the unofficial Cape Epic thread

[Michael S]

@J Wakefield, any non classified inside information on Outride's stuggles? Or will we have to wait till Sunday to hear the story? 

 

Edit: I say "stuggles" like top 20 in Epic is easy. But the man has set some high standards in the past.

Edited Thursday at 04:19 PM by Michael S

[Mayo916]

20 minutes ago, Michael S said:

@J Wakefield, any non classified inside information on Outride's stuggles? Or will we have to wait till Sunday to hear the story? 

 

Edit: I say "stuggles" like top 20 in Epic is easy. But the man has set some high standards in the past.

It sounds like Keegan's back is giving him trouble
 

[Jbr]

23 minutes ago, Mayo916 said:

It sounds like Keegan's back is giving him trouble
 

Probably listened to someone on instragram telling him to raise his saddle

[Robbie Stewart]

1 hour ago, babse said:

after all this is the TdF of mountian biking 👀

That is such a stupid comparison. It's beyond cringe really. The TdF at least is a race worthy of it's title and not a dick measuring contest between fat old guys with fatter wallets like the Epic has become.

[Michael S]

23 minutes ago, Mayo916 said:

It sounds like Keegan's back is giving him trouble
 

That is clear from previous days.

Was hoping John could give us some insights on the why or some other general insights which are not full social media post public nor classified competative advantage for others classified. 

[PhilipV]

2 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

Did the Dr provide a written account? 

Because ad hominem snark aside after all, without that it's unsubstantiated. 

I’m not in the habit of asking for our conversations in writing.
I will gladly be proved wrong on this, this is people’s lives we are speculating about.
But I trust him more than I trust the epic media releases. 

Edited Thursday at 05:27 PM by PhilipV

[SwissVan]

42 minutes ago, Mayo916 said:

It sounds like Keegan's back is giving him trouble
 

Is that a mtb on tar????? In the hardest mtb race in the world 

Pfffft….

[Lynskey]

34 minutes ago, Michael S said:

That is clear from previous days.

Was hoping John could give us some insights on the why or some other general insights which are not full social media post public nor classified competative advantage for others classified. 

John who? Does he own social media? (Just read up) yes this "John" fella has a lot of answers. Mighty one he are. 

Edited Thursday at 05:41 PM by Lynskey

[V18]

Somehow I doubt they did this test (which should be standard for any mass participation sporting event) for yesterday's stage. 

https://www.princetonmedicine.com/blog/wet-bulb-temperature-and-exercise-safety-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=Safe Exercise Guidelines Based on,Reduce exercise intensity and duration.

[Robbie Stewart]

29 minutes ago, SwissVan said:

Is that a mtb on tar????? In the hardest mtb race in the world 

Pfffft….

Don't be like that. You know that's "untamed" tar... Only the truly hardcore can ride on that. It really requires an extra measure of skill.

[MORNE]

On 3/20/2025 at 7:54 PM, Robbie Stewart said:

Don't be like that. You know that's "untamed" tar... Only the truly hardcore can ride on that. It really requires an extra measure of skill.

Tar in 45*C Paarl is liquid…and therefore lava…and untamed.

Edited Saturday at 02:45 PM by MORNE

[gemmerbal]

31 minutes ago, V18 said:

Somehow I doubt they did this test (which should be standard for any mass participation sporting event) for yesterday's stage. 

https://www.princetonmedicine.com/blog/wet-bulb-temperature-and-exercise-safety-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=Safe Exercise Guidelines Based on,Reduce exercise intensity and duration.

If I read that article correctly, I venture to say that we won’t have any sporting events in SA in summer?

[DieselnDust]

4 hours ago, Dicky DQ said:

If you rode for 2.5 hrs without water you are doing something wrong or not thinking. You leave a waterpoint with at least 1.5L maybe more. Waterpoints are typically 25km apart or equivalent time based on a fit rider time based. Or so it appears. So if you rode for 2,5hrs without water. Damn the math just don't add up or the rider was not prepared. Also on all the routes to date there will be a farmhouse/ workers house/ farm cellar/ restaurant within 3km of the trail and that would typically be all downhill. If in distress just bail and recover then get back on course.

There is really no excuse on this urban route for being so challenged, especially as they already had the initial 1.5L starts load. Which should get you between 1 and 2hrs to start with. 

I call ...... on this.

Edit:
If you know it is going to be hot take extra. Hydration pack 1.5 to 2L + 1,5L on the bike. No way you cant do waterpoint to waterpoint.  If it takes 2,5hrs to do 25km you do not belong at the Epic.

 

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.

2 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

That is such a stupid comparison. It's beyond cringe really. The TdF at least is a race worthy of it's title and not a dick measuring contest between fat old guys with fatter wallets like the Epic has become.

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

Edited Thursday at 07:09 PM by DieselnDust

[DieselnDust]

15 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

If I read that article correctly, I venture to say that we won’t have any sporting events in SA in summer?

We shouldn’t 

[MaMc]

UCIs High temperature protocol for road events which was published EO 2023. Has a calculator/file for WBGT in the doc which shows how hot it needs to be at given humidity etc and precautions that should be taken. Someone with reliable info for all the environmental factors can run the numbers for yesterday

https://www.uci.org/high-temperature-protocol/2pNk2Cf4VOBGuHBd68jAnK

https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/716JED6hjzxjx4NJarMGnF/dd351ea31195ade0da04858b44d9e176/HIGH_TEMPERATURE_DURING_ROAD_CYCLING_EVENTS.pdf

Edited Thursday at 06:55 PM by MaMc

[DieselnDust]

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 😢