Stage 7 - Elgin to Lourensford

The final stage!! It was the perfect day for riding as racers finished up the last 60km of the 2014 Absa Cape Epic. They were welcomed onto the grounds of the beautiful Louresnford Wine Estate by a crowd of family, friends, as well as spectators.  The race village was overflowing with Cape Epic fans ready to watch the finish of "the Tour de France of mountain biking".

Thomas and Mike have conquered the Cape Epic.  They crossed the finish line for the first time together after two previous attempts.  Despite Mike's sour stomach throughout the stage, they managed to maintain their 6th place overall finish in the Grand Masters!  HUGE congratulations to them for finishing without any broken bones (although we can't say the same thing about bikes...)

Mike and Thomas were awarded their finishers medals by Jose Hermida and Rudi van Houts

The Topeak-Ergon Racing Team finished the last stage without a problem to win the 2014 Cape Epic.   They beat last year's champion Christoph Sauser and his partner Frantisek Rabon of Meerendal Songo Specialized by about 10 minutes.  They were followed by The Bulls 2 Team by an additional 3 minutes.

Results here.

Robert Mennen and Kristian Hynek of Topeak-Ergon Racing celebrate their victory.

Matthys Beukes and Gert Heyns of the SCOTT Factory racing Team made Cape Epic history as the first all South African Team to take home a stage victory in the final stage.  They finished alongside Nino Schurter and Philip Buys.

Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad of the RECM 2 Team won the Cape Epic in a BIG way.  After disaster in Stage 1 where they finished 24 minutes off of first place, they came back to win every remaining stage for an overall win over Team Meerendal by 37 minutes.  

Thomas, Mike, and I, want to acknowledge a few people who made this adventure possible.  Huge thank you's to Alta-Marie Bekker for awesome massages for Mike and Thomas and support for all of us! Alta-Marie, Hendrik van Rensburg, and Anton Van Der Watt were our amazing support crew and we could not have done this without them! We are pretty amazed that they managed to put up with the three of us for the entire week.  Special thanks as well to JP Van Der Watt for all of his help in organizing this and hooking us up with the amazing Kappius/Sir Richard's Jeep! We are so appreciative of everyone who helped us out on this crazy journey.

Thomas, Mike, and I are headed back to the states tomorrow, and I am going to have to deal with 48 hours of traveling with two old guys with PSRD (Post Stage Race Depression).  Wish me luck!  

Stage 6 - Elgin

The "most fun" stage of the 2014 Cape Epic, Stage 6 had ample single track over 85km with 1800m of climbing.  Racers rode through the apple orchards of Oak Valley, the Lebanon Forest, as well as the mountain bike trails of Paul Cluver to descend back into the Oak Valley Estate to the finish line.


Thomas and Mike stayed consistent with another 6th place finish, and they have a firm 6th place position in the overall results as well.  Both of them are feeling great and ready to finish the Epic tomorrow in Lourensford.  However, after a bike inspection after today's stage, Mike discovered a crack in his frame that may have been the result of his crash in Stage 4.  Luckily, Cannondale is giving him a new bike!!  There are now only 69km of racing in between Mike, Thomas and the finish line.  Let's hope they can keep it rubber side down until then!

Despite Nino Schurter and Philip Buys' huge lead in today's stage, Topeak-Ergon racing will go into the final stage with a ten minute overall lead.  They finished in second today to maintain their lead over Meerendal Songo Specialized, who finished 3rd in Stage 6.

To see full results click here!

Stage 5 - Greyton to Elgin

Called "The Queen Stage" because of it's numerous tough climbs, Stage 5 was a monster with almost 3000m of climbing over 110km.  To top it all off, the Epic saw its hottest day yet this year, with temperatures reaching up to 82 degrees, despite a start in chilly fog.  The sun beat down on riders, and helmet strap sunburn lines are a common sight in the race village.

Thomas and Mike are one step closer to finishing their first Epic together.  Today they rode past the site of Mike's rib-breaking crash of 2011.  Today went without incident for the Kappius/Sir Richard's team, and they finished in 6th place in the Grand Masters.  They extended their overall lead on the 7th place team by 34 minutes in today's stage alone.

The Torpado Factory Team held on to the lead coming into the finish at Oak Valley Estates outside the town of Elgin, but Nino Schurter and Philip Buys of Team SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing were in pursuit and finished only six seconds back.  With only two stages to go, the Topeak-Ergon Racing team has a solid overall lead over Team Meerendal Songo Specialized of 9 minutes and 47 seconds, but last year's Cape Epic champion Christoph Sauser and his new partner Frantisek Rabon of Team Meerendal Songo Specialized will not go down without a fight.

Roel Paulissen and Riccardo Chiarini of Torpado Factory Team.

Women's team RECM 2 (Ariane Kleinhans and Annika Langvad) made Cape Epic history today as the highest overall stage placement in 16th place today.  They are now winning the women's category by almost 16 minutes over Esther Suss and Sally Bingham of Team Meerendal.  

Stage 4 - Greyton

Stage 4 gave riders a bit of a rest with only 88km, although it still included 1850 m of climbing.  Plenty of single track was a welcome change after yesterday's abundance of farm roads.  The majority of the course was within 10km of the start/finish, and the winding course took rider's through one of Greyton's primary schools rugby fields where excited school children waited to cheer.

What many rider's didn't know as they crossed the rugby field, is that they were riding over south Africa's largest painting.  The second largest painting in the world, as a matter of fact.  A local artist, the head of Greyton tourism, and the primary school teachers had gotten together to come up with the idea of the painting in celebration of the Epic coming passing through town.  Unfortunately, the painting was so large it wouldn't fit in one photo....

Mike and Thomas broke out of their 7th place rut with a 5th place finish at Stage 4.  This moved them up to 6th place overall, only one minute ahead of 7th place.  At this point in the race, Mike and Thomas have been on their bikes for almost 25 hours over the past 5 days.

As for the pros, it was a disappointing day for the Bulls Team, as Carl Platt was forced to turn around about 4km into the stage due to extreme soreness in his knee that has persisted throughout the week.  His partner, Urs Huber, finished the stage alone.  They had been in second place overall as of yesterday, but will be removed from the running for the 2014 Cape Epic Champions.  Philip Buys and Nino Schurter of Team SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing won this stage, and they are currently in 5th overall, 37 minutes from leaders Topeak-Ergon Racing.  Team Meerendal Songo Specialized is second overall, 11 minutes behind Robert Mennan and Krisiten Hynek of Topeak-Ergon Racing.

Stage 3 - Robertson to Greyton

The longest stage of the Epic, Stage 3 was 134 km with 1800 m of climbing, taking riders from Robertson the the farmlands surrounding the town of Greyton.  Although it was the longest, the route was fast, with farm roads making up the majority of the course.  Riders also experienced several more river crossings, one of which was guided by a rope, which riders held on to as the lifted their bikes on their shoulders to cross.

Mike and Thomas were in a good rhythm for the beginning of the race, but ran into trouble when they both crashed.  Although there was no severe physical damage, it made a long day all the more exhausting.  They were the 7th Grand Masters across the line today once again.

Nino Schurter and Philip Buys of SCOTT-Odlo MTB Racing led the race before the second water station, but they did not hold it, and were not even part of the sprint finish for the win.  Christoph Sauser and Frantisek Rabon of Meerendal Songo Specialized pulled it off by a matter of milliseconds against teams Centurion-Vaude and Topeak-Ergon Racing.  

Schurter and Buys

Stage 2 - Robertson

The trails of Stage 2 absorbed rain all through the night and morning and made for an extremely messy day for riders.  The mud not only slowed the race off pace for the leaders by about a half hour, but also gave many riders mechanical issues.  Although the race started in a downpour, riders enjoyed sunshine for the last few kilometers of the race to finish under blue skies.

 

Stage 2 was 110 km long and featured 1550 m of climbing, as well as a water crossing almost a meter deep courtesy of the previous night's weather.  The route took riders through the small town of McGregor, which was a cause for celebration.  Locals were decked out in the Absa colors of red and black and vendors lined the streets near the water station.  Riders received a much needed warm welcome through the community on this cold and rainy day.

 Mike and Thomas finished 7th once again in the Grand Masters category.  Unfortunately they did not escape the terrors of the mud and were held back by about a half hour due to mechanical issues.  However, they were luckier than some, as yesterdays leaders finished hours after the first men came in today.  It's a tough race to hold onto the yellow jersey for more than one stage.  Carl Platt and Urs Huber will be wearing hit tomorrow, but this race is known for being unpredictable, and there are many other teams that are in contention to win the 2014 Cape Epic.

Stage 1 - Robertson

Known for being the toughest stage of the Epic, Stage 1 took riders up 2450 meters of climbing over 114 kilometers.  The stage started and ended in the Arabella Wine Estate just outside of the small town of Robertson.  A light drizzle throughout most of the day kept riders cool, but lead to many mechanicals.

About 20 km into Stage 1

It was a tough day for Mike and Thomas, but they both finished, an improvement from last year's Stage 1.  They finished 7th in the Grand Masters; both 5th and 6th place were within 20 minutes.

Victory was short for yesterday's stage winners, Rudi van Houts and Jose Hermieda of Multivan Merida Bicycling Team, as Hermida was ill this morning.  They finished the stage in 5:59.11, more than an hour and fifteen minutes behind the leaders.  A comeback is not likely for the Multivan Merida team, but anything can happen at the Epic.  

Rudi van Houts at Aid Station #3

Meanwhile, Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Kaess of the German team Centurion-Vaude took the stage win, but only two minutes ahead of a tight pack that included Meerendal Songo Specialized (Sauser and Roben), BMC Mountainbike Racing (Fanger and Fluckiger), Bulls 2 (Boehme and Stiebjahn) and Cannondale Blend (Lill and Woolcock).  Carl Platt and Urs Huber of Team Bulls finished 4 minutes back from the leaders.  Find the rest of the results here.