Chris Wolhuter reflects on his spectacular week of being in the saddle.
Munching some delicious Woolworths Christmas Cake. Photo: Ash Smit
With our lap of the Cape coming to an end on Sunday, I’ve had some time to reflect on a magnificent week of mountain biking.
Ultimately a race of such nature requires you to have support structures in place which can help you through it.
The Absa Cape Epic really is the pinnacle of the sport and we are privileged to have this race on our doorstep, more so than what some realise I think.
Jose Hermida summed it up quite nicely I think, he described the three monuments of mountain biking to be the World Championships, Olympic Games and the Cape Epic, quite something.
Simon and I had a great week on and off the bikes. The Epic is not easy and we found ourselves sharing many moments, sometimes in the middle of what feels like nowhere.
After Simon proclaimed to me towards the end of stage two, after slogging it out in the mud for five hours ‘that he was in a dark place’ I again realised that we would need to support each other through the race, help each other where we could and ride off each other.
Conserving energy, boxing smartly and the odd push or two can mean a world of difference.
Off the bike the week would not have been possible without some fantastic support. Friends, family and sponsors all make a week like this do able. Their support in so many different ways is invaluable and I am very grateful for it.
I was lucky to have my sister working on the race as a massage therapist so we could catch up each day and then had my parents join for the final three days of the race.
It was great for them to get a taste of what the Epic is, as it is just so much bigger than the other races at the moment.
Their support was awesome and it was great to share it with him, especially crossing the line and joining the Amabubesi Club (the finishers club for riders who have done three Epics).
