Having spent over 10 months now in South
Africa over the last 3 years there aren’t many races I haven’t done but the
Grape Escape is one and with it on the doorstep of my new ‘home’ in
Stellenbosch I was looking forward to riding some of the trails I have done and
which will also be in the looming Cape Epic.
Stage One
Riebeeck Kasteel – Wellington, 78km 1725m
ascent
Starting all together on open windy
district roads the pace was fast from the start. I used any road skills I could and stayed as far up front as
possible and out of the wind. Soon
the bunch spilt and I was hovering off the back of the front group for a while
until a group of 8 or so came past.
Feeling good I hung onto them my heart rate well over threshold but it
paid off as I was ahead of the other girls and only Ariane caught me once the
hills started. I stuck with her as
long as possible but eventually lost contact on a rocky descent and watched as
she rode away with another guy back on the district roads. With no one else in sight I hit a bad
spot along the corrugated roads and eventually sat up to wait for another rider
also alone. Working together was
better for the moral though soon we turned back into the climbs and some tricky
single track to the finish. Ariane
won the day, I came in 2nd with Candice in 3rd. Teammate Leana took some strain,
clearly having not recovered from the bug in Kysna. Though only in Wellington I decided to stay and camp. With
free access to the local pool, friends to chat with, massage, a clothes wash
service, drinks all day and a fantastic dinner it was worth the portaloos and
sleeping bag!
Stage Two
Wellington, 60km 1788m ascent
I knew I would have a tough day trying to
keep up with the other girls as there was 30km of single track to get
round. I lost Ariane after an fall
early on in the sand but stayed with Candice a while, catching her on the
climbs and watching her float down the single track with such little
effort. It definitely helped
having ridden the Welvanpas Trails with Leana but Candice was still in a
different league on the technical stuff and soon I also had to back off. I was riding flat out again and started
making small errors and not able to make the short power climbs. After the long
climb near Bainskloof Pass we rode an amazing single track back down, through
the orchards and into the finish.
It was a perfect stage, lots of fun trails, plenty of climbs and a
distance you could ride hard the whole way. Ariane won the stage, sprinting past Candice on the line
while I took 3rd and Jennie 4th.
Stage Three
Wellington – Boschendal, 70km 1800m ascent
As soon as we hit the first slight incline
then my legs exploded this morning!
I battled to hang onto wheels having to chase back all the time and
while giving it all I had left in the tank we hit a long steep tarmac
climb. Unsure whether I’d get up a
few riders asked if I was ok, never a good sign!! I backed off and near the top literally sprinted to tag onto
the back of the group containing the other girls. We stayed in one group until
a long rocky decent down and as I hit a washed out ditch at a bad angle and
only came out alive due to my 29er wheels I decided there and then to back
off. The last was a mechanical or
a fall. The route was varied again
and very demanding with steep smooth single track climbs and loose rocky
descents. I fell once but nothing
major and near the end found myself in a good group. I hung on to the back and even though I dropped off once
managed to get back when I didn’t have to stop for a drink as a friend Rob had
made last week gave me a bottle.
While I am a fan of the 32Gi there is nothing like a coke for those last
20km especially if its technical as the caffeine just helps you concentrate
more. I passed Ariane fixing a
flat after she dented the rim but never caught Candice who finished 1st,
beating me by an agonizing 40 seconds overall on GC. Ariane got disqualified for taking Cherise’s bike and so
Jennie ended 3rd.
Though it was close I can’t be too bitter: taking the mechanical of
Ariane’s away it’s the closest I’ve finished to both her and Candice each day
despite it been the most toughest and technical three day stage race I’ve
done. I raced flat out and spent
10 hours with an average heart rate just 4 or 5 beats below my anaerobic
threshold, I got so used to feeling the lactic burning in my legs and I gave
myself a sore throat from breathing in so much dust so there’s no way I could
have done anything more. It was a
shame not to have Ariane up on the podium because of one bad call after the
battles we’d had but I was pleased for Jennie who was riding stronger each
day.
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