South Africa’s Amy McDougall has told how she overcame illness to achieve Cape Epic success, earning her the first African special women’s jersey when the final stage concluded at Val de Vie on Sunday.
“I got the dreaded stomach bug in the early hours of the morning ahead of the prologue and, because I kept riding through it, it took me a while to recover,” she said.
The dormakaba rider, who paired with Tankwa Trek champion Candice Lill, said despite her illness she pushed herself hard through the prologue and first two stages and was not coping very well.
South African Amy McDougall had to overcome tough circumstances in order to ride to success and be the first wearer of the Cape Epic African women’s special jersey. Photo: Mark Sampson/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
“The team made the decision that we take stage three easy to give me recovery time in the name of a bigger goal. I was much better after that, but I never felt as though I returned to my full strength.”
Lill was a huge motivator and had helped her throughout, she said.
“I just had to ride my hardest. She was very understanding. We hung onto our fourth place on general classification by only a minute in the end and I know that wouldn’t have been the case without teamwork,” said McDougall.
She felt their partnership also went well as they both loved technical riding and were good team players.
“It would’ve been better if I was stronger, but that couldn’t be helped and we dealt with it as well as possible. We also get along well off the bike. There was much laughing and fun, which goes a long way when you’re struggling on the bike.”
Lill said McDougall’s sickness was something she had to overcome and face with positivity.
“To stay driven is not always easy in these times, but during the first few days I figured out what motivated Amy. You really just have to look after the person, encourage them and not put them under pressure.
“I let Amy ride in front on all the climbs and I pulled her on the flats. That way we kept momentum. I tried to keep our spirits high by laughing, making some jokes and singing. I was able to encourage her and it paid off in the end.”
McDougall felt honoured to be the wearer of the inaugural African women’s jersey, not only because they were the first but also due to it symbolising another step towards achieving gender equality in racing.
“By wearing the jersey we are showing the change many women want to see. I’ve already received many messages and posts about how we were inspiring others, which is so close to my heart because of my long-standing passion to inspire more women to ride through skills coaching and mentoring,” she said.
After having achieved such success at the conclusion of the Epic, McDougall said a highlight was handing out finisher medals to the backmarkers.
“It was so inspiring to see the real heroes of the Epic coming in.”
