Absa Cape Epic 2022

[DJuice]

17 minutes ago, kosmonooit said:

Is Baaart B of American Eagle racing in the Masters again? sorry could of course dig deep on the interwebs for the answer but maybe someone knows, he normally brings a few of his team as well and having heard a bleep in that regard so maybe not

Grand Master cat and winning.

On his American Eagly dual suspension, have not seen other team members.

Except the lumo yellow Mugura brakes on Mariska’s Liv. 

[ChrisF]

@JohanDiv how are you doing ?

 

 

[Jbr]

2 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

@JohanDiv how are you doing ?

 

 

According to instagram he’s doing ok 👌😬

[DieselnDust]

57 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I don't think it is the biggest stage the wold can offer though?

It's marketed as such, but in reality it isn't. Marathon racing is not a big sport in 99% of the world. 

XCO, CX, crits and road racing are far bigger in most places. The emphasis isn't there. 

If they want more teams and bigger names, they will probably need to move the race outside of pre season too.

I'm a huge fan of women's sport. I love the raw emotion and the competitive unpredictability. But MTB, and women's MTB, are still relatively juvenile and basic in the era of pro sport. 

The fact that a student and a full time employee could break with the best the pro field could throw out today is testament.

It shouldn't happen.

If the epic team want to grow the race in that regard, they need to look beyond marketing and actually discuss a timeframe and negotiate options with the stakeholders in international women's cycling.

 

I completely agree, 

There should also be a financial return to the UCI teams entering the event in the form of appearance money that at least covers travel costs and create opportunities for those teams to exploit and maximise the media for a better exposure to their sponsors. It still appears that this is limited for the event sponsors which stifles the opportunity for growth

[JohanDiv]

7 hours ago, ChrisF said:

@JohanDiv how are you doing ?

 

 

Doing much better! Think I finally sort of recovered from the Stage 1 dramas! Still need more sleep though, the days are short with all you have to do after you get off the bike in preparation for the next day.

Came off the bike twice yesterday.. First time showing off for the camera🤦‍♂️, second time the guy in front of me hit a rock that then jammed my front wheel and I went OTB into a pile of rocks. I can feel my right knee, upper leg, elbow and shoulder took some shots, but nothing I can't pedal through at the moment. 

Today is play day... in the rain. I'll take it anytime over the heat again!

[DJuice]

Watch the highlights last night.

Was an eye opener the comment by Speed Racing Company of almost not coming due to budget and their backup is one person, dad, probally financier as well.

Good luck to Speed Racing Company!!

Cool name, lekker Orbea bikes en purple team kit, can only be a winner.

 

[Shebeen]

On 3/22/2022 at 7:12 PM, Jewbacca said:

I always find the concept of 'motivation' to be so interesting.

Why does it matter if the cut off is moved? At TDF sometimes they allow guys out side of the time cut to continue. It's not uncommon.

I'm not at all emotionally connected to any events. I've done some rad ones, but if they allow dopers or have a bad run or change cut off regulations etc it doesn't impact me at all.

Maybe it comes back to motivation. Why people choose and believe others choose to do these sorts of events. 

If I was out there struggling from yesterday and dedding again today I would be so grateful for an extra 55 minutes. I still need to eat, rest, get up tomorrow and do it all again.

Being hyper critical of someone who has done every single stage of every single version of the race so far. That's already a LOT of dedication to the race. Maybe the oke has had a bad year with health/work/personal stuff to deal with. He is still out there doing the business, albeit slowly.

Realistically, this is not the most difficult 8 day sport race to finish if you're just there to finish. It's tough, but compared to an expedition AR it's a doddle to finish. So if you're just making cut offs, you're not troubling the scorers so why does it matter?

Anyway, I wish them luck. 

I've spent some long days and nights in the saddle doing Freedom Challenge and other 250km non stop stages in an AR and honestly, I don't envy the guys getting in now, trying to eat, recover, sleep, eat, hydrate etc all before 5am tomorrow when they rinse and repeat. 

Again, motivation is a funny thing because that doesn't seem like any sort of fun to me, not type 2, 2,5 or 3, never mind type 1.

Good luck to them

Finishing Godzone last week was way harder than any epic has ever been. I'm sure it went wildly unnoticed that a South African team was last over the full course there.

Some guys use epic as training for freedom challenge.

[Shebeen]

How can you not want these guys to kick ass?!

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx06pcl9IjA0eNA_9I8ZiXeXf3_xgIco9W

 

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, DJuice said:

Watch the highlights last night.

Was an eye opener the comment by Speed Racing Company of almost not coming due to budget and their backup is one person, dad, probally financier as well.

Good luck to Speed Racing Company!!

Cool name, lekker Orbea bikes en purple team kit, can only be a winner.

 

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx06pcl9IjA0eNA_9I8ZiXeXf3_xgIco9W

Here is the clip

['Dale]

2 hours ago, JohanDiv said:

Doing much better! Think I finally sort of recovered from the Stage 1 dramas! Still need more sleep though, the days are short with all you have to do after you get off the bike in preparation for the next day.

Came off the bike twice yesterday.. First time showing off for the camera🤦‍♂️, second time the guy in front of me hit a rock that then jammed my front wheel and I went OTB into a pile of rocks. I can feel my right knee, upper leg, elbow and shoulder took some shots, but nothing I can't pedal through at the moment. 

Today is play day... in the rain. I'll take it anytime over the heat again!

Geez, Johan, you supermodel you. One stage at a time, one pedal stroke at a time. Hope you have a solid and dependable training partner. Gooi, bra!

[JB77]

22 hours ago, Spafsack said:

How is Tristan, toyota back up team doing ?

Specialized do quite a lot of cool content during the epic on Youtube:

 

[edgarblount]

What is the Epic about? This....and Lindo actually finished as well! What a legend!

 

 

[_David_]

13 minutes ago, edgarblount said:

What is the Epic about? This....and Lindo actually finished as well! What a legend!

 

 

Yster 💪



"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." – Thomas Jefferson
 

[babse]

2 hours ago, DJuice said:

Watch the highlights last night.

Was an eye opener the comment by Speed Racing Company of almost not coming due to budget and their backup is one person, dad, probally financier as well.

Good luck to Speed Racing Company!!

Cool name, lekker Orbea bikes en purple team kit, can only be a winner.

 

Definitely the surprise team of the Epic... rock stars!

[Fred van Vlaanderen]

1 hour ago, Jacqueswb said:

Specialized do quite a lot of cool content during the epic on Youtube:

 

I've been watching everyday. Really nice behind the scenes stuff.

[Fred van Vlaanderen]

1 hour ago, edgarblount said:

What is the Epic about? This....and Lindo actually finished as well! What a legend!

 

 

Wait what? I have so many questions. Running with cycling shoes or barefoot/socks... Surely freeing the bike along some of the 35km... Just sounds hectic on that terrain to be running that long.

Anyone with more info on this story, please share.