Absa Cape Epic 2021 thread

[Shebeen]

On 10/28/2021 at 11:24 AM, JohanDiv said:

Any idea or rumors yet of what the 2022 route will look like? I just accepted an entry from a client/friend.. guess I'll have to start training now!

is it in march again?

ok went to le website, looks like all they really have a is a date for now.

BUT it is hugely encouraging to see that they got this thing done, and (AFAIK) no major covid implications from it.

 

 

[Shebeen]

On 10/27/2021 at 11:01 PM, copperhead said:

What happened to Max Mensies? The steel rigid, single speed man? My kind of style ????????

 

On 10/28/2021 at 10:47 AM, eala said:

We saw them at the start everyday  .They looked fresh and strong 

looks like they finished Lanterne Rouge, well bloody done.

 

[Hairy]

3 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

 

looks like they finished Lanterne Rouge, well bloody done.

 

Team Brandslang ... met some of them at a W2W couple of years back ... that Mampoer with a chili in it that gives their name is actually flipping delicious 

[J Wakefield]

5 hours ago, copperhead said:

The Epic is not easy. It is not meant to be. No disrespect to anyone at all but you don't enter a race without prior knowledge of what happens. Well done to all who finished. Those who didn't train harder for next year. Love the stories. Respect to everyone. 

Train smarter not harder 

[DieselnDust]

56 minutes ago, J Wakefield said:

Train smarter not harder 

Spot on John,

For my last epic I maxed out at 12hrs per week with typical week training at around 10grs including gym work. Faired just fine, never struggled with the legs, Dropping BMI is also hugely underrated. There are people who still believe go in 5kg heavier even when they have 10kg spare....

One of them ordered pizza for recovery last night..????

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by DieselnDust

[eala]

9 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Spot on John,

For my last epic I maxed out at 12hrs per week with typical week training at around 10grs including gym work. Faired just fine, never struggled with the legs, Dropping BMI is also hugely underrated. There are people who still believe go in 5kg heavier even when they have 10kg spare....

One of them ordered pizza for recovery last night..????

 

All above is spot on .Smarter training and max 12 h a week quality training.Ride the equipment that never breaks on the saddle that never hurts with the shoes that you can walk in also 

[J Wakefield]

Have many athletes who can only afford to do the 10-12hr and fair just fine at epic. 
 

have had many of their partners or ride groups make fun on them and critique that they need 20hr weeks and 6hr rides to complete epic and then themselves not finish, battle and go worse than the 10-12hr guys. 
 

[Dicky DQ]

Some freaks of nature also almost podium in masters and are high up in GC on 9 to 12 hrs. Quality over quantity. After all they are short stages these days. Needing more skill intensity than grinding out long hrs.

Sometimes I think going longer more often in training makes you slower, but what do I know. 

[Zebra]

On 10/30/2021 at 6:49 AM, eala said:

….Ride the equipment that never breaks on the saddle that never hurts with the shoes that you can walk in also 

nice Mantra; I like….

Edited November 19, 2021 by Zebra
Spelling

[DieselnDust]

10 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

Have many athletes who can only afford to do the 10-12hr and fair just fine at epic. 
 

have had many of their partners or ride groups make fun on them and critique that they need 20hr weeks and 6hr rides to complete epic and then themselves not finish, battle and go worse than the 10-12hr guys. 
 

I found the 7 to 12 hr per week more than enough. I am only limited by the capacity to recover and repeat on the wrong side of 40 but generally fair much better than blokes or gals following some high load programs that doesn’t allow proper periodisation.
three sub 3 argusts in the past 4editions speak ve troof

[Red Bird]

13 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

Have many athletes who can only afford to do the 10-12hr and fair just fine at epic. 
 

have had many of their partners or ride groups make fun on them and critique that they need 20hr weeks and 6hr rides to complete epic and then themselves not finish, battle and go worse than the 10-12hr guys. 
 

Also did same. Coached by Pierre Nel. The key is higher intensity. Even on weekends he scheduled 3 hours, but I had to include technical climbs and attack them. I train mainly for XCO, but was able to maintain endurance in the legs even on the “real queen stage” in Wellington. Fatigue only really set in on day 8, but the legs woke up somewhere during that stage. This was my first stage race longer than 2 days. Rode well over 7 hours on some days. As a female rider, on a hardtail, I don’t feel too bad about that.

[DieselnDust]

11 hours ago, Foxy_Roxy said:

Also did same. Coached by Pierre Nel. The key is higher intensity. Even on weekends he scheduled 3 hours, but I had to include technical climbs and attack them. I train mainly for XCO, but was able to maintain endurance in the legs even on the “real queen stage” in Wellington. Fatigue only really set in on day 8, but the legs woke up somewhere during that stage. This was my first stage race longer than 2 days. Rode well over 7 hours on some days. As a female rider, on a hardtail, I don’t feel too bad about that.

Well done and congratulations on a strong finish

[DJuice]

13 hours ago, Foxy_Roxy said:

Also did same. Coached by Pierre Nel. The key is higher intensity. Even on weekends he scheduled 3 hours, but I had to include technical climbs and attack them. I train mainly for XCO, but was able to maintain endurance in the legs even on the “real queen stage” in Wellington. Fatigue only really set in on day 8, but the legs woke up somewhere during that stage. This was my first stage race longer than 2 days. Rode well over 7 hours on some days. As a female rider, on a hardtail, I don’t feel too bad about that.

Well done, Congrats on the finish.

Finishing on a hardtail, chapeau!!

 

[ChrisF]

10 minutes ago, copperhead said:

While I agree to this being for most people, personally I don't think it is for all. I know you are the coach but my personal feeling is some need to train harder. Our physical ability varies so much from person to person. Look this is just my take on it. In order for one person to get somewhere they will have a completely different schedule to another. Also depends on what the goal is! Some people need 15 hours per week to finish it some need 5. Again just me speaking what I feel.

You will train harder to win. You can train smarter to finish. ????‍♂️

 

Clearly a lot more to this subject.  And possibly where the "smarter" part comes in ....

 

A friend was a "keen cyclist", but just having fun.  Ended up winning the mixed teams of the TB with her husband.  After this victory she decided to train towards an Ironman ... as somebody with minimal swimming experience, and an average runner.  The first year her coach worked on a structured program to improve her running and especially the swimming parts.  Over time her program was amended and she completed her first Ironman doing well in all three parts.

 

Clearly there is no one size fits all approach.  And a proper coach will (should) work with each persons strong and weak points to hone a well rounded athlete.

[Jewbacca]

I reckon I could finish Epic on any bike without a single days 'training'... I ride bikes, I enjoy riding bikes. I've not 'trained' in years. 

Same with running. I could probably run a 100 miler trail run on any day without any hassle, haven't 'trained' a day in years.

Have I run? yes. Have I ridden. Also yes. Have I ever looked at data or followed a plan? Not in a decade. 

In my very humble opinion it also comes down to how long you have consistently been living a certain lifestyle. A small injection of focus and a specific training block will have a far greater impact on 'performance' for someone who has been consistently riding for 20 years, vs someone who has either just started or has ridden 'on and off'. 

So many factors then come into play. DaD has been riding since Noah fell off the Arc. So 10 to 12 hours a week is just topping up years and years and years of hard work and muscle memory.

Where as someone could train to a strict program etc but still be a relative noob 4 years into their cycling journey.

Leaving genetics out of it, I do believe this is very often overlooked

[NotSoBigBen]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

I reckon I could finish Epic on any bike without a single days 'training'... I ride bikes, I enjoy riding bikes. I've not 'trained' in years. 

Same with running. I could probably run a 100 miler trail run on any day without any hassle, haven't 'trained' a day in years.

Have I run? yes. Have I ridden. Also yes. Have I ever looked at data or followed a plan? Not in a decade. 

In my very humble opinion it also comes down to how long you have consistently been living a certain lifestyle. A small injection of focus and a specific training block will have a far greater impact on 'performance' for someone who has been consistently riding for 20 years, vs someone who has either just started or has ridden 'on and off'. 

So many factors then come into play. DaD has been riding since Noah fell off the Arc. So 10 to 12 hours a week is just topping up years and years and years of hard work and muscle memory.

Where as someone could train to a strict program etc but still be a relative noob 4 years into their cycling journey.

Leaving genetics out of it, I do believe this is very often overlooked

By this exact analogy my brother and I got a 'free' entry in 2011 just a month before the event ... we hadn't been training for it but had been riding our normal 3-4 days a week as we have been like forever (ok since '89)

We took the entry and decided to just aim to finish every day nothing more (no position/speed targets if you will)

I'm not going to lie there were many pretty tough days and lots of f'ing and blinding as my wife calls it but we did finish. As far as bikes go we just serviced what we had, took some consignment bits and bobs from my son in laws bike shop at the time and hoped for the best.

I well remember a spectator saying as I went passed on the prologue 'daai groot ou sal nie klaar maak nie' ... vat so ou!