Stage racing offers a lot to people who choose to pursue some of the World’s best Mountain Bike Stage Races. It is difficult to share the entirety of the experience, but there are some things that are easy to relate to: our five senses. Many of these will relate directly to Marathon Mountain Biking too, and bike racing in general. But give yourself 3 to 10 days of Mountain Bike Stage Racing, and your senses start to become attuned to different things, and get used in a different way to ‘normal’ life.
Sight:
Mountain Biking is made a whole lot easier when you can see. Stage Racing will challenge your sight continually. Long days at the ABSA Cape Epic start with a large bunch. You need to keep visual contact with your team mate, and see where the route is going, while you also watch for any erratic riders cutting up the outside or chopping wheels. Add a whole lot of dust, and things get tricky. Hot days in the sun may also leave sweat pouring into your eyes, adding to the challenge later in the day.
Smell:
By day 5, few people have fresh kit. Self laundering, and even the wash service can’t do what a good soak and long cycle wash will do. Race nutrition also has an impact on the smell of Stage Racing. In time, you know who to stay in front of. Choosing your tent in the ABSA Tent Village requires a little forward planning. Which way does the wind blow? Where are the toilets? There are good smells though – as the Woolworths coffee tent starts brewing in the morning, and the catering crew get cranking for breakfast and dinner – you may actually end up with an appetite again.
Taste:
An unfortunate side effect of putting a lot of effort in is an open mouth. Quite often the taste of a Stage Race is dirt, mixed with sports drink, mixed with sun cream or blistex. And whatever else gets in there. On bad days this could be bile, the bar or gel you ate recently, or even blood. If things go really well, it might be Champagne? But in general Stage Racing may dull your taste buds – this may just be the general apathy towards eating that occurs as the race progresses.
Hearing:
This alone is why you don’t race with earphones – you can miss out on a lot. In a race with smaller fields where you may not have company, some beats into the brain may help. But if you occlude this vital sense in a big Stage Race you are missing out. At the start, it is a vital part of your communication with your team mate, along with your sight. You need your hearing for safety too. You can hear braking, people upshifting pre-boost, and buzzing of tyres signalling a touch of wheels or even crash. You need to listen to your bike: is the chain dry, are your brakes rubbing, is the headset knocking, or are your shock bushings creaking? All these things can be heard (and usually felt). Successful racing is about communication – and can be improved by making new mates out on the course. Being able to converse with others so you can work together into a headwind, or listening to their plans, is immensely useful.
Touch:
This one may seem a little bit ‘out there’ but it transforms a little in a stage race. Brushing through scrub that is noticeably wet from another riders sweat is a unique experience to racing. The push on the small of your back from your team mate or a competitor is welcome and signifies the kinship that stage racing can create. The touch of one rider to another on the rear, thigh or lower back when moving up the group at the start, or to signal that they are coming through for a turn – is an essential use of this sense.
Our five senses get used in countless more ways than this, some people may rely on one more than another. But stage racing can certainly break things down to the basics of life – just like ride, eat, sleep… repeat! Stage 5 tomorrow, as we race 119km with 2350m climbing from Caledon to Oak Valley. Stage 4 results are online.
Stage 4 Recap from the ABSA Cape Epic