Cape Epic: all good in the end!
The scheduled start was at 08.30am from which the course took a direct turn for the mountain and proceeded uphill. For many riders this means careful! No-one wishes to take unnecessary risks this late in the race although a few incidents did still occur - as several riders crashed into each other at the water points...
We took a little time to once again enjoy the breath taking views before the long descent to Lourensford began. The last few kilometers were then ridden relaxed in the slip-stream of two female teams...
5km before the finish we then gave it our all for the final sprint and then we were done. Hard to believe it, but we as many other participants lined hovered behind the finish line and congratulated all who made it. We couldn't get it out of our heads what we had actually achieved: "We have made it - we have conquered the hardest MTB race in the world" and that without one serious injury - only one saddle was a victim.
Conclusion:
We are both convinced that the Cape Epic is indeed the worlds hardest mountain-bike race. The stages were either steep ascents where one had to crank extremely hard or even steeper where we were forced to get off and push!
It was also almost impossible to enjoy the flat sections as these were mostly covered with rocks and sand.
The Rohloff SPEEDHUB once again survived the ordeal without one single hiccup!
The Endorfin frame survived fully intact with only a few scratches as battle-scars which just goes to prove that stability needn’t be heavy. Our tire choice was also spot-on! The Schwalbe Double Defense tires filled with Blue Doc proved themselves absolutely puncture proof. Just the one snake-bite forced us to take a break on one occasion.
The spokes also proved more than up-to-the-job and the replacements we brought with us remained tucked at the bottom of my bag. As for the Rigida Edge Rims, they even survived the rock abuse directly following the snake-bite blow out! What more can I say.
Typical Magura quality meant that their products also worked problem-free. Both the forks and our brakes survived the entire race without fault.
Thanks to Xenofit, we were never under-nourished and even got the odd kick when we needed it thanks to their excellent Coffee-capsules.
We would like to therefore once again give thanks to all of our sponsors for their support:
In addition I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Stefan Herb (Physio) and Susanne Schultz (Photgrapher and transporter (luggage and supplies from one stage to the next) for their support throughout the race..
Stefans Massages following each race were simultaneously a torture and relief in one but ensured our legs remained in top form for the next stage. He always seemed to know how to help regardless of what pains or strange feelings we tried to describe...
Ralf
