Stages 6
April 7, 2013
Ok yes, this is 2 weeks after the event, which is terrible form on my behalf! I came straight off the Epic into a 8 day straight study session for test week last week (It didn't go particularly well but that is neither here nor there)
Stage 6 was a BIGGIE! at 100km and 2900m of climbing it was scheduled to be one of the harder days at this years Absa Cape Epic. To put it in perspective for those of you who have ever ridden Chapmans Peak which has a 5% gradient for just under 2km. We rode on average at a 3% gradient for 100km! That is a long hill!
The first climb was a monster, but Rich and I had the the second half of it before in the Gravel Travel Ultra Marathon last year. We started the climb from a different direction though which was great as it is always nice to ride some new routes! We rode for a bit with Ann Harrison and her partner, but eventually they fell behind as Ann's partner was still suffering from her sickness. The climb took just over an hour and was followed by a nice little single track section to bring the fun level back up after the grueling ascent! A quick descent in the valley followed by a short and steep climb (in comparison to what we had just done) took as to water point 1. Always the best place to arrive at on an Epic stage!
As I am sure you know by now I took on a lot of everything and filled myself to the brim with coke & more coke, the fuel of cyclists!
The next 40km were advertised as 'free riding', I must admit I felt a little bit cheated! Undulating ups and downs around the farm lands into a headwind is not exactly free, but it was certainly easier than the first part of the stage! Here we caught up to Trevor and Darryl and we rode together for almost the entire stretch. Trevor and I did a lot of rubbish talking to pass the kilometres as we trundled up towards the second water point. The landscape was quite dire, having had a fire pass through in the months preceding the race. It was quite an interesting place to be riding but as always, very enjoyable. At water point 2 we saw a lot of folk who came out to see us! Thanks to Bev, Jess, Anton & Oom Willie for making the trip...
After wp2 it got really interesting, we had a lot of climbing to get done in not many km and were immediately provided with the solution to this: A very steep 1km section where we probably went up about 160m, I always enjoy a climb like this as you can really get your teeth into it and its a personal victory to get to the top without getting off! We were taking the long and windy way over Helshoogte Pass to get into stellies. Lots of sharp ups and sharp downs with marshalls all over the place warning us of the impending doom to come. At this point we caught up to the leading ladies pair, not something we normally would have done, as Yolandi had come off earlier and managed to crack a few ribs and completely break her collar bone. She was riding in extreme pain (very loudly) and managed to soldier through to the finish, amazing!! They even managed to hold on the next day and take the overall win for the week! I don't think I would have been able to ride with that many broken bones!
Water point 3 came quickly and we saw more of friends and family who had come out to do some shouting! A quick check with Larne revealed that we were still ahead of Trevor and Darryl, but not by much! More eating, followed by more climbing until we crested the top of the Helshoogte Pass. I was convinced at this point that we had done all the climbing for the day and were going to be rewarded with a nice smooth tar run in to the finish....This was not to be
We descended on the Old Helshoogte road for about 1km before we turned left and went under the national road! Going through the tunnel was quite hair raising as it was about 100m long and completely pitch black, not to mention the fact that the marshall was playing the James Bond theme music at the entrance (weird, but a nice touch) A quick walk after the tunnel put us onto the final climb of the day, a small and easy gravel drag up to the top of the plantation. By this point we were more than ready for the run in to the finish and we FLEW down the hill at a break neck speed! The last section was a very steep grass section going past the supporters village and I hit 68km/h on the way down. In hindsight - unwise - but a lot of fun at the time!
It felt great to finish the hardest stage on a good note, the views coming up the hills into Stellenbosch and looking out over the wine farms were truly breathtaking and it is always a privilege to ride on such routes!
Stage 6 was a BIGGIE! at 100km and 2900m of climbing it was scheduled to be one of the harder days at this years Absa Cape Epic. To put it in perspective for those of you who have ever ridden Chapmans Peak which has a 5% gradient for just under 2km. We rode on average at a 3% gradient for 100km! That is a long hill!
The first climb was a monster, but Rich and I had the the second half of it before in the Gravel Travel Ultra Marathon last year. We started the climb from a different direction though which was great as it is always nice to ride some new routes! We rode for a bit with Ann Harrison and her partner, but eventually they fell behind as Ann's partner was still suffering from her sickness. The climb took just over an hour and was followed by a nice little single track section to bring the fun level back up after the grueling ascent! A quick descent in the valley followed by a short and steep climb (in comparison to what we had just done) took as to water point 1. Always the best place to arrive at on an Epic stage!
As I am sure you know by now I took on a lot of everything and filled myself to the brim with coke & more coke, the fuel of cyclists!
The next 40km were advertised as 'free riding', I must admit I felt a little bit cheated! Undulating ups and downs around the farm lands into a headwind is not exactly free, but it was certainly easier than the first part of the stage! Here we caught up to Trevor and Darryl and we rode together for almost the entire stretch. Trevor and I did a lot of rubbish talking to pass the kilometres as we trundled up towards the second water point. The landscape was quite dire, having had a fire pass through in the months preceding the race. It was quite an interesting place to be riding but as always, very enjoyable. At water point 2 we saw a lot of folk who came out to see us! Thanks to Bev, Jess, Anton & Oom Willie for making the trip...
After wp2 it got really interesting, we had a lot of climbing to get done in not many km and were immediately provided with the solution to this: A very steep 1km section where we probably went up about 160m, I always enjoy a climb like this as you can really get your teeth into it and its a personal victory to get to the top without getting off! We were taking the long and windy way over Helshoogte Pass to get into stellies. Lots of sharp ups and sharp downs with marshalls all over the place warning us of the impending doom to come. At this point we caught up to the leading ladies pair, not something we normally would have done, as Yolandi had come off earlier and managed to crack a few ribs and completely break her collar bone. She was riding in extreme pain (very loudly) and managed to soldier through to the finish, amazing!! They even managed to hold on the next day and take the overall win for the week! I don't think I would have been able to ride with that many broken bones!
Water point 3 came quickly and we saw more of friends and family who had come out to do some shouting! A quick check with Larne revealed that we were still ahead of Trevor and Darryl, but not by much! More eating, followed by more climbing until we crested the top of the Helshoogte Pass. I was convinced at this point that we had done all the climbing for the day and were going to be rewarded with a nice smooth tar run in to the finish....This was not to be
We descended on the Old Helshoogte road for about 1km before we turned left and went under the national road! Going through the tunnel was quite hair raising as it was about 100m long and completely pitch black, not to mention the fact that the marshall was playing the James Bond theme music at the entrance (weird, but a nice touch) A quick walk after the tunnel put us onto the final climb of the day, a small and easy gravel drag up to the top of the plantation. By this point we were more than ready for the run in to the finish and we FLEW down the hill at a break neck speed! The last section was a very steep grass section going past the supporters village and I hit 68km/h on the way down. In hindsight - unwise - but a lot of fun at the time!
It felt great to finish the hardest stage on a good note, the views coming up the hills into Stellenbosch and looking out over the wine farms were truly breathtaking and it is always a privilege to ride on such routes!
Posted by Nicholas Hops.
