Stage 2

AARRRGGG. They shortened the stage today. Apparently it is the first time in the 14-year history of the race that they have done this. I think it is bullshit. It is called Cape Epic for a reason – it is supposed be EPIC. It’s not supposed to be Cape Easy. They are saying over 70 teams got cut from the race yesterday for not finishing within the cut off times. And I guess the medic tents were over-run with riders in various stages of heat-related illness. The temperatures and humidity were supposed to be worse today, so they shortened the stage by 40kms. I think I was the only person from CTS who was mad about the course changes when we found out this morning. As our bike mechanic Grant said, they have been running this race for 14 years and no one has died yet.

But whatever. There are some things about this race that are outside of my control, and this is one of them. Brad and I prepared to race the 64km stage this morning. We got moved up in start corrals today and got to start in the A corral which starts at 7:05, right after the pro men and right before the pro women. It was a fast start again, led out by Brad. I think Brad is a good starter and I am a good finisher in races. It took about 18kms for my legs to finally feel alive. Today’s race was a point to point race: starting in Hermanus and ending in Greyton. The race today was mainly shortish punchy climbs and descents with quite a bit of rolling and rocky singletrack and a long dirt road section through rolling farmland leading into Greyton. Brad and I have both been impressed by how much singletrack there has been so far in this race.

At the start of Stage 2

Sunrise in Hermanus. We got to start in the A corral today!

 At aid station 1 at 30 kms, both of our stomach’s were feeling queasy. I dumped all the infinite out of my camel pack and switched to just water, which helped a bunch. Brad threw up. We rallied though and finished in 3h 23min. We finished in 7^th place in the mixed category today. Places 6^th-8^th all finished within 30 secs of each other. Needless to say, it is a pretty competitive co-ed field.

Here is a video clip of Sven Nys climbing past us today (#74-1)! Pretty cool to see him out on the course. https://youtu.be/ONPwW143rt8

We got back to the hotel in Greyton, and I ate as many calories as I could: infinite recovery drink (so gross but I choked most of it down), chicken pasta stir-fry and a huge bowl of ice cream. Like always, I am having a really hard time eating during the race. Yesterday, I did 575 calories worth of infinite and 1 80 cal gel, and today I only got down about half a camel pack of infinite before I dumped it for water. Since I can’t seem to eat much during the stages, I am trying to get my daily calories in when I am off the bike, which means lots of eating at the hotels!

My legs after today's race. All the dust makes for great sunblock!

A view from our hotel in Greyton