This week has demonstrated just how many things need to work in order to reach the end of an event as tough as the Absa Cape Epic. Obviously your legs need to keep on stomping; but assuming you’ve done the right training, you should be OK. Your bike needs to hold up; which means you need the right kit, but you also need to look after it well – no crunching the gears, be as light as possible over the rocks, stay on the most-ridden lines to avoid thorns.
Beyond that though there are two other pretty critical elements: first is the team, in a pairs event like this; and second is your stomach – as many riders, pro and amateur alike, will discover at some point, if you can’t digest what you’re putting in there, it doesn’t matter how fit you are – you’re going to struggle.
The team
The fact that the Absa Cape Epic is a pairs event is one of the things that makes the race so appealing to many riders. From having done six days as an “Outcast” (a UCI rider who has lost their team-mate, and can ride, but isn’t allowed to affect the outcome of the race) last year, I can confirm that it’s a lot less fun on your own. And I’m also pretty sure that if I hadn’t had Jeff to nurse me through Tuesday this year, weak from a stomach bug, I wouldn’t have finished that day’s stage.
But the team needs to work well together. And by day seven of eight, either the team is working well, or if it isn’t then one of several things might have happened.
Outcome 1: one rider is stronger than the other, but has kept drilling it all week without looking after his / her teammate well enough. If this has happened, either the weaker rider has dropped out, costing the team a finish, or has just got more and more tired over the week, making the disparity all the greater.
Outcome 2: not enough communication, in which case resentment has been building all week. These teams are easy to spot by the stares over each other’s shoulders at mealtimes.
Outcome 3: disappointment due to mismatched expectations. If one half of the team is aiming for top 50, and the other for top 200, someone is going to be unhappy.
Happily, Jeff and I, aka Team Open-Rotor, aka Team Small and Tall, have found a nice rhythm, despite only having ridden together a handful of times before, and not having seen each other since October.
On the flat, or anything windy / non-technical and rolling, Tall to the front – 189cm and 69kg better than 168cm and 57kg. On anything technical or fast downhill, Small to the front – better at descending anyway, and not hindered by short sight. On the climbs, whichever is feeling marginally better at a given moment to the front; but our tempo mostly seems pretty similar – power to weight must be about the same.
The stomach
I thought it worth illustrating the crazy nutrition requirements generated by flogging your body over all the terrain that the Absa Cape Epic can throw at you over eight days, with a simple list of what I got down my gullet yesterday. Typical? Who knows, but I suspect it isn’t far off. No doubt a nutritionist would have a field day with this, but my view is that while you might be able to specify an ideal diet, (a) as an amateur, unsupported rider it’s quite hard to implement any such thing, and (b) six days into an eight-day race you’re pretty much going to be eating anything you can face the sight / smell / taste of.
In approximate order of consumption:
In the breakfast tent: scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage; porridge with honey and peanut butter; cornflakes with milk; three small pains au chocolat. And a double macchiato from the Woolworths guys – rocket fuel.
During the queen stage (115k): packet of Clif Shot Bloks, MuleBar caffeine gel, three MuleBars, six cups of Coke from the feed stations, two Marmite sandwiches, three pieces of cake, and a lot of water.
Immediately after the finish: Woolworths recovery bag – chicken Caesar wrap, chocolate milk, small packet of biltong.
During the afternoon: Woolworths “top-up meal” – cottage pie, and another chocolate milk; eight chocolate chip biscuits; three small packets of nuts; two more chicken Caesar wraps; three cans of assorted soft drinks.
Supper: half a pizza as a starter; a segment of someone else’s tramezzina sandwich; a double burger with cheese, bacon and chips, and a side order of roast veg; two glasses of Pinotage and one of Merlot; half a big chocolate chip cookie.
Total calories consumed? No idea, but suffice to say it’s a lot; and I woke up the next morning at 5am, ready to eat again. Stomach working? Check, after a shaky couple of days earlier in the week.
The front of the race
Another popular stage win for Nino Schurter and Philip Buys of Scott-Odlo Racing today – the long stretches of singletrack must have suited them, because they won by six minutes. No change to the overall lead though – Topeak-Ergon made it back after an early mechanical to finish comfortably and maintain their ten-minute lead over Sauser and Rabon in second.
For the women, Kleinhans and Langvad of RECM stretched their lead by another ten minutes or so; that race looks sewn up barring major incident on tomorrow’s final stage. And deservedly so as well – they look super-strong.
Team Open-Rotor-Asterion’s race
Getting back to business as usual today for Team Open-Rotor. A really enjoyable day – sunshine and singletrack means smiles all round. Some tough climbs again, but there was a reward after each one.
Another double shot macchiato this morning helped with a punchy start – good to make up places early on in order to be able to enjoy the singletrack. And we kept pushing fairly hard up the climbs, so that we would get the rewards on the downhills – Jeff always acting as my personal singletrack guided missile.
We got a nasty shock coming into the last bit of singletrack towards Oak Valley, because we saw a big group coming up behind, having thought we had a good gap on the team behind. It turned out, however, to be all the Outcasts, riding as a group. They motored straight through us, and luckily Jeff resisted the temptation to try and hold them on the way into the race village. That would have been fun, but it would also have involved me at least riding on the ragged edge – not sensible when feeling quite tired, and with one day to go to Lourensford!