the unofficial Cape Epic thread

[ChrisF]

5 hours ago, V18 said:

Haha. Initially also thought so. But a wet bulb temp of 25 is way higher than it sounds. Read a bit around the wet bulb temp measurement. Looks like the sport physiology guys did their homework on this one. 

 

The same technology, monitoring dry and wet bulb temperatures, are used on construction sites in extreme weather conditions ... at least is suppossed to be, according to OSH Act.

 

For the most part our, SA, 40 degrees with "dry" air, i.e. very low dry bulb (low humidity).

 

Mid 40's and high humidity is not something we are used to.

 

 

PS - read up on sling hygrometer if "you" want to know more about wet and dry bulb temperatures

[Headshot]

12 hours ago, Mayo916 said:

It sounds like Keegan's back is giving him trouble
 

Sounds like he didn't get a special Epic Bike Fit.. 

[Mamil]

I really hope that if there are people in hospital fighting for their lives that they pull through. 

I'm surprised by the vitriolic tone of some of the discussions about the unceertainty and rumours of deaths. 

If however, there is spin put on any tragedy that might have played out in Paarl it will be the worst display of corporate @sscovering I've ever seen. There is something very paradoxical to me about a corporate entity organising a mountin bike ride - then I remind myself that the entry fee is what it is. 

The munga race documents basically say, I'm paraphrasing "What you've signed up for is a very dangerous thing. It's an extreme event, in extreme conditions, often hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest hospital and while there is ambulance support, you are likely to spend a lot of time alone in a dangerous environment. You may die. We'll try and make sure that doesn't happen but no guarantees." 

It's honest.

Evasion of responsibility is built into the corporate model - it's a legal individual comprised of many individuals all of whom abdicate their personal responsibility and invest it in the collective. Is part of what you pay for with your 120k the right to make someone else responsible for your safety, and to what extent is that legally enforcable? And morally? 

 

 

[JohanDiv]

I'm just curious, anyone know what the deal with Toyota looks like? I counted 8x Cape Epic branded brand new Land Cruiser Prado support vehicles at the start line this morning. Must be rentals or sponsored just for the duration of the event, right? Can't imagine the organizers spending R13mill just on support vehicles. 

[mikkelz]

Just now, JohanDiv said:

I'm just curious, anyone know what the deal with Toyota looks like? I counted 8x Cape Epic branded brand new Land Cruiser Prado support vehicles at the start line this morning. Must be rentals or sponsored just for the duration of the event, right? Can't imagine the organizers spending R13mill just on support vehicles. 

Now you know why there was a water shortage. 😜

[RobynE]

27 minutes ago, Mamil said:

Is part of what you pay for with your 120k the right to make someone else responsible for your safety, and to what extent is that legally enforcable? And morally? 

 

 

I think that’s the big thing here. Like it’s ridiculously expensive to enter this event. I don’t think that the 120k is babysitting fees, but I do think that 120k should include proactive event management that minimises risk, and I don’t think that happened.

If you are undertrained and underprepared it’s one thing. 

If the conditions are unrideable for the masses and you know you’ve got a water issue, stop the stage. And before 14:36.

As a well-meaning ammie, it’s a little upsetting when you’re doing your best and you get to WPs that are being cleared up or the marshalls stop coming by. It feels like you could be forgotten out there. I don’t pay an entry fee to be abandoned on a trail. I’m not expecting babysitting but I am expecting there to be what the organisers say there will be whether I’m podium or last in my category. 

Conversely people can turn around for a DNF and not notify anyone, meaning that the organisers really don’t know you’re not out there anymore, but I don’t think a person in the Epic simply turns around and goes home, and the promised support should remain whether you’re first or last. 

[Lynskey]

15 minutes ago, JohanDiv said:

I'm just curious, anyone know what the deal with Toyota looks like? I counted 8x Cape Epic branded brand new Land Cruiser Prado support vehicles at the start line this morning. Must be rentals or sponsored just for the duration of the event, right? Can't imagine the organizers spending R13mill just on support vehicles. 

I would presume Toyota loans them the vehicles. Land Rover used to be involved a while back. I struggle to see how they would see a valued return on this. As far as I can remember absa is the one who has stuck with them the longest. Assos was also involved for a bit.

[ajnkzn]

100% just demo vehicles for the event. 

[saturdayknight]

13 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

I think you are generalising and not taking specifically to the situation in Rheebokskloof. It took some riders 2.5 hrs to ride 10km. Why?

it was tight undulating singletrack with lots of portage area due to the technical difficulty for the average mountain biker.

riders emptied their 2L USWE bladders in that time and the contents was warmer than coffee.

down at WP 2 the temperature was much lower than out on the single track in the SW corner , it was high 30’s . You make your hydration decisions basis what you feel.

the other aspect not being considered is that there are a lot of Northern Europeans and Americans here. The central and South American guys are handling the weather well but the northerners not so much. Something to do with coming out of winter into a southern hemisphere summer. Posting statements about acclimatisation to heat being important doesn’t remove the responsibility of making decisions that are pro athlete health and anti #untamed.

i haven’t had much experience riding in 49degrees C to determine how much water i need. Turns out i needed much much more than 1L per hour. I got away with it purely because I paced myself appropriately. Does the average Epic rider know how to do this? I’ll bet no because i Was just in the chill zone waves dropping on a lot of BS. Lack of knowledge is perhaps not an excuse but there is also a lot of BS on YT and SM. 
what I see here is that the rider marker it not well understood except for the desire to have scalps/trophies to display. Man is evolved to be an efficient and smart hunter so the acquisition of trophies feeds the ego. The event organiser cannot control its market, it has to be smarter in “Knowing Your Customer”. The surveys they send out are easy to “cheat”. Most entrants are high risk. Just look at the average age.

i still don’t know if the rumours are true or not and the statement means nothing other than lawyer speak. I won’t speculate on and I desperately hope it’s true and stays true and is not a “for now” situation.

You have no idea. This event is such an important testing ground for SRAM they have one of their head honchos riding it to gather intel.

theres more FA equipped bikes here than at a UCI XCO world cup

spot on - what i meant to say the rider rode for 2.5 hours between water points. It's quite feasible for a super fit young racing snake let along a man or lady in their 50's or 60's to slow down to 10km/hr on windy rocky sandy technical track in temps close to 50 degrees. Quite feasible. If the hydration sack holds 1.8 litres which is quite a big sack and the water bottle is 700mls (lots of MTBs cant carry two water bottles due to the frame design) - thats only 2.5 litres for 2.5 hours - thats simply not enough esp if not properly heat acclimatised. A seasoned MTBer in Ironman PTY LTD communicating with a doctor / physiologist who knows heat stress and heat stroke should know this and they should have additional water points. I dont think the race should be made any easier - its the worlds toughest MTB race supposedly. But they could just tick a few easy boxes - provide enough water and water points, and fix up some of the styes and track in some places not to make it easier to ride but just fix the planks properly or remove wire etc. 

[saturdayknight]

1 hour ago, RobynE said:

I think that’s the big thing here. Like it’s ridiculously expensive to enter this event. I don’t think that the 120k is babysitting fees, but I do think that 120k should include proactive event management that minimises risk, and I don’t think that happened.

If you are undertrained and underprepared it’s one thing. 

If the conditions are unrideable for the masses and you know you’ve got a water issue, stop the stage. And before 14:36.

As a well-meaning ammie, it’s a little upsetting when you’re doing your best and you get to WPs that are being cleared up or the marshalls stop coming by. It feels like you could be forgotten out there. I don’t pay an entry fee to be abandoned on a trail. I’m not expecting babysitting but I am expecting there to be what the organisers say there will be whether I’m podium or last in my category. 

Conversely people can turn around for a DNF and not notify anyone, meaning that the organisers really don’t know you’re not out there anymore, but I don’t think a person in the Epic simply turns around and goes home, and the promised support should remain whether you’re first or last. 

totally agree - they pull in over 100 million for the event in entry fees and sponsorship etc. NO excuse to have sloppy planning and implementation. The spectator experience also needs to be jacked up. I was at a random MTB event in Lenzeheid Switzerland and the spectator experience at the finish was so much more professional that at Epic. The tables / WPs should be properly stocked to the bitter end. Some of the biggest heros on this race are the back enders who have somehow stuck in there and suffered all day while the pros are having an afternoon nap in the RV. Thats what makes the race to unique and world class - amateurs mixing it with pros.

[love2fly]

14 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Stage 4 feedback . Fairview to fairview

the first 20 km was a boring meander through the Fairview vines. Large track of land, must be worth a fortune.

things got exciting when we hit diamanté estate XCO track. How I remained patient and amused is beyond me but none the less, there does need to be a skills criteria or I need to be seeded in faster start batches. 
over a simple obstacle, Grand master on a S-works , stops mid feature and unclips as my team mate is spooling up to ride over it. He stops to avoid the chap and tears his calf muscle. It seemed like just a strain at first but by WP 2 the pain was becoming unbearable for him. The medics gave him some pain killer which slowed him to pedal, albeit slowly to WP3. Back to diamanté estate …..

the XCO track might have in pristine condition but after 800ridees it was quite beaten up. Everything still rideable but not for the back markers. Bear in mind these people have been through the wringer the first 3 stages and were /are basically in survival mode. There is no more strategy, just a dash of smack talk but generally just silence and grunting…like a 80s German porn movie….dont be coy, you know what I’m talking about…

there are no free climbing meters in Paarl. Everything is compact and that means steep to pack in the kilometres. Prepare yourselves well when you come ride out here.

we exited diamanté estate onto tracks build under the monument and then through  a girls school. What a punk track that was. I nearly saw my gat there.

the  we went through LaBorie vineyards and their XCO track . Notice a bit of a trend here. If you have ridden the spice route, diamant, diaries and laborie XCO courses you’ll have some idea of how technical today was.

by WP2 Hans calf was really troubling him. They routed us past the Taal Monument and then a right at the top of the mountain  and lead us along the gravel road up there to Spice Route. Some vicious climbs up there. 
I started keeping an eye on the clock and realised that at the pace we were moving we wouldn’t make cut off at WP3 . His face was a grimace of pain and bravery but I could see he was hurting and whatever was going on wasn’t just a little niggle. At WP3 I pulled him over to the medical tent and said “ we have till 13:50 to make a decision on whether you carry on or I pull you out. The doc examined him and said it’s likely a torn muscle but an Ultrasound back at race village would confirm. He handed me the transponder and said “I’m getting in the ambulance “

so we had a stay of execution yesterday with the dehydration episode but here was a real issue. Ultrasound confirmed a tear in the muscle. I continue as an Individual Finisher tomorrow 😢

 

Nicely written Diesel, I could almost feel the stress of the day. If they can't require a qualification, the Epic should at least require some sort of seeding greater than the Prologue. 

[love2fly]

2 hours ago, JohanDiv said:

I'm just curious, anyone know what the deal with Toyota looks like? I counted 8x Cape Epic branded brand new Land Cruiser Prado support vehicles at the start line this morning. Must be rentals or sponsored just for the duration of the event, right? Can't imagine the organizers spending R13mill just on support vehicles. 

Spez's sponsor and marketing activity.

[justinafrika]

Much respect to Marco and Tristan for consistently being at the sharpest end.  More so for fighting through the aero drag of that '70's porn star 'tache.

[JohanDiv]

At this point Ironman should just subcontract Dryland to organize the Cape Epic

[babse]

Marco's F bomb 🤣 

 

Creds to the coverage. It really is top class free coverage. Sahm pinning it holding Scott wheel with a massive back pack on.

 

 

[babse]

6 minutes ago, JohanDiv said:

At this point Ironman should just subcontract Dryland to organize the Cape Epic

With attakwas as a qualifier...