the unofficial Cape Epic thread

[DieselnDust]

Did Gerald just say that Grotts becomes the 2nd American to win the cape epic?

pretty sure he was the first to win it in 2018 with Chris Blevins the 2nd in 2023.

 

[Matt]

3 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Did Gerald just say that Grotts becomes the 2nd American to win the cape epic?

pretty sure he was the first to win it in 2018 with Chris Blevins the 2nd in 2023.

 

2nd alongside Beers he said.

[DieselnDust]

19 minutes ago, J Wakefield said:

100% agree, never have said otherwise ever on what people think or say. 
what they should do is read your post and know it also applies to them and all. 
 

always lekker. 

Its always lekker to just shoot the breeze and share opinions but informed views should always carry more weight or put the debate to bed. 
miller Grotts gate was a case in point. 

but if we only spoke about facts then we wouldn’t have 35 pages of promotional banter which is what the bikehub office wants and we aim to please 

[DieselnDust]

2 minutes ago, Matt said:

2nd alongside Beers he said.

Ah thanks for that qualification. I missed that

Edited March 24, 2024 by DieselnDust

[DieselnDust]

This finale stage is a massive win. This has got to be the biggest spectator crowd there’s ever been along the finale route. I hope they keep the concept 

[DieselnDust]

Ghost bikes about to break into the SA market?

[W@nted]

[The Bull Shark]

2 hours ago, babse said:

Thank goodness we don't have to hear Neil rumble about Val die vie being the Champs Elseeys

Glad they finished at Coetzenberg. Just way more accessible. Also more symbolic of our sport heritage compared to Val De Vie.

Edited March 24, 2024 by dev null

[The Bull Shark]

Just saw on the pictures now it seems my son's riding buddy at school, Callum, was part of the Toyota Specialized 91 support team.

Edited March 24, 2024 by dev null

[Jbr]

1 hour ago, W@nted said:

Any info on his retirement and Marc Pritzen’s ? It’s a bit worrying. Hope they’re ok

[Eugene Oppelt]

3 superlatives for the 30 year old Matt Beers:

Professional. Stoic. Gritty.

He comes across as a 'caring hammer' when his teammate is the nail. I have lost count with the number of teammates that he has won this special yellow jersey - a total reflection on him as an athlete. Respect.

And the Specialized brand continue to dominate the Cape Epic.

[Wannabe]

John, my perception is that some of the newer "experts" on lehub do not know who or what you are, therefore they are under the fallible impression that they know more about our beloved sport than you. (top tip, if you do not know who John Wakefield is, consult Dr Google)

Matt again said in the interview today that Howie put him in the hurt box and that all he could do was to hang on. (I dunno if that was tongue in cheek/an inside joke) What I saw was that Matt was on the front most of the time, only on the more technical climbs did Howie go to the front. On the long gradual climbs Matt could throw his watt bombs down.

Howie won both his Epics with partners physically way stronger than him (Koolharvy and Matt) but he survived both with relative ease.

But hey, what do I know about Mtb riding, I'm just a armchair critic that only rides in good weather.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2024 by Wannabe
Spelling

[Titleist]

4 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

Apparently nothing or not that much I have been informed this week by some. While I don’t disagree with this, it was just good to be informed with certain this is true. 

On another note, how does a typical day in the life of Matt look during Epic prep in one of those 25 hour weeks? What does he do for the rest of the day after a 4 hour morning session for example?

[DieselnDust]

14 minutes ago, Titleist said:

On another note, how does a typical day in the life of Matt look during Epic prep in one of those 25 hour weeks? What does he do for the rest of the day after a 4 hour morning session for example?

Recovery pancakes and coffee at Knead 

seriously though, drop Matt the message on his insta page. I’m sure he’ll reply sometime. John won’t share his athletes routines.

Edited March 24, 2024 by DieselnDust

[DieselnDust]

23 minutes ago, Wannabe said:

John, my perception is that some of the newer "experts" on lehub do not know who or what you are, therefore they are under the fallible impression that they know more about our beloved sport than you. (top tip, if you do not know who John Wakefield is, consult Dr Google)

Matt again said in the interview today that Howie put him in the hurt box and that all he could do was to hang on. (I dunno if that was tongue in cheek/an inside joke) What I saw was that Matt was on the front most of the time, only on the more technical climbs did Howie go to the front. On the long gradual climbs Matt could throw his watt bombs down.

Howie won both his Epics with partners physically way stronger than him (Koolharvy and Matt) but he survived both with relative ease.

But hey, what do I know about Mtb riding, I'm just a armchair critic that only rides in good weather.

 

 

The relative positioning of team mates isn’t a dead cert in hierarchy. One day you’re the hammer the next day you’re the nail. From what I can tell, Matt likes to ride on the front. There could be several reasons for this; sighting the trail , just a better feeling of comfort could be another.  You’d need to be able to hear the dialogue between them to get a better sense of what is going on. Howard seems more comfortable across a broader speed range on the climbs whereas Matt likes a constant tempo. So let Matt sit on the front to set his tempo and Howard follows. You don’t want a faster climber starting to stretch you out when you’re having trouble on the climb. Matt can’t hide behind Howard anyway, he’s a hike head and shoulder taller.

what is apparent is that Bikehub needs to do a podcast with Matt where these questions can be asked. Maybe John can arrange a S2S seminar with some of their top athletes and the audience can ask the milllion and one questions.

just based on the highly variable and sometimes downright weird training and preparation for the epic amongst the back markers there is very clearly still a huge gap in the market for this information 

[J Wakefield]

20 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Recovery pancakes and coffee at Knead 

seriously though, drop Matt the message on his insta page. I’m sure he’ll reply sometime. John won’t share his athletes routines.

 

8 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

The relative positioning of team mates isn’t a dead cert in hierarchy. One day you’re the hammer the next day you’re the nail. From what I can tell, Matt likes to ride on the front. There could be several reasons for this; sighting the trail , just a better feeling of comfort could be another.  You’d need to be able to hear the dialogue between them to get a better sense of what is going on. Howard seems more comfortable across a broader speed range on the climbs whereas Matt likes a constant tempo. So let Matt sit on the front to set his tempo and Howard follows. You don’t want a faster climber starting to stretch you out when you’re having trouble on the climb. Matt can’t hide behind Howard anyway, he’s a hike head and shoulder taller.

what is apparent is that Bikehub needs to do a podcast with Matt where these questions can be asked. Maybe John can arrange a S2S seminar with some of their top athletes and the audience can ask the milllion and one questions.

just based on the highly variable and sometimes downright weird training and preparation for the epic amongst the back markers there is very clearly still a huge gap in the market for this information 

Thanks but I am fully capable of replying with correct info to anyone directly asks me…