the unofficial Cape Epic thread

[DieselnDust]

49 minutes ago, Mamil said:

This media as well as several first hand accounts strongly suggest that the statement referring to the lack of water on the mountain as "misinformation" is a actually a lie.

An investigative journalist might make a name for him/herself here.

The media statement is laced with semantics. 

This event is going to get ugly. I foresee gag orders, lawyering up, threats and a lot  of foul play in the future. Where a death has occurred, the police will get involved....

 

[Lynskey]

We all have our own interpretation of what happened here. What matters is how it is dealt with. As sad as this situation is no one can bring him back to life. We can all wish and say and do whatever we desire but due process has to follow now. Let us wish that things are dealt with in a respectful and proper manner. And we will all have our own interpretation of that too. There is the law and then there are personal feelings. It is tragic what has happened. Let's be respectful of the life lost and try to work forward in a positive manner. Happy Friday y'all. There is a family missing a member this weekend. Let's hope they manage to get through the coming period knowing that the cycling community is with them in thought and prayer. Be safe.

[Ozzie NL]

21 hours ago, SwissVan said:

This /\
 

I rode amongst the back markers and did not encounter a water shortage

[SamTaylor]

https://www.treadmtb.co.za/absa-cape-epic-its-no-longer-the-race-it-used-to-be/
 

Tread Media has always been a reasonably decent media outlet regarding the local cycling scene. But this article must be some of the worst and most pointless “journalism” I have ever seen. I have no idea what point Shaun is actually trying to make here - or is he just trying to jump onto the “epic bad” bandwagon that seems to be doing the roads.

 

Is he saying Joburgers should prepare better, or is he suggesting because I the bulk of the field is from Gauteng (which I don’t think is really true), the organisers should take that into consideration? 
 

I do agree that planning 2 full days around Paarl, in mid March wasn’t particularly well thought through, but also, the riding around Paarl was amazing (barring the heat). 

As a local, I don’t particularly find Lourensford/Somerset West/Stellies trails to be “bad” when it’s wet…. Also, there’s always a chance of rain, anywhere. Would he prefer they go back to a primarily gravel road route format incase it rains?

[ChrisF]

On second thought ....

Edited March 29, 2025 by ChrisF

[SwissVan]

22 hours ago, shambler said:

https://www.hln.be/antwerpen/toen-hij-duizelig-werd-wou-hij-blijven-doorgaan-vlaming-sterft-na-zware-zonnesteek-tijdens-mountainbikekoers-in-zuid-afrika~a1f5fcee/

Some more context about the death of the belgian cyclist:

Was quite a big news over all our media over here.

Translation by ChatGPT:

Flemish Cyclist Dies from Severe Heatstroke During Mountain Bike Race in South Africa

"When he got dizzy, he wanted to keep going"

Extreme Heat and Lack of Water

At around noon, things took a turn for the worse for Ronny. Despite having completed Cape Epic twice before, he suddenly suffered heatstroke. "Also known as ‘heat stroke’—

something we hardly ever experience in Belgium.

 

We were in the front half of the group and had already noticed that there was no water left at some of the hydration stations

but we pushed through

A little later, Ronny mentioned he was feeling dizzy.

I let him ride in front and adjusted my pace. But Ronny was a fighter, and he kept going

 

At one point, Ronny had to stop the race. "He got off his bike and walked for a bit while I carried both bikes, but after two minutes, he sat down. Around noon, he lost consciousness due to heatstroke and dehydration. I laid him on his side, but he also started vomiting. At that moment, you feel completely powerless. You're on top of the mountain, on a single track, and there's nothing you can do."

Ben pressed the SOS button he had with him, but help took an agonizingly long time to arrive. "It took 45 minutes for someone to finally show up. And even then, that person had little medical knowledge but at least had a walkie-talkie. I contacted the organization and made it clear that it was extremely urgent. Two other participants, who did have medical knowledge, also emphasized: ‘This man needs to get off the mountain immediately.’"

It wasn’t until an hour and a half after Ronny collapsed that someone with IV drips and extra oxygen arrived. By 3:00 PM, he was airlifted by helicopter—two and a half hours after losing consciousness. "That day, they had to pick up two other participants with the helicopter as well. He was taken to a hospital in Paarl, where he remained from Wednesday until Monday morning. At first, it seemed like he was improving, but at around 6:30 AM, we received the devastating news that he didn’t make it."

We had already been there for three or four weeks and had acclimatized well,

"And we both had so much experience.
 

But the organization really failed here

I never thought that sun and heat could do something like this to a person.

 

What a tragic story, which in hindsight could have been prevented.

Pardon me for editing and removing some of shambles original text but some things stood out for me and raise questions in my mind, most of which I’ll probably keep to myself so as not be labeled as a insensitive t**t

A lot of people are pointing fingers at the organization due to the water shortage and allowing the stage to go ahead / continue knowing in advance it was going to be very very hot., all valid questions or accusations. 

My question (here comes the insensitive bit…) when does a competitor and in the case of team events the rest of the team take responsibility for their own health and safety? 

For example

“When he got dizzy, he wanted to keep going “

”A little later, Ronny mentioned he was feeling dizzy. I let him ride in front and adjusted my pace. But Ronny was a fighter, and he kept going “

If only these warning signs had not been ignored until it was too late….

Yes I know, easy to say in hindsight sitting on my couch….. however I do have some experience having trained through a European winter for the ACE and suffering like a dog with food poisoning and dehydration on day 4 and 5….. 

 

 

[DieselnDust]

5 minutes ago, SwissVan said:

What a tragic story, which in hindsight could have been prevented.

Pardon me for editing and removing some of shambles original text but some things stood out for me and raise questions in my mind, most of which I’ll probably keep to myself so as not be labeled as a insensitive t**t

A lot of people are pointing fingers at the organization due to the water shortage and allowing the stage to go ahead / continue knowing in advance it was going to be very very hot., all valid questions or accusations. 

My question (here comes the insensitive bit…) when does a competitor and in the case of team events the rest of the team take responsibility for their own health and safety? 

For example

“When he got dizzy, he wanted to keep going “

”A little later, Ronny mentioned he was feeling dizzy. I let him ride in front and adjusted my pace. But Ronny was a fighter, and he kept going “

If only these warning signs had not been ignored until it was too late….

Yes I know, easy to say in hindsight sitting on my couch….. however I do have some experience having trained through a European winter for the ACE and suffering like a dog with food poisoning and dehydration on day 4 and 5….. 

 

 

I think it’s a valid question. 
the issue revolves around cognitive impairment.

when people get dehydrated their reasoning starts to be affected. You can halucinate, become aggressive (emotional instability) or simply just start to behave out of character. If it’s happening to you, very few have the capacity to recognise what is going on. You think oh “I have a headache “ or “wow what that’s this beautiful lady doing all the way up here ?”

that is when an outsider needs to step in and take control of the situation. In this case your team mate. However if they are also impaired then it’s a double edged sword and at this point someone who is fully functional needs to step in. 
considering the terrain and that many others were in various states of dehydration already I would have to look at the higher authority in the day monitoring distress calls to ascertain what is going on. 
as you say with hindsight there’s a lot more that could have been done to monitor conditions and make a safer determination of continuing or stopping the race.

the key issue here is that none ir very few of the riders on pipeline and Boulder City after noon were going to have the capacity to make good decisions in that heat.

overlay the cost of the event and therefore the cost of failure and it’s not as black and white as it seems when sitting at home or in the office watching from a distance.

[SSCC]

2 hours ago, SamTaylor said:

https://www.treadmtb.co.za/absa-cape-epic-its-no-longer-the-race-it-used-to-be/
 

Tread Media has always been a reasonably decent media outlet regarding the local cycling scene. But this article must be some of the worst and most pointless “journalism” I have ever seen  

I think it’s your reading and comprehension skills that are lacking rather than his writing skills. You completely misunderstood his point about JHB riders. 

He makes lots of good points backed up by stats.

[Zebra]

3 hours ago, SamTaylor said:

https://www.treadmtb.co.za/absa-cape-epic-its-no-longer-the-race-it-used-to-be/
 

Tread Media has always been a reasonably decent media outlet regarding the local cycling scene. But this article must be some of the worst and most pointless “journalism” I have ever seen. 

I thought it was a very well-balanced article, which gave me a much-clearer idea of just how much this event has changed in its nature, from ‘endurance’-focus, to much more of a skills-focus.

Back in 05/06/07, it really was more of a gravel-type stage race, with say a bit of Groenlandberg, and small bits of single-track thrown in, whereas today it really is a different ‘animal’. I am wiser for reading his well-reasoned argument.

Chris

[Bro Derek]

Bikes and equipment have also evolved. 

In those days 26er bikes with 1.9 tubed tires, road bike geometry and pretty rubbish suspension was also the norm.

40 minutes ago, Zebra said:

I thought it was a very well-balanced article, which gave me a much-clearer idea of just how much this event has changed in its nature, from ‘endurance’-focus, to much more of a skills-focus.

Back in 05/06/07, it really was more of a gravel-type stage race, with say a bit of Groenlandberg, and small bits of single-track thrown in, whereas today it really is a different ‘animal’. I am wiser for reading his well-reasoned argument.

Chris

Events have to evolve to stay relevant. Most of the evolution happened before IM involvement in an attempt to keep the race attracting top XCO names to generate the return and desire.

The improving broadcasting and images would have also likely not have happened without some top names being present.

Just because things didn't go down well this year doesn't mean the whole event is terrible.

BUT, the price is a ridiculous, so any shortfall will always draw attention and ire as one expects 100% excellence at the sort of prices the entries go for.

There is no room for error or sub par delivery at these sorts of premiums without backlash

[SamTaylor]

4 hours ago, SSCC said:

I think it’s your reading and comprehension skills that are lacking rather than his writing skills. You completely misunderstood his point about JHB riders. 

He makes lots of good points backed up by stats.

What was his point about JHB riders then that I completely misunderstood? He claims the majority of the field is from Gauteng - that is the bit I didn’t agree with, because from my experience they weren’t, there were a hell of a lot of internationals, and a lot of locals from the cape, as well as riders from all over South Africa. 
 

If GP trail parks don’t prepare you for riding the epic, or if GP riders aren’t doing enough technical terrain training, then maybe they should get some prep in elsewhere also. Last time I rode up there, there were tons of options that provided some big days out, technical riding in the Magaliesberg, and there are trails in the escapement/mpumalanga/waterberg etc that are proper. 

Edited March 29, 2025 by SamTaylor

[Titan Racing Bikes]

On 3/22/2025 at 4:49 PM, Rowl said:

@Titan Racing Bikes when can we expect a write-up 😀

Bike Hub Bike Check here:
https://bikehub.co.za/news/cape-epic-bike-check-bianca-haws-titan-racing-cypher-dc/

[love2fly]

On 3/28/2025 at 8:26 AM, Shebeen said:

is it just me, or where there basically no mechanicals in the elite fields this year? I know jobert/nortje needed to swap out a wheel from their backup team in one of the early stages, but that's about it. Didn't follow it as closely in the past, but can't really think of any that affected the racing. 

 

Things getting more reliable, or riders going for more durable stuff (ie. tyres/wheels)?

 

I was going to ask what the reason was for minimal flats at the sharp end, especially Nino?

[peetwindhoek]

1 hour ago, SamTaylor said:

What was his point about JHB riders then that I completely misunderstood? He claims the majority of the field is from Gauteng - that is the bit I didn’t agree with, because from my experience they weren’t, there were a hell of a lot of internationals, and a lot of locals from the cape, as well as riders from all over South Africa. 
 

If GP trail parks don’t prepare you for riding the epic, or if GP riders aren’t doing enough technical terrain training, then maybe they should get some prep in elsewhere also. Last time I rode up there, there were tons of options that provided some big days out, technical riding in the Magaliesberg, and there are trails in the escapement/mpumalanga/waterberg etc that are proper. 

Sigh I actually went and read the article - is this some clever guerrilla marketing trick? I’m not sure what the fuss is about. He only said that many riders are coming from Gauteng, not that they’re the majority

[love2fly]

On 3/28/2025 at 11:46 AM, Dappere said:

Tyre choice is largely a matter of personal preference, with factors such as skill level, rolling resistance, and grip all playing a role. The Pirelli Scorpion RC XC tyres I used are quite similar to the Rekon Race, and I’ve never had any issues—they offer more than enough grip for my needs.

My riding partner completed two Epics on a single set of Rekon Race tyres—Cape Epic (March) and 4Islands (April)—with zero issues, even on the notoriously rough, sidewall-eating rocks of 4Islands. Based on that, I’d say they are more than capable for the Cape Epic.

As for width, we personally prefer wider tyres, and we both run 2.4s. At this size, the Rekon Race weighs around 800g per tyre, which is slightly heavier than the Pirelli Scorpion XC RC ProWall at approximately 700g per tyre.

I once bought a Vittoria Barzo Epic something based on the spec weight, only to weigh it and sell it and immediately go back to my Ardent race.  😄

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, SamTaylor said:

What was his point about JHB riders then that I completely misunderstood? He claims the majority of the field is from Gauteng - that is the bit I didn’t agree with, because from my experience they weren’t, there were a hell of a lot of internationals, and a lot of locals from the cape, as well as riders from all over South Africa. 
 

If GP trail parks don’t prepare you for riding the epic, or if GP riders aren’t doing enough technical terrain training, then maybe they should get some prep in elsewhere also. Last time I rode up there, there were tons of options that provided some big days out, technical riding in the Magaliesberg, and there are trails in the escapement/mpumalanga/waterberg etc that are proper. 

My you are sensitive today....

Tread magazine publishes an article post epic every year revealing various stats of the completed event I assume that Bardie is drawing on this factual information when he says " a reasonably significant percentage of the South African entrants are from the province of Gauteng."

I can't fault the statement beause I drew a similar conclusion. Put of a sample of 30 okes I chatted to over the week the vast majority of them were from Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloem or Gautengers living along the Garden Route. Of the Kaapies, Stellies and Paarl seemed to provide the numbers. When tread releaes the article we'll see if this bares out but I tend to trust Bardies numbers

Furthermore, the point he makes is that these riders are not interested in upskilling their technical riding. That is a fact I can testify too. Flip I nearly fell asleep on Stage 4 through the XCO courses the riders were moving so slowly. Its even worse at W2W and these okes get aggro when you overtake them. I don't see anything wrong with how the article is written or its intent. 

11 minutes ago, peetwindhoek said:

 

Sigh I actually went and read the article - is this some clever guerrilla marketing trick? I’m not sure what the fuss is about. He only said that many riders are coming from Gauteng, not that they’re the majority

^^^Correct, also not seeing what the fuss is about.  A greater crisis has arisen in my household. My wife has opened the cupboard and discovered her Toblerone is missing so I better getting missing too