3 May 2006

The weather could not have been better for the finishers of the 2006 Absa Cape Epic, the Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race presented by Adidas.

On their last day, 29 April, the Epic riders from around the world completed the final leg of their challenging mountain bike journey through the Western Cape under bright blue skies.

523 two-person teams from 37 countries had started eight days earlier at the Waterfront in Knysna; by the finish, 824 of the 1 046 riders cycled all the way to Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

Riding up Everest twice
In just eight days they covered a distance of 921 gruelling kilometres and climbed a total of 16 605 metres - the equivalent of riding up Mount Everest twice. In order to deserve the honourable title of Cape Epic Finisher, the participants had to complete all of the eight gruelling stages.

The last leg of the challenging stage race led the aspiring amateur athletes and international mountain bike pros through the magnificent scenery of the Western Cape to beautiful Spier Wine Estate near Cape Town.

On the final day of the Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race, the "mountain bike soul" was fed with some spectacular jeep and single track riding, technical climbs, and breathtaking downhills including the original 1997 UCI World Cup Downhill track in Stellenbosch.

In short, everything made the final stage of the Absa Cape Epic another unforgettable mountain biking experience.

Organisation
Over 420 staff worked in the background of the world's largest full-service mountain bike race, pitching 1 200 tents each day, setting up 1 500 chairs and 150 tables, loading and unloading 1 050 rider bags, erecting a total of 21 130 square metres of dining marquees, as well as the start and finish chute, the Giant Bicycles bike park and the Cape Union Mart Race Village with 33 individual luxury showers and 100 portable flush toilets.

In total, they transported 780 tons and 2 700 cubic metres of equipment and supplies during the event. This year, the fleet of the Absa Cape Epic comprised more than 110 event-registered vehicles, including five 22-metre Superlink trucks and two foodgrade tankers for single source water support.

To ensure that the operation behind the scenes ran like a clockwork, the Cape Epic organisers compiled a group of experts in their respective fields who managed key areas at the event, such as Imperial Logistics who handled the daily logistics requirements, the Medi-Clinic Special Events Team that catered for emergency response and medical care, Delta Search and Rescue who ensured that communication on route was always adequate, and Conference Communications who were in charge of audio visuals, as well as setting up all wireless networks and cutting edge technology at the event.

Eventful last day
The last day of the Absa Cape Epic was an eventful one. While quite a few amateur riders suffered from a lack of concentration so close to home - on the technical terrain a bad thing to happen, which resulted in many last-minute crashes – the pros also had to struggle with some unpredictable difficulties.

Right after the start, German Karl Platt of Team Rocky Mountain Business Objects broke the lock of his suspension fork. "I was riding the entire last stage without shock absorption," he said. "And that must happen to me on the best stage of all when we wanted to close the gap to second place in the technical downhill sections. And Carsten hurt his shoulder badly today, so we were both a bit handicapped."

Despite the support of leading team, Specialized, who tried to help the two Germans on the last day to make up for their backing earlier in the race when Silvio broke his derailleur and Carsten and Karl slowed down the leading bunch to help them catch up, they could not defeat the Team Stevens Racing's duo of Johannes Sickmüller (GER) and Christian Heule (SUI).

They, too, struggled on the last day as they missed a few turns in the woods when Specialized attacked and they had to increase their pace to stick to them.

Tragic bad luck
Tragic bad luck also struck the leading Mixed team, Anna Baylis (AUS) and Jörg Scheiderbauer (GER), who both crashed on the first downhill early in the race and couldn’t complete their first Cape Epic. Baylis broke her collar bone, while Scheiderbauer injured his knee and shoulder.

The moment the Epic riders turned into the finish chute at Spier Wine Estate, cheered on by the overwhelming spectator crowds and hundreds of children with handmade flags welcoming the riders from around the world, the pain and suffering of the last eight days was instantly forgotten.

With an overall time of 34 hours, 41 minutes and 41 seconds, seven out of eight stage wins, and a lead by 29.08 minutes, dual Overall World Cup Champion Chistoph Sauser (SUI) and his friend and team partner Silvio Bundi (SUI) won the race.

When the yellow leader jerseys entered the finish chute, showered in champagne, the crowds went mad.

'Like riding in our backyard'
"We really enjoyed today's stage," said Sauser. "It was like riding in our backyard as we knew every inch of the terrain. Now I am a little sad that Epic is over. Of course, it is nice to sleep in a decent bed again and to enjoy the comfort of our guest house.

"But I will miss the great vibes and the people. At least I did it with Silvio who is one of my best friends and we can cherish our memories together. Next year we will be back, for sure."

Like last year, Kevin Evans was the best South African in the field, placing fourth overall with his team partner Mannie Heymans (NAM) of Team Adidas Raleigh, who had won the inaugural Cape Epic in 2004 with Karl Platt.

According to Heymans, "having had such bad legs on day one created a gap that we weren't able to close in the following seven stages."

Winning eight out of eight stages, South Africa's Absa Business Banking Services Team, featuring Geddan Ruddock and 53-year-old Linus von Onselen, dominated the Masters category from day one. They completed the Absa Cape Epic in a time of 38:42:11, placing 9th overall.

'My best Cape Epic ever'
"This was by far my best Cape Epic ever," said Ruddock, "not only because I am wearing the blue leader jersey, but also because Linus and I have been such a great team. If Absa asks us again, we will definitely be at the start for 2007 to defend our title."

Swiss Mixed team Radys.com, with Dolores Maechler and Severin Rupp, won the Mixed category in a surprise result when leading team, Ghost International, were taken to hospital after their bad crash.

"It is actually not a nice way to win a race," Rupp said. "I really feel sorry for Anna and Jörg, because they have dominated our category and had a 45-minutes advantage when we started this morning. I hope they will get better soon. But, of course, we are proud to be awarded with the green Adidas Cape Epic leader jerseys after eight tough days of racing."

Women
The leading women needed 12 hours longer to ride the 921 kilometres from Knysna to Spier. The German Adidas Fiat Rotwild team, featuring Kerstin Brachtendorf (GER) and Sabine Grona (GER), completed their first Cape Epic in 46 hours, 25 min and 52 seconds, one hour and 25 minutes ahead of the second-placed women’s team of Mountainbike Revue, with Lisi Hager (AUT) and Sandra Lettner (AUT).

All four women didn't expect to be placed so high on the podium when they came to South Africa.

"This entire week has been incredible in every sense of the word," Hagar raved. "The Cape Epic truly is the best race in the world and the best all around mountain bike race experience.

'The vibes are outstanding'
"The organisation is perfect, the vibes are outstanding. The headline of my article will be 'Heaven and Hell' because in the past week we have been through all the highs and lows. We crashed, had technical defects, were exhausted, but also had a stage win and met many great people.

"We will do our bit so that next year there will be more Austrians at the start and we will advise them to stay in the camp, because only then you get the full Epic experience."

RESULTS

	It's dirty work participating in the Cape Epic (Photo: The Cape Epic)

	The Cape Epic gets under way with over 1 000 mountain bikers from 37 countries in the field (Photo: The Cape Epic)

	Foreign victors in Argus, Giro 2006 SA's world leading cycle events Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour

	The Cape Epic

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