ABSA Cape Epic

The Cape Epic doesn't need much introduction apart from those who may not know that it is the highest profile mountain biking stage race in the world, hence being referred to as the "Tour de France" of mountain biking. For every mountain biker it is a must do similar to what the Argus Cycle Tour is to road riding. However, the Cape Epic is a much more costly affair and therefore in most cases not possible for many people to participate in. I on the other hand are one of those fortunate ones to have the backing of some amazing sponsors, Blend Property, Gu South Africa and Omnico who made it possible for me to race the ultimate race I've been longing to do since my first one back in 2006.

Basic stage stats: (dist./climbing/time/stage position/GC position)
Prologue: 27km, 873m, 1h22m, 18th, 18th
Stage 1: 113km, 2212m, 4h56m, 19th, 18th
Stage 2: 121km, 1634m, 4h28m, 17th, 17th
Stage 3: 140km, 2647m, 5h56m, 14th, 15th
Stage 4: 101km, 2507m, 5h08m, 14th, 13th
Stage 5: 115km, 1853m, 6h12m, 25th, 16th
Stage 6: 82km, 2165m, 4h43m, 39th, 16th
Stage 7: 62km, 1310m, 3h01m, 22nd, 18th
Total: 761km, 15201m, 35h46m, 18th
(full results)

The prologue on day 1 got of to a good start with my partner Charles Keey being in his element from being a forma multiple TT champion on the road... we set off at a rapid pace! The highlight, which definitely ranks as one of the top throughout the 8 days (although it was lung busting intensity) was riding up the switch-back climb of the hill top finish through the enormous crowd of spectators! Makes you aware of how big this race really is! After peeing in a cup for doping control we were on our way to Robertson for the start of stage-1 the following morning in 18th place on GC (General Classification).

Stage 1 was a real good introduction to what lay ahead over the next few days! Everyone has fresh and excited legs that are raring to race! There was plenty of hike-a-bike sections that were so steep it was difficult to even walk up them let along drag your bike up too. After what seemed to be a very long day and three punctures later we were finished stage-1 remaining in 18th position on GC, which we intended on hopefully improving as the days went on.

Stage 2 involved some true Klein Karoo rocky jeep track riding amongst the dry bossies as well as some visits through the vineyards of the local wine farms. The competition in this race is phenomenal with all best local South African athletes as well as a very strong international contingent of athletes thrown into the field to mix things up! We managed to take one step up on GC after the stage to be in 17th overall before the queen stage the following day.

Stage 3 was the longest in Cape Epic history covering over 140km from Robertson to Caledon. We did well to remain amongst the main bunch for most of the way. The dry heat experienced throughout the long stage made some of the river crossings very refreshing as they were too deep to ride through. After another consistent ride we had moved up to 15th on GC overall.

After a long hot day 4 the approaching storm was starting to bear its teeth as we headed out for a loop around the Caledon farm lands. With some very nice steep climbs and descents we were having a very solid day. However, after doing well to get up the last major climb and down the treacherous descent safely holding a good position we unfortunately lost some time from missing a marker before water point 2. It didn't end there as a little later on while riding with another two teams grinding our way back into a monster of a North Westerly head wind towards Caledon through the endless rolling farm hills we missed yet another turn. The wind seemed to be playing a bit of havoc with the markers... This resulted in us doing some extra riding up a sizable hill and losing some more precious time! After keeping the moral up, which wasn’t easy in those windy conditions and having gone wrong twice we climbed another two spots on GC to now be lying 13th overall! Things were looking up... until day 6 where there is no other way to describe it other than when the sh*%t-hit-the-fan...

The traditional Cape winter cold front was upon us as we made our way from Caledon up and into the mountains of the Houwhoek, Elgin, Grabouw region to finish on the flowing single tracks of Oak Valley. With about 40km left still to the end of the stage while up in the mountains the rain came down in bucket loads. With no extra warm or protected clothing and a sub 5% body fat content hypothermia began to set in! I’ve been cold plenty of times before and in my mind this simply seemed to be one of those occasions, however, my body reacted in a way I’ve never experienced before! I lost all orientation making it very difficult to ride the single tracks of Oak Valley in the last 10km of the stage. I kept riding off the path and struggled to stay on two wheels. The last incident was within 500m from the finish where I fell down into a little river and was stuck up-side-down in the water with my bike on top of me and all I remember hearing was Charles shouting “HURRY-UP-DAVE!!!” After crossing the finish line things were rather blurry and I can’t remember too much. The medic that took control of me was fantastic and such an awesome guy, I wish I could have remembered his name... After about 2hrs of finishing, a hot shower and coffee and being wrapped in blankets sitting millimeters from a heater my body temperature was still only 34 degrees! It would have been interesting to know what it was when I had just finished! Eventually after some more cups of hot chocolate my temperature was back up to 36 and I was discharged from the medical tent ready to fight another day...

Unfortunately the fighting that was to take place the following day (day-7) was not a matter of competition and gaining time or positions, it was a matter of survival and trying to limit the damages as much as possible! My body had nothing in it (literally due to the post effects of hypothermia) and I struggled to simply turn the pedals! This made it a real fight to make it through the stage and was one of the worst and longest days on the bike for me (also for Charles who could do nothing but just ride frustratingly slowly while I slogged away).

The previous two days happenings had caused us to drop further down on the overall GC from 13th after day-5 to 16th after day-7 and with my recovery still on the back foot the final day was looming. Yet another battle began as we left Oak Valley under perfect conditions en-route to Lourensford. I felt better than the previous day, however, still nowhere near being fully recovered from the knock my body took and thus still struggled. I gave it everything I possible could while Charles pushed and pulled me where ever he could and we managed to finish the stage in 22nd place and limit our losses as much as possible once again, however, unfortunately dropping another 2 places on GC to finish the 8 days in 18th overall.

 A very special mention has to be made for my wife, Jayde. As with all races it is all about the racing and that time spent on the bike, however, in a race like the Cape Epic, any stage race for that matter there is so much that goes on during those hours off the bike between stages. It becomes a routine from day to day and there is so much to organize between stages and preparation for what lies ahead the following day. Being the rider you are often so tied without enough energy to even think straight and the time off the bike can also be considered the most important part of the race in which you need to do as little as possible to recover as much as possible and regain focus! This is where you’ll hear of the word soigneur more commonly heard in the professional European racing scene like the Tour de France. Basically this is a cyclist's personal assistant who is assign to the riders to help them with everything that needs to be done. Jayde fulfilled this role during the 8 grueling days for me in an incredible way! She was always the first person I saw at the finish of each day with everything I possibly needed from carrying a big bag with all my stuff to a cold recovery drink to loving support. She was unbelievable and now she is not only my number-one-supporter but also my super-soigneur! I would also like to thank everybody else for the support, my parents for coming out and watching along the way and all the encouraging messages!

My 20th Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour

Where's Wally... with a little help from the added circle there's me in the bunch on the front cover of the bumper 35-year edition of the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour magazine (along with the other 20 guys haha).

The 35th year of the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour also marked my 20th consecutive one! Yes, I'm 27 years old now and that means I did my first one when I was a mere 8 years old and never missed finishing one since. A lot has changed since then and now I'm racing competitively in the elite bunch.

This elite bunch is rather large (I'd say too large for professional road racing consisting of over 200 participants and judging by the time gaps amongst the entire group at the finish) and I normally try and stay out of trouble for the first half of the race avoiding the inevitable crashes (which did happen in a big way at the bottom of the infamous early fast descent of "hospital bend"!). Without doing much road racing this season I found it difficult to hold a decent position in the bunch as handlebars and bums touched while guys squeezed through gaps all at 50km/hr to get closer to the front of the bunch and the big name teams controlled the pace.

I stayed patient until just before Chapmans Peak where I put in some extra efforts and squeezed my way through the bunch to get a bit closer to the front. The pace until this point was slower than the previous year so I knew a bit of tactics amongst the big teams might have been the reason for this and therefore there would be some strong legs in the bunch to really up the tempo over Chappies and Suikebossie to the finish!

Chappies was exactly that as the intensity increased as we neared the top and then continued on the descent as a small break away bunch of about 10 guys had a gap. I found myself hanging onto the back of the main chasing peloton as we swooped around the corners at 60km/hr. It seemed like a blink of an eye and we were already standing up pedaling over little Suikebossie. The main Suikebossie climb was just a blur. I always enjoy climbing, however, this kind of climbing in a road race is very different to the climbing in a mountain bike race, especially having done very little road racing recently! Here they are short lasting only about 5min in which you have to stand up and push out huge watts for the duration, while in mountain biking you are normally forced to stay seated and use more technique and endurance pedaling for a longer time to get you up the climb efficiently.

So, I managed to stay in the main chasing peloton over Suikebossie while the small break away bunch were still a couple of seconds ahead of us. This was to remain until the finish, which at least relieves the pressure off the bunch to sprint for the win at the end (although some of the guys do still sprint for 12th place...) and I was able to cruise over the line to finish my 20th Cycle Tour satisfied with another top elite bunch finish in a time of 2h37m (slower than last year...).

Dissapointing times, MTN National #3 Sabie, UCI World Cup Event

Sabie is one of my favorite stops on the MTN National marathon mountain biking series. The course suites me with its endlessly long climbs. With the excellent work put into organizing these National Series events by the Advendurance crew paying off, this race was incorporated into the UCI World Cup marathon mountain biking series and therefore UCI points and a spot on the start line at the World Marathon Championships in France later this year were all up for grabs! This also attracted some international riders such as the Bulls team none other than Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm together 3x winners of the ABSA Cape Epic!

Having said this the race started at a relatively steady pace unlike the previous few races frantic scuffle in the beginning. I think this is because as you start here in Sabie you also start to climb the monstrous climbs! About 10km into the race on a steady ascent Kevin Evans decided the pace was too easy for him and picked it up. Only his team mate David George and two others were able to follow him. I then found myself in a decent position in the chase bunch of about 7 guys with my team mate from Blend Property Charles and the Bulls guys. We settled into a solid rhythm and slogged our way up the 8km infamous mamba switchbacks climb. As we went over the top at about 25km I felt good and comfortable, however, not for long as all was about to change...

The recent rainfall had wreaked havoc with the steep mountain tracks and were nicely eroded with lots of loose sharp rocks. I came to realize this very quickly as I went round the one corner at quite a speed (it was a steep downhill...) and lost control. It was a bit of a blur to me at the time but I got back up (nothing seemed broken!) and straightened out a few things on my bike and continued riding. However, I started realizing that I was hurting quite a bit and my bike wasn't working quite so well. I managed to fix my cleats that were loose from having ripped the screws out from under my shoes somehow from my crash. Otherwise I had fallen far back in the field by the time we started the second half-marathon part of the route and I just continued rather slowly to limp over the finish line a long time after the winner Kevin Evans who put on a phenomenal performance!

It was obviously very disappointing for me as it was a big race with a lot at stake in which I was doing well at the time! I suppose that's the way the sport goes and I just got to mend myself both physically and mentally to look forward to the next race.

I had my number one supporter Jayde there with me throughout the race and helping me with everything afterwards as I was a bit immobile until, the doctor started stitching up my arm and she started feeling dizzy and had to leave the room before she passed out, hehe.

MTN National #2 - Tulbagh

Finally a "home" race, apart from the 1hr30min drive and a one-night stay over on the Friday before the race, this weekend was personally well anticipated after the endless traveling over the past month and because it was also the second leg of the National mountain biking series. This would be my first time racing in Tulbagh of which I've heard endless mountain biking stories about. There is something about racing in the winelands that I really enjoy. I'm not sure if it because I simply feel like I'm on home soil or if its the privilege of riding on some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world amongst the fine wine producing vineyards.

The start was as usual for the National series events jam packed with the whose who of South African mountain biking and everyone was possibly a little more at ease after the racing season had already began a few weeks ago MTN National #1 Barbeton. Although there was a former world champion and Olympian, Burry Stander in the mix to shake things up!

Hence things got out of hand early into the race and the first King of the Mountains (KOM) climb saw the race split up. The almost "vertical" gradient composed of loose rocks made the riders look like we'd all enjoyed one too many bottles of the regions fine wine before the start as everyone swerved back and forth across the path trying to find traction to stay upright. At this point my chain unfortunately slipped off and got stuck between my cassette and spokes forcing me to hop off and put it back on. However, the steep gradient made it difficult for me to get back on the saddle and peddling again and I was left to run most of the way up. There after it was tough going with the constant change in pace navigating all the tight corners through the vineyards coupled with the short sharp change in gradients. The rough terrain was as unforgiving on the bike as to the body. A number of riders experienced mechanicals through this section before the first tech zone and unfortunately my Blend Property team mate Charles crashed out. I was welcomed to the first tech zone by my number one supporter to refuel positioned just outside the top ten.

Later in the race soon after the second tech zone in which I had roughly held my position and time gap to the leaders I then had to stop twice to inflate my front tyre. From here on the conditions became even harder as the heat became an additional factor to this already grueling race and the time gaps began to multiply. I had finished all my drinks and was desperately looking forward to the next oasis of tech zone 3. These ultras are all about pushing through various physical and emotional stages to get to the finish and this is what I did as we encountered some tough climbing in the last 30km. I saw quite a few riders ahead of me and managed to slowly overtake a few and by the time I reached the third and final tech zone to receive a much needed water bottle from Jayde I had worked my way back into the top ten. Unfortunately that wasn't to last as my body had given in within the last 5km and I experienced some leg seizing cramps and had to watch as our new Blend Property team mate, Ruan and Waylon Woolcock (RE CM) rode past me with 2km to go to the finish resulting in me crossing the finish line in 12th place.

Burry Stander (Specialized) managed to just overcome Kevin Evans (360Life) by a wheel length in the finishing sprint to take the win in an exciting fashion clearly displaying the healthy state of South African mountain biking at the moment. This is also due to the awesome work the Advendurance crew do in putting on these events for us to compete against each other in.

Next up its some worth while traveling to the other side of the country to Sabie, one of my favorite stops on the National calendar for the third round of the National series doubling as the first leg of the World Marathon mountain biking series. Expect some big names and even more exciting racing!

Ride the Rock 3-day MTB stage race, Cederberg

I was super excited to be able to venture deep in the beautiful remote Cederberg mountain range to take part in the inaugural 3-day mountain bike stage race, Ride the Rock. No cell phone reception meant for some much needed relaxation and down time, however, unfortunately my wife wasn't able to come along for the trip so we had to revert back to the good old days and make use of a phone-card phone. The event was based in the shady camp site of Sandrif and the organizers, Stillwater Sports put together an awesome race village!

With some decent training and some races in the legs by now this would prove to be a good test over a multi-stage event. As this was the first staging of the event there was a relatively small field of participates, however, there was certainly no shortage of decent riders on the start line to mix it up front over the 3 days. This made the racing a lot harder than I had anticipated and there was generally a solid bunch of about 8 to 10 guys fighting it out up front.

Day 1, 82km:
David George and Kevin Evans of 360Life set a hard pace from the start and made it difficult for the bunch to stick together once the climbing began about 18km into the race. I just got tailed off the back of the 360Life duo towards the top of the climb and after a short while of descending I was joined by Nico Pfitzenmaier (Robert Daniels), Erik Kleinhans (Contego) and my team mate from Blend Property, Charles. Unfortunately shortly after settling together the extremely rocky terrain got the better of my tyres and I got a puncture. In the meantime Erik had also punctured leaving the race completely split up again. After fixing it up I was back on two wheels in pursuit with no-one in sight behind or in front of me. We had to negotiate a crazy descent that was very steep and composed of very loose razor sharp rocks down into the valley to a small town called Wuperthal before climbing out the valley on the other side. I managed to put in a big effort and catch back up to my team mate Charles from which we rode a solid pace to finish the day together in 4th and 5th a couple minutes back from the winner Kevin.

Day 2, 60km:
With the usual bunch forming after the initial kilometers of the stage we experienced a bit of chaos as expected when we encountered a ladder fence crossing. Now as usual when such obstacles come up you have to get there within at least the first 3 guys of the bunch, however, everyone has the same intentions making it all the more difficult. Having said this I wasn't one of those first 3 and after getting to the other side and crossing a river I found myself chasing frantically to try catch back up to the front again. Soon after we began the major climbing of the stage and I was about 45sec behind the leading group of 6 riders. The 360Life duo rode a hard pace from the beginning of the climb causing the bunch to split up. I felt strong and managed to work my way up the climb and catch up to 3 guys in the chasing group. Not long afterwards we encountered yet another awesome climb and I was feeling good and could see the leading pair of Kevin and David up ahead. I rode a hard pace leaving the group behind. Erik managed to catch onto me just before descending the other side, which was great as we worked well together and made the junction to the leading 360Life pair with about 15km still left in the stage. Unfortunately for Erik he punctured which left just 3 of us in the lead. I worked hard with Kevin and David to try and gain time on some of the others and in the end managed to also cross the finish line in front to take the stage win!

Day 3, 45km:
Being the shortest day, however, the most technical of the 3 days with some amazing stretches of the rockiest single track imaginable, I knew it was going to be difficult to make up time to try get onto the overall podium as I was in 4th place by 1min30sec. With this in mind I still went hard from the start line as the only real climb of the day started about 200 meters into the stage. This resulted in a group consisting of the top 5 guys overall making the initial front bunch of the day. Soon afterwards we entered a long very technical single track, which further split up the bunch. Too much training on the road bike of late has clearly left my technical mountain biking ability almost non-existent and I found myself chasing from then on. Fortunately I had Dan Hugo along side me and we worked nicely together to catch up to my team mate Charles. It was great to be racing next to Dan again bringing back some memories of the past when we raced triathlons against each other as juniors. With a bit more climbing and some awesome jeep track descents in the last 15km, Charles and I rode at a rapid pace not easing up at all until the finish to cross the line together in 4th and 5th again.

After the 3 days of magnificent racing in the Cederberg I had to settle with 4th place overall. A bit disappointing to just miss out on the podium, however, I was very happy with my form over the 3 days and obviously the highlight was winning the second stage! Apart from the great racing, the whole event was extremely well organized with incredible food and nice finishing touches that always make a difference. The award winning Cederberg winery and David Nieuwoudt the generous wine maker, supplied some fantastic prizes as well as an interesting wine tasting experience! A great vibe was maintained throughout the whole event (night and day...) and also thanks to Bokomo, I now have a kitchen cupboard stocked with breakfast goodies!

The Herald VW Cycle Tour

Conditions don't look that bad... mmm...

One of the classics in the country and the same as last weekend (MTN National Barbeton) yet another debut attending this cycling weekend in Port Elizabeth.

It was very unfortunate that the weather didn't play its part and the heavy rain in the days leading up to the weekend made for some ridiculous conditions and the organizers had to completely revise the 80km mountain bike route in order for us to still have a race! Having driven up from Cape Town for the weekend it was definitely not an option to skip the race because of this although the thought did cross my mind at one stage due to the maintenance and repair my bike would need afterwards...

Not even 5km into the race and we were already ducking and diving all over the road to try avoid the "lakes" and mud, however, some were unavoidable and when you see the guy in front of you disappear waist deep in water all I thought of doing was holding my breath...


Not long into the race the field had split up and I found myself in the front group of 5 guys as we encountered the first big climb. Kevin Evans (360life) set a solid pace in the beginning which got increasingly faster and harder as the climb went on. I held in there until just before the top and was then able to reconnect on the descent on the other side. However, the muddy conditions began to catch up with my bike, which then started to become like a stubborn donkey and refusing to move. My chain got jammed on a slight incline and forced me to get off and run to the top. After this we went down some very slippery single tracks which reminded me of going down those super tube rides in Sun City. After this I never saw the leaders again and at one stage in chasing as best I could I rode through a huge puddle at speed and lost my bike from underneath me. This left me with a nice big cut to my shin and a broken front derailleur and shifter. Unfortunately this marked the end of my race at about 65km.

Although there was much disappointment in the end, at least I managed to still go out there and try my best! Well done to Kevin Evans (360life) for taking the win on the day, he really knows how to handle all kinds of conditions! Read more here: Herald VW official report

Not a pretty sight!

I then had the road race to contend with the following day before heading straight back to Cape Town and lets just say that also didn't go to plan...

Next up, I'm very excited to be heading into the magnificent Cederberg mountains the following weekend for the 3-day Ride the Rock mountain bike race.