AmaBhungane reporter Craig McKune found stage one of the Cape Epic a bit tough. Here’s how he fared.
Annika Langvad battles to repair a puncture during stage 1 of the 2014 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race. Photo: Greg Beadle / Cape Epic / SPORTZPICS
Stage One, Robertson
Distance: 113km
Total climbing: 2 450m
#$@*?!!! that was hard. That was really tough. Stage One did come with a nasty reputation; there were many horrible warnings (I think the course designer Leon “Dr Evil” Evans said something like: “It’s easy, except for between water points one and three, which is hell.”), but holy $%*@ moly. I’m dead.
We started this morning at Arabella Wines, just outside Robertson. The route was more or less a loop around the valley, stringing together the steepest, loosest roads available in far-off, beautiful places that I did not know existed.
As my race partner Rory van Zyl said, it would have been lovely for hiking. I pointed out that in fact we did do a lot of hiking, pushing our bikes up the hills. He clarified that he prefers to hike without a bike.
The day started ominously. We passed top cyclists Nic Lamond and Hannes Hannekom fixing a torn tyre within minutes of the start. Five minutes later, we passed leading lady Annika Langvad frantically trying to fix a flat, tv camera rammed in her face. Ten minutes after that, we passed Annika’s team mate Ariane Kleinhans, trundling back along the road.
Normally one of the most cheerful people I’ve seen, she looked like she had steam coming from her ears. – Mail & Guardian
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