It was a nerve wracking morning and I could see that Gavin was a little apprehensive. It was the first stage out of 8 that his heart rate was higher than mine on the start line. We are so close to the finish, but yet so far. There is always a fear of something silly happening. Possibly a mechanical that couldn’t be fixed, a crash at a lightning fast start, who knows?
I was looking forward to the finish line, but standing in the way was quite a serious stage. As I’ve mentioned, I’m not one for fast starts and don’t like the wind. Today I was going to have to grit my teeth and sit on Gavin’s wheel for a big part of the day. It was a crazy fast start and I was having to hang on to the front of Group C. Windy conditions made it even tougher as it was either head on or hitting us from the side.
We had all been warned about the Paardeberg mountain. It is a 600m climb in 6km but what isn’t down on paper, is the terrain. It was incredibly steep and exceptionally rocky. In my opinion, it was a poor decision from the race organisers to throw this obstacle in the riders way on a day that should be more of a celebration than an Army Op F*k! When a rider that finishes 24th in the event can’t ride up the mountain because it is too ridiculously steep, then you wonder why it was put in the way of non-professional bike riders. It left a bad taste in the mouth of what is an incredible event. Having recovered from knee reconstruction a year ago, hiking up a mountain with your bike isn’t the most fun but thankfully, we managed to get over the summit. On the descent, you had to be more alert than ever. Technically, this was a massive challenge and you had to make sure you chose the correct line on the way down.
We still had around 60km to go and a long flat section lay ahead. It was a difficult flat section as the wind had its say and the district and farm roads were corrugated and bumpy which saps the energy. Plenty liquid was required as the heat started beating down on us by now. Thankfully, we were caught up by our good friend “World Famous” Patrick van Schoor and partner Francois. We rode as a foursome to share the workload even though Gavin and Pat did the lion’s share of the work (thanks lads)
A final nail was driven hard into the coffin as we reached Dorstberg Mountain that leads you into the Meerendal flowing single track. It is a bastard of a climb as it never seemed to end. You can hear the music and festivities happening at the Meerendal village, it gives you that last bit of drive that you need to make it over the very steep climbs.
When Gavin and I summited Dortberg, we decided to cruise down to the finish and take it all in. It wasn’t about racing to the line but rather to enjoy the fans on the last section and when we got to 1km to go, the tears started flooding down my cheeks. The emotion was overwhelming and I was happy to be crying tears of joy. As we entered the grassy finish, we could see our families leaning over the barriers shouting and screaming for us. It was absolutely incredible. We stopped to greet them and have a picture taken before crossing the line. A wonderful touch was having one of my old colleagues and Back Page Pix owner, Gavin Barker waiting for us with his camera to take quality photos of Team finishing the 2015 ABSA Cape Epic. Mike Finch left his commentary booth to come over and give us a congratulatory hug. Thanks for the support Mike and we were proud to do the brand proud.
I will leave you with Burry Stander’s quote on anyone who manages to complete the ABSA Cape Epic. (see pic)
Love to you all
Mark (Cape Epic Finisher!)
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