General "Dear Cape Epic, Make a Solo Category. Please."

[Patchelicious]

1. They don't need to. Its sold out and every year the price increase tells you that they still have a lot of headroom

 

2. It changes the whole atmosphere of an event, which in turn will de-value the brand.

 

3. The best Epic memories are made training with your riding partner

 

4. Pushing each other in training and the event only have value if there is a 2 minute 'shackle' each carries.

 

5. The dynamic in terms of racing becomes beautifully complex with 2-strong teams. Last thing we want is a TDF'esq setup with high budget teams burning 2 domestiques a day to get their man over the line first. 'Solo' will not be solo.

 

 

 

 

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These are good points, but doesn't cover why you won't support the event if they offer a solo cat? They will still have a team cat for those who want.

[GLuvsMtb]

These are good points, but doesn't cover why you won't support the event if they offer a solo cat? They will still have a team cat for those who want.

Because there are many other events where solo riders can compete. Why would you want to allow the top teams to bring in solo domestiques to pull them along? At least with 2 man teams its considerably harder to have 2 man doestiques pulling teams on as they both have to be feeling similarly strong to be efficient.

 

Now tell me why solo riders cannot just go ride another race that caters for them. (I'm assuming you are not being facetious with your comments here?).

 

 

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[Patchelicious]

Because there are many other events where solo riders can compete. Why would you want to allow the top teams to bring in solo domestiques to pull them along? At least with 2 man teams its considerably harder to have 2 man doestiques pulling teams on as they both have to be feeling similarly strong to be efficient.

 

Now tell me why solo riders cannot just go ride another race that caters for them. (I'm assuming you are not being facetious with your comments here?).

 

 

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Thanks for that assumption, I'm not being facetious at all.

 

Of course those riders can go do those races. I'm just really trying to wrap my head around why somebody would withdraw their support for the event if they offered a solo category? I mean it's not like it would negatively affect your ride?

 

You obviously have every right to support whichever event you want.

[scotty]

No. Its a team event. Want a solo challenge? Go do IM.

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This.

[Matchstix]

But IM is swim road run, not mtb

[scotty]

The Epic is already sold to capacity. So the suggestion then is to reduce the number of pairs and add Solo's.?

[Headshot]

1. They don't need to. Its sold out and every year the price increase tells you that they still have a lot of headroom

 

2. It changes the whole atmosphere of an event, which in turn will de-value the brand.

 

3. The best Epic memories are made training with your riding partner

 

4. Pushing each other in training and the event only have value if there is a 2 minute 'shackle' each carries.

 

5. The dynamic in terms of racing becomes beautifully complex with 2-strong teams. Last thing we want is a TDF'esq setup with high budget teams burning 2 domestiques a day to get their man over the line first. 'Solo' will not be solo.

 

 

 

 

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You have drunk deep on the Epic Cool Aid.

[Jewbacca]

Does it really matter? The top pro teams have 2 teams in the mix anyway. It might actually animate racing.

 

As for the rest of us? Who really cares? We aren't there to win. We are there to be a part of it. Be it solo, as a team, as a group of teams who enter/drink/ride together.. At the end of the day, speculating over a non event and then getting butthurt because people don't agree with you is just lame.

 

Maybe the Solo riders could start a day earlier than the team guys? That would actually be pretty fun.... That way a certain SA local could win and not have to have another partner caught for doping 

[GavS]

http://www.bicycling.co.za/opinion/dear-cape-epic-make-solo-category-please/

 

Dear Cape Epic, Make a Solo Category. Please.

on April 25, 2017

Lose your partner in a stage race, and you’re discriminated against. That can’t be right. – By Aaron Borrill

 

"Racing a mountain-bike stage race as a team creates a unique dynamic, as riders battle it out together against rivals and Mother Nature. I’ve participated in myriad team stage races, with both men and women, and they’ve mostly gone well. When things go right, it feels amazing; you barrel through singletrack, and instinctively power up climbs, together on an almost telepathic level.

 

But when things go wrong, they go south very quickly. And here’s a quandary: while the professionals can tailor their performances by cherry-picking a partner, in the amateur realm this is often not the case.

With amateurs, the hammer and the nail almost never swop roles. This can be quite testing and taxing, on both mind and body. If you’re the stronger rider, suddenly you have a dual role to perform – you’re riding for two, and expending loads more energy as a result.

 

And when it comes to mixed teams, there’s always going to a pretty large chasm in terms of ability. Men naturally produce more testosterone than women, and are more physically competitive as a consequence. Women, on the other hand, know how to suffer, and are usually (I’m speaking from experience here) better suited to endurance, and at managing their energy outputs. And egos.

 

I’ve had plenty of fights with my wife on the bike. I’ve been called some unspeakable things. All of which have taken days to repair, but we’ve got to the finish in the end. But would the race have panned out differently if I were riding alone? I’m not saying race organisers should cull the team aspect of stage races altogether – it does after all add an exciting component to racing; but I do think a solo category is sorely missing. And we’ve already seen this policy adopted by the Joburg2C, Trans Cape and the Cape Pioneer Trek, each of which offers solo entries.

 

But what about the Absa Cape Epic? I recently finished the event alone, after starting it with my wife. Like I said, we’ve raced plenty together, and have done particularly well in the past. But this year was a disaster – a fall at a road race three weeks before the race hampered my wife’s final preparation, and she went into the Epic undercooked.

 

The disparity between us in terms of fitness was evident from the prologue, and it was a battle every day; until eventually she retired, from severe dehydration and heat stroke.

 

Was I to blame? Did I push her too hard? Did I expect too much? These are questions every team will be faced with at some point.

 

When your partner retires from a race such as the Cape Epic, you’re allowed to continue as an individual finisher. But you become what the race organisers refer to as an ‘outcast’ – while you still receive an official time and finisher’s medal, you don’t appear on the GC list. And all outcasts – amateur and pro – can’t progress further than C batch, so as not to interfere with the racing categories.

 

So why not just create a solo category, and start the group just after the competitive teams? Though it wasn’t of my own doing, riding solo gave me the opportunity to ride at my own pace and manage my energy expenditure each day. I had less stress, not having a partner to manage and worry about.

 

That said, after a few days of solo riding I began to secretly envy the other teams – their shared emotions, hardships and elation. Before, as a mixed rider, I might have been a threat; but now, nobody cared about me – or even looked at me, for that matter. I truly was an outcast.

So it became lonely. It was very tough, arguably tougher than riding in a team. Though there were other solo riders around me, in a way we were all pariahs.

 

Surely this wouldn’t be the case if there were to be an official solo category? In fact, most of the outcasts I rode with each day said that they would have preferred riding solo in any event – they had only entered with partners so they could participate at all. Interesting…

 

The team dynamic has its place in stage racing, especially if you get the balance right. But for those who want to ride man (or woman) alone, perhaps it’s time for all races (even the Cape Epic) to offer limited solo entries. It’s definitely not the easier option; but it would at least make the ‘outcasts’ feel part of the zeitgeist that defines such an iconic event.

 

The Epic is now under new ownership. While I have no clue what changes are planned or may transpire, in the not-too-distant future I would like to see a dedicated solo group. As well as the introduction of a new jersey!"

 

I agree, although my agreement is aimed at all stage races without a solo category

 

My problem is that my friends have either no desire to compete in stage races or aren't at the level. I also dont like the idea of shacking up with a total stranger for a few days and discovering all the ways we dont click either.

 

I dislike being held back or holding someone back. My only foray into stage racing with a team mate was a disaster because of this.

 

The reason i started cycling over 25yrs ago was that unlike team sports at school, my fate was in my own hands and if i rode badly it was my fault and mine alone.

 

Limiting stage races to teams robs me of an opportunity to compete in iconic races

[Jaco-fiets]

Apparently there were talks at a stage to have a solo epic as a separate event. It was shot down quickly.

['Dale]

 

Cycling, in its purest form, is a team sport ????

Thus, the Epic-ness model makes sense to me

[GLuvsMtb]

Whats next? A plea to allow the dopers back in 'because other events do it'?

 

 

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[Matchstix]

Just allow people to dope will save money on dope test. . Then epic can maybe give some juice for the riders at the dinner tent.

[Jewbacca]

Just allow people to dope will save money on dope test. . Then epic can maybe give some juice for the riders at the dinner tent.

Well wouldn't it only be free at the sponsors tables? The gewone riders would probably have to go outside to buy it and/or only be allowed 1 portion per night........

[BaGearA]

What the Fu#k is with the dope bullsh#t ???

Thats so stupid and childish.

 

The OP asked to add A solo cat. Which will have no effect on anyone outside the top 50 overall.

 

Jirrr no here can stick to the to A top everyone has to add their K@K opinions that actually have nothing to do with what the OP asked.

 

I think it could be interesting.

 

Now give flack for how you are somehow entiteld to tell me I'm wrong and why I should ho do ironman and how we might as now allow e-bikes and dopers back in.

[mtb impi]

Whats next? A plea to allow the dopers back in 'because other events do it'?

 

 

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that is an absurd comment and has bollocks to do with getting a solo cat for all the best reasons as pointed out above