week of the race, but camping in style with motor homes, mechanics and soigneurs to help us out. I will be sending reports from the field when I can and you will hopefully get to experience much of the behind the scenes experience and the racing excitement from our reports.
The Prologue is now under our belts and I feel relieved to have finally started the race and gotten the nerves calmed. It was 17km with 650 meters of climbing through the recent burns on Table Mountain. What goes up must come down and the descents were extremely loose and rocky. A rider broke his collarbone yesterday pre-riding the course. I expect there will be more crashes today. Matthew and I discussed our strategy for this day and vowed to ride hard, but be sure not to blow up or crash and to take things a bit conservatively. It is a long race and this is just the prologue. Matthew and I made it through unscathed. The bikes were perfect and we stayed upright. We finished the stage in 4th place, which I am VERY pleased with. All of the women in the top three mixed teams for today are Olympians. We are also surrounded on all sides by World Champions, more Olympians and various other cycling pedigrees. We are in very competitive and very good company, so I feel great about our preliminary performance. The top 6 mixed teams are all within 5 minutes of each other after today, so this week promises to be extremely competitive. There are still more than 600 km to go, so I’m sure the results will be fluid. However, we made a great statement and it’s a good confidence boost to know we are riding amongst the best in the world.
My Specialized teammates Chrisoph and Burry won the men’s prologue by just a few seconds and head into the race in the leaders jersey. They are racing as team Songo.info
Tomorrow is the real start of the race with a 119km stage with 2700 meters of climbing. It is rumored to be one of the hardest of the race, so stay tuned. Thanks for checking in. Thanks to Red Bull and Specialized for making this race a reality!
For complete race times and details for the entire field, check here.
Our team name is Specialized / Red Bull
http://www.cape-epic.com
Thanks
Reba
Prologue Done, Race Has Begun
http://www.cape-epic.com/live/results.php?cattype=Mixed&stage=OR
OK, the Prologue is under our belts. I feel relieved to have finally started the race and gotten the nerves calmed. 17km with LOTS of climbing through the burns on Table Mountain. What goes up must come down and the descents were extremely loose and rocky. A rider broke his collarbone yesterday pre-riding the course. I expect there will be more crashes today. Matthew and I discussed our strategy for this day and vowed to ride hard, but be sure not to blow up or crash and ride a bit conservatively. It is a long race and this is just the prologue. Matthew and I made it through unscathed. The Specialized bikes were perfect and we stayed upright. We finished the stage in 4th place which I am VERY pleased with. All of the women in the top three mixed teams for today are Olympians. We are also surrounded on all sides by World Champions. We are in very competitive and very good company, so I feel good about our preliminary performance. There are still more than 600 km to go, so I’m sure the results will be fluid. However, we made a great statement and it’s a good confidence boost to know we are riding amongst the best in the world.
Sorry no photos from today. We had to be up at 4:30am, so I forgot to take the camera. I’ll work on that.
Tomorrow is the real start of the race with a 119km stage.
Stay tuned!
Reba
Catching Up From South Africa
Hello! As most of you know, I’m over in South Africa for the Cape Epic, and 8 day mountain bike stage race. Over the course of the week, we’ll ride over 600 km and climb more than 14,000 meters. I am racing with my coach, Matthew Weatherley-White in the mixed division. There are 1200 riders and this is by far the most competitive stage race in the world.
Fires this season have ravaged Capetown’s surrounding areas and much of the primo mountain bike terrain here. The first pics are riding in Jonkershoeck just near our B & B. A fire ran through here a few weeks ago and burned everything in site. Matthew and I went up there to ride and the trails and place are trashed. Jonkershoeck is the location where Specialized has hosted it’s team tire testing for two years and the difference between riding there last year in pristine pine forest and this year in black soot was really depressing. They will have years of trail maintenance to rebuild this beloved area. Also, World Heritage site, Table Mountain, the location for the prologue on Saturday was also on fire yesterday. All pre-race practices have been cancelled and crews are working hard to get the course repaired in time for the start.
Today, Matthew and I spent time riding around the local wine country and then heading into the local Township of Kayamandi. Specialized team riders, Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander are racing to raise funds and support for a local BMX park and bike club for the kids in this area. After more than a year’s worth of work and fundraising, today was the official launch day where Specialized bikes, and gear were presented to the club and hordes of smiling faces. The park is built and the club has a healthy group of boys and girls who are discovering the joy of riding bikes. More info on the initiative can be found here:
http://www.songo.info/songoinfo-2009/#more-400
The next two days will be filled picking up the motor homes for our 8 day adventure, tinkering with bikes and gear, attending race registration and resting as much as possible.
I will be posting race reports from the field at:
Www.mountainbike.com
Www.velonews.com
Www.sleepmonsters.com
Take your pick, but the reports will be similar. I’ll try to get photos when possible and give you as much info as I can muster. I will tell you that the mixed team division is stacked with Olympians, World Champions and some really heavy hitting teams with intimidating resumes. Making the podium in this race will be an impressive task for anyone.
Complete official results and route profiles for each day will also be posted on:
Www.cape-epic.com
Our team name is Specialized / Red Bull in case you are trying to find us.
Thanks for following along. I’ll be posting to you as much as humanly possible!
Cheers
Reba
Finally in South Africa
I made it to SA and I must say, my lodging and my new bike is amazing! So excited to finally be here, rest and get ready for the race. Keep in touch, as I will be doing daily updates from the race with photos. Here is a quick pic of the race bikes, mine has the white fork. Stoked! You can follow my updates on Twitter too: thequeenofpain
Arkansas Race Report
Hot Springs, Arkansas
USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series race #2
3/9/2009
I just got home from the Spa City Marathon and my second race in the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series. The race was in Hot Springs, AR and their claim to fame in that area of the country is being the “boyhood home of former President Bill Clinton.” That’s what the huge sign says as you drive into town. This was my first trip to Arkansas and I learned that Hot Springs and the nearby Little Rock area have a lot more going for them than past presidents. Hot Springs is home to a beautiful, wooded National Park, natural hot springs, a sweet looking roller coaster, a strip karaoke club and some really amazing single track riding. I didn’t hit all of those hot spots. I mostly focused on the riding part.
This race was my second stop in the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series and part of my early season quest to find warm places to ride outside. I traveled down alone, but shared a house with Danielle Musto and Fuzzy John Mylne, two other pro racers. I spent a big chunk of my time in Little Rock hanging out at the Specialized shop, Arkansas Cycling and Fitness. They took great care of me by buffing out my bike and taking me to their local favorite restaurant. They even made some bets about how many laps I would be able to complete in the race.
The race was a 6-hour marathon on a 10-mile single track course. The riding was really fun and fast through the woods. The weather was humid, but overcast, so the heat didn’t get to me too much. Danielle had driven to the race, so she had all the race supplies with her: tent, chairs, and Ted the mechanic! She was totally willing to share them all, so the three of us used her tent and Ted was kind enough to provide support and time splits for everyone.
After my metabolic testing at G Fit performance studio in Boise last week, I was armed with some new heart rate zone numbers and a bit more knowledge. I opted not to use an odometer on my bike and just start up my Suunto T6c to record all of the data from the race. This was my last hard effort before heading to South Africa in a week, so my coach Matthew had asked me to try to go as hard as possible and “empty the tank.”
I took the lead from the start, but not by much. After the first lap, Ted reported that I had a one-minute lead over 2nd and 3rd. Part of the fun of coming to a race in a new place is that I have no idea who the competition will be. I had raced against Danielle before, but all of the other women were unknown. After about 2 hours, I still only had a 5-minute lead and was not content with that close of a margin. I always think about possible scenarios that would eat up my advantage such as a flat tire, a crash or another mechanical. It was easy to keep the race intensity high because the course was so much fun and required my full attention. I avoided flat tires and crashes and finished 7 laps on the course in 6:10:50, set a female course record and finished 7th in the men’s field. Danielle moved into 2nd place on the last lap and finished 6 laps in 5:41:10. Fuzzy won the overall with a course record of 8 laps in 6:20:20.
The win keeps me in a solid lead for the overall points for the USA Cycling endurance series. Most importantly, it was a great time riding my bike and the perfect brutally hard training day that I needed before heading to South Africa.
Thanks to Dan and Richard at Arkansas Cycling and Fitness Specialized dealer for all the great support. Thanks to Red Bull for supplying most of the racers with energy drinks for the day. Thanks to Danielle, Ted and Fuzzy for a fun time in Hot Springs!
–Rebecca