what a few week.i hardly know where to start.after a successfull world cup i flew down to cape town to start prep for this years cape epic.we had a solid week of training and resting in stellenbosch before heading to meerendal for the start of the race last sunday.
prologue 27km
the prologue has always been a stage we aim to win and this year was no different.chrsitoph and i were super motivated and went hard from the gun on the 27km course.i didnt have the best legs and had to let suzie do most of the pacing.in the end we won,but only 14sec seperated us from 2nd place.we did however go into the rest of the week with confidance.
stage 1 ,115km
stage 1 is always super hard as the route is traditionally a big tester and the field is still fresh and looking to make a hard effort at the front.we rode near the front for the first half the race and then the teams around us got swallowed by the heat and tough terain.by 45km to go we were alone and stretching a good gap and in the end we won by a few minutes.
stage 2 ,119km
the stage was an easier day after the first two days as it was quite fast and flat over the first half and had minor rough steepish climbs near the end.we made the pace hard there and got a small group away to the finish.we had a hard sprint for the win and came home safely in 3rd.but importantly losing no time on the overall gc.
stage 3, 147km
this was the longest day ever in cape epic and had a massive amount of climbing spread over 4 peaks.on the 3rd climb around 70km to go team 360life attacked in the feed zone and suzie had to work hard to come across the gap.from there on we shared the work with them until the last climbs where suzie put the hammer down and eventualy rode away.i was eager for the sprint and managed to stay ahead of the other team to take the win.
stage 4, 124km
this was a very underrated stage in the race booklet.after the big day before the legs were also rather tender.we climbed up to the famous charlies heaven peak and then faced a tough 30km stretch in a strong headwind home.at the front we were joined my multivan merida and 360life for the last 30km.everyone paced realy hard and we had stretched a good gap to the riders behind.with 5km to go we attacked hard leaving both 360life and merida behind.the end of the stage saw us riding some sweet singletrack through the caledon botanical gardens which was a real treat.
stage 5 ,115km
wet,wet,wet.the only real way to describe this stage between caledon and oak valley.the stage started pretty fast along winding jeep track and open gravel roads before we got to botrivier and the road started pointing skywards regularly.the main element of the stage though was the weather.over the last few kms it becme very cold agin and here suzie attacked yeat gain.with 15km to go only the team of bulls2 remained at the front with us and we eventualy outsprinted them for the stage.now tied with our most stage wins in an epic and a time gap of around 27min to the second team on gc.
stage 6,85km
it might only have been 85km but it was hard and had the most amazing terrain.we decided to have an easier day and team 360life capitalized by taking the win.we followed a few minutes behind and it was a stage which i realy enjoyed.the views and singletracks on this stage put a smile back on everyones faces.
stage 7,64km
the grand finale sees the riders head from oak valley to lourensford via the sir lowrys pass and the famous "wagon trail" that lies there.after an easier day on the previous stage we attacked the stage from the gun, setting a hard pace at the start.our goal was defend our big lead by heading into the last 30km at the front of the bunch,however our pace was good enough to win the telkom hotspot and head into the last 30km with a good lead.we didnt want to just give it away and kept our heads down to try and secure the stage.this was quite a chellnge as we wanted to stay cautious on the rough stuff.luckily we could keep opening the gap on the climbs and held on to take our 6th stage win on the fields at lourensford infront of an electrefying crowd!!!
it was an awesome week in which we had a great time.the team pulled together and we delivered.thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who make the racing possible for us.thanks also to suzie for a great 8 days!
i now go home for a few days before heading to belgium for the next world cup
ciao
burry
