RACE REVIEW | western cape Absa Cape Epic NEXT RACE 19-26 MarCH 2017 The 654km route took riders from Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville to Tulbagh, Wellington, Stellenbosch and back to Meerendal over eight days of tough climbs and long country roads. AN AMABUBESI REFLECTS… After completing six Absa Cape Epics, Robert Vogel thinks he has had his fill… Or will the FOMO set in again? Looking back over six tough races – and a sixth that was the toughest of all – he wonders what keeps riders coming back for more year on year. It’s not a route you take lightly – and if you do, you pay the price. So why is it worth the suffering, the injuries and the emotions that go up and down to rival the route profile? WORDS BY ROBERT VOGEL 126 | MTB | the big one the big one | MTB | 127 RACE REVIEW | western cape was done! After Stage 3 watched my weight and spent “I’ll get through the Epic, compromise to accommodate of this year’s Cape Epic hours and hours riding my I’ve done five, I know what’s the weekend warriors. We are I was lying on a bed in bike, both on and off the road. coming,” I thought. I was trying held to the same standards as Mediclinic with a drip I had a healthy respect for the to reassure myself that, despite a Karl Platt, Christoph Sauser sticking in my arm. My Cape Epic and wanted to leave carrying the remnants of a cold or Ariane Kleinhans. tanks were empty. I had nothing to chance. and having two gammy hands, The Cape Epic has stuck to been suffering for most The hard work certainly I could rely on muscle memory the two-rider team concept, of the stage and could hardly paid off and I had good rides to complete Cape Epic No.6. even when the chips were talk to my waiting family at the those years, able to help my down. The race has stayed finish in Wellington. partner (we raced in the Mixed TAKE NOTHING true to itself, and I believe that Lying there, with other riders category for three years) along FOR GRANTED is what gives it that mythical in various states of ‘disrepair’ the way, as one always does in But you can’t take the Absa status and has made it a around me, and another one a team race. Cape Epic for granted. That’s bucket list event for so many being stretchered in with a So what went wrong this what I learnt. Irrespective of mountain bikers globally. suspected broken hip, I could year? I underestimated my own your goal, you have to train How many events in South have embraced my situation abilities and paid the price. properly, otherwise you’re in Africa have deviated from their and pulled out of the race. I had My partner and I had spoken big trouble. original concept of two-man been suffering since Stage 1, about riding this year’s Epic, The Epic is essentially a teams and are allowing solo with only a small glimmer of the but didn’t have an entry nor race for professionals, where riders to enter? Some have legs of old on Stage 2. sponsors. All of that came amateurs are merely invited gone from ‘serious’ to ‘social’ But, you know what, I never about very quickly – around (for a princely sum) along for and some even offer a ‘Lite’ entertained the thought. I was the time I fractured my right the ride. option. The organisers keep not ready to walk away from wrist. Alarm Bell No.1! Nobody takes the Epic filing away at their original the Epic with an ‘incomplete’. I asked the surgeon whether lightly. When those first 100 concepts, trying to get more Forget about my responsibility my wrist would recover in time Early Bird entries are sold in entries in the dog-eat-dog to our team sponsors. They to ride the Epic. He said yes nine seconds on the Monday world of South African stage “we ARE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARDS AS A KARL PLATT, CHRISTOPH SAUSER OR ARIANE KLEINHAns” would have understood. I (he’s a cyclist too), so I pulled after the Grand Finale, the racing. It’s almost like they had a partner who wanted a the trigger and bought the threads on Bike Hub are don’t believe in their original third finish and I wanted to entry. Sponsors were found already speculating about next event idea anymore and I ask help him achieve it. But, most and soon we were good to go. year’s route and training plans, myself, “Why should I?”. importantly, I wanted to finish Next thing I was sitting on a ex-riders are dispensing advice But the Epic hasn’t deviated for myself and I knew I could – Wattbike, sweating through my by the bucketful and others are an inch. You want to ride the Tulbagh hosted Stages if the doctors let me line up for cast, thinking I’d be disciplined moaning about the cost of the Cape Epic , you do it on their 1 and 2, which featured lots of new singletrack, Stage 4. enough to hang in there and do race and how they would love terms. Fair enough, it’s a while the big feature The doc gave me the green my training staring at a wall. to do it if they had the money. choice you make. on Stage 3, which took riders south from light (with Ts&Cs attached) The cast came off two weeks Some call the Epic the ‘Tour It’s an expensive choice, too. Tulbagh to Wellington, and we finished the Cape Epic before Epic and I spent five de France of mountain biking’. When the dust has settled, the was the steep trek over the Saronsberg. stronger than I had started. days riding the Cape Rouleur. I used to think it was because total cost per rider is enough In all of my six Cape Epics, I Great training for Epic, I of how tough the race was, and to go on an overseas holiday. have never experienced such a thought, but I came out of that even the professionals Without the aid of sponsors, I level of personal suffering that I it feeling sick and was man suffer over the eight days. couldn’t justify that cost to my had gone to seek medical help. down, in bed before the Cape But, let’s be honest, how do family. But yet the 600 entries Okay, I was a regular at the Town Cycle Tour. Alarm Bell you compare a Prologue and are sold out year on year. ‘Bum Clinic’ in 2014 and 2015, No.2! 7 Stages to three weeks of It’s clever marketing. The but that doesn’t count. Alarm Bell No.3 started almost continuous riding over race never really focuses on In previous years – especially ringing when, four days before some of the steepest terrain the suffering that’s happening 2013, 2014 and 2015 – I the Prologue, I went over the that the Alps and Pyrenees mid-pack. It’s always focused had prepared for the race bars in Deer Park and my have to offer? on the racing snakes or the by starting my training in left hand swelled up to the I’ve now come to the teams fighting with the cut-off December (and forgoing point where I couldn’t see any conclusion it’s because the at the end of each stage. That’s the treats of Christmas) and knuckles. My right hand was in Cape Epic is organised to one helluva emotional contrast had a schedule with regular, a brace and was fine, all things UCI World Tour standards – and it’s probably part of what supervised indoor sessions. I considered. – and the organisers never makes us want to enter as well. 128 | MTB | the big one the big one | MTB | 129 RACE REVIEW | western cape THE LURE TEAM WORK & PERSEVERANCE OF THE RACE I didn’t really know much about For the 2016 Absa Cape the Epic when I was asked by Epic, Absa set out to reward someone to team up with him team work and perseverance for my first one. But, once Epic with the #ConquerAsOne No.1 was done, No.2 was almost campaign. At each stage of a given. I had ‘survived’ my first the race, a #ConquerAsOne Epic, having gone into it like most moment was identified and Newbies, just wanting ‘to finish’. recognised, where a team With the next Epic I got a little showed immense human braver and said, “Okay, let me spirit to overcome their try and improve on last year’s own personal challenges to result and try to race it”. Bang! My conquer that stage together. new partner and I (now you start The winning overall selecting your partner based on #ConquerAsOne moment where you want to finish in GC) went to brothers Sean and moved up 120 odd places. Adam Greve. With 8km “I can handle this race and to go on Stage 4, Adam I’m one Epic away from my took a serious fall and tore Amabubesi. Let me enter one his shoulder ligaments, more.” Another clever organiser preventing him from ploy to keep you coming back. peddling to the finish. Their Now you’re part of the Epic inner bond as brothers gave them incredible,” says Adam. “The “Between holding onto circle. You get a nice photo and the motivation to go on, not first three stages were the the bike with one arm and an extra medal at the finish.