The Cape Epic - The Untamed African MTB race

With 2016’s Cape Epic gathering impetus, competitors will be starting to feel a pinch of pressure and anxiety. A New Year heralds complete commitment to the ‘Epic’ both mental and physical.

Last year I found myself excited, driven and scared of what this mammoth off-road Mountain bike stage race entailed. The Cape Epic is the equivalent to the Tour de France on mountain bikes. It consists of 8 stages, 800km with 16000m of accumulated climbing, starting with a short Prologue to establish each teams starting position on the grid. Each stage ranges from 70km to 130km of rough African Bushveld. An average speed is about 15kmh off road.

My journey started with my transition from Road and TT bikes back onto a XC mountain bike. My weekends became all about riding dirt with Declan Doyle, my team mate for the race. Dec and I spent our weekends riding with Juan Christen, a rider from my Tuesday night road chain gang. He helped us improve our skills and technique and was patient on the trails when we lagged behind. Riding in the Surrey hills, albeit different to the Cape Epic terrain taught us control and above all gave us strength. Mountain biking is a hugely skilful combination of dexterity, power and endurance. We both had our fair share of crashes and tumbles. Kneepads, a bigger MTB helmet and a portable first aid kit were a prerequisite.

I ride a Canyon road bike and TT bike and had been training on a Canyon Hard tail with a dropper seat post for really gnarly drop offs, but for the race I was taking delivery of a super specialist Canyon Lux. This is the Lamborghini of Marathon XC racing used by the Top Pro contenders to take the overall win. The Cape Epic delivers the Pro experience for every rider. On completion of each stage your bike is taken from you and professionally washed and placed in a paddock. A privately employed mechanic will then come and pick up your bike and take it to be serviced. They will replace any thing broken or damaged and ensure it’s in prime condition for the next stage, before returning it to the paddock that evening.

The Prologue - 20km TT

A steady stream of athletes left the Rugby Field at Cape Town University, Dec and I waited in anticipation. We had ridden the course and were pumped. I was high with anticipation as we positioned ourselves on the launch ramp of the TT start. 

We hammered off the start climbing foothills of Table Mountain, just 8 mins’ in and on a slight technical section I caught my bars on a pine tree and was dumped into the dirt simultaneously. I mounted and regained composure, shaken but Ok we hustled and began to catch the team a minute ahead. We passed them on the next decent, but their backmarker who was clearly a nervous descender steered directly into my path. We clashed bars and we both went down. I managed to step clear, they didn’t, and they took a nasty tumble.  Choice words were exchanged and we narrowly avoided an altercation... It was nuts, we were not even 20 mins in and I’d crashed twice, and almost had a fight! This wasn’t what I’d come here for... or had expected. I was sore from my crashes, my lungs were screaming for air as we climbed to the Peak of Table Mountain to ‘Dead Mans Tree’, Dec sensed this and gave me a push up the hill – that’s team work.

The last part of the course was a down hill with just one rutted steep technical downhill section. I’d ridden this in practice and had nailed it perfectly each time. With confidence I hit it full gas without fear, but was confronted with a bottle-necked, congested section with athletes walking the prime trail line. I braked hard off the ideal trail line and hit a rock, I steadied my position but was not further enough behind the saddle, so when I hit the next one I was thrown over the bars and I landed with my bike on top of me.  

I landed hard and I felt my shoulder crunch and drop, I thought I’d broken my collar bone, but as it turned out I’d only separated it at the AC joint.  It was crazy painful. After fixing the bike, I rode one handed for the remainder of the course. This was not what we were expecting… and at that point I was worried I might be out of the race.

Declan Towing me over the Finish line

That night we packed up and moved to Elgin, having visited the medic they strapped my shoulder and gave me ibuprofen to help me get through the race. Upon my return to the UK, I had an MRI and the surgeon gave me a ultrasound guided cortisone injection to help the shoulder seat correctly.

The Race

Ahead of Declan and I were seven further stages and we were determined to make it to the end. My crashes and injuries had set us back, but we were not out. We always knew that we weren’t out and out speedsters, and that our strength rested in our ability to go the course and keep strong and consistent until the final stage.

Over the next seven days we both suffered. Each time my shoulder was shaken on rough trail, it felt like I was being stabbed. At times I struggled with the pain, and although my background in Ironman racing had given me a huge capacity of tolerance for pain this was different. This was acute pain that came from injury, not the pain that comes from the slow attrition of endurance racing. Time and time again, it felt like the trail was punishing us.

If I was going to make it through to the end, I knew that I was going to have to give up fighting every corner, downhill and uphill and accept how tough this race is and enjoy being a part of it. This simple change in my mind-set allowed me to accept the pain. It also gave me the strength to start challenging the competitors around us.

Declan leading the charge and setting the pace

Day after day Dec and I battled the wilderness and raced in some of the most formidable, yet beautiful countryside in Africa. This ranged from scary rocky descents, pine forested single track and long off camber rock ridden accents. The course is designed and the terrain chosen specifically to test each athlete’s strengths and weaknesses. 

You’ll find plenty off smooth flowing single track where you can let loose and keep your fingers off the brakes, but then there’s also loads of technical climbing where more efficient riders can test their limits of skill and power riding on their limit.

The emotions that I have encountered within this race are like nothing I’ve ever felt before. The long days in the saddle serve to erode your spirit and you’ll see this in the eyes of any of the rider’s as they finish each stage.

The Epic course planners are meticulous in their planning and this ensures a tough challenging course, but you can be sure that... .If you’re 20km from home and you can see a mountain – that’s where you’re going’  

The race is just beyond hard. Just when you think you’re finished, or near home the remainder of the race will be uphill and over treacherous rocks.

The Finish

We had made it through to the last day, despite crashes, injuries, insect bites and saddle sores. Declan and I had conquered this race and for the first time I got the chance to see my wife, Mette and Declan, his girlfriend Sam. We rode with smiles and were determined to get through the last stage safely. We crossed the finish together shell shocked by what we had accomplished. It was only in the hours after I was able to process what we had achieved together.

2011 Race Season Summary

It’s been a pretty epic season, full of emotion, happiness and disappointments. Like any season one needs to take the rough with the smooth and 2011 will be one that I recall with fond memories.

With Team Freespeed firmly in place, Jenny Gowans, Declan Doyle,Tim Bishop and I embarked on year that would test us physically, emotionally and mentally. The teams focus would be Sub 9 hours within an Ironman distance race for the boys and a 70.3 World Championship podium for Jen. Alongside this Dec was keen to gain Kona qualification at St George Utah .We had set the bar high and our training focus was further speed development.

My focus was to race short distance and mid distance with the view to build speed for Challenge Roth which would be my ‘A race’ of the year. This race was going to be ‘boom’ or ‘bust.’ To add an extra incentive, Challenge even refunds each athlete €250 if they go Sub 9….. How cool is that?

Dec was first up in Ironman St George in Utah, and on a very tough course cruised home in 26th place. This was the first of many successes for the newly formed Freespeed team. Declan had done enough to secure his Kona slot and the season had hardly started.


My first race was the Volcano in Lanzarote, this was almost a home fixture considering that when I'm outside of London, most of my training is done in Lanzarote. For me Lanzarote is like a home from home… It can be beautiful, brutal but it’s always challenging. If it’s not the heat, the terrain or the wind, its relentlessness will toughen you up. I had a promising result, but landed just out side the top 10. Although I was swimming ok and my mountain biking over the winter had kept my bike strong. My running needed more work. I had been training to run 4.17min kms for the last 3 years whilst concentrating on Ironman racing, so I had no idea what I could hold in an Olympic distance race. I left T2 holding 3.15 min kms so it was only a matter time before I blew…. Mentally there and then I made a note to myself that I needed pacier running sets in my 2011 schedule.

Overall 14th, Swim 21.47 T1 2.46 Bike 1:04.37 T2 2.02 Run 39.20 Total 2:10:31

Next up was Ironamn UK.70.3 and the whole team was racing. We had all recce’d the course a couple of weeks prior to the race so knew exactly what to expect… It was a very tough course with 1900m of climbing, quite technical in places which suited me perfectly. Even the run was hilly.... it was more of a cross country run than your normal out and back Triathlon run. We arrived on the Friday before the race and pitched our tents in the rain. This was not a good sign, nor was the fact it rained all day Saturday... Come Sunday the rain had cleared, but left the lake a little cold....Brrrrr! I left my entry until the last minute determined to preserve as much heat as possible. This was a good plan because I had a reasonable swim and exited well up the field. This meant the race was on.... and I set about working my way through the field. I love the hills and ripped through the course, coming off the bike level with a Suisse guy who is now a good friend called Reto Brendli. I left T2 just ahead of Reto and managed to hold this gap for the run, we finished just a minute apart.


My victory added to Freespeed’s performances. Together we dominated the stage. Dec was just behind Reto, Tim was third in his age group and Jenny won the ladies amateur. She out ran last years winner Tracey Cook by 6 minutes and gained a 2 min cushion.

Overall 9th, Swim 30.09 T1 4.02 Bike 2.44.27 T2 1.19 Run 1.26.01 Total 4:45.56
1st Amateur



We had all booked our slot to the World 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas – Yippee!

As we headed towards July the team were on a high and I was feeling good about my entry into Challenge Roth. Then out of the blue, I pick up a virus… 4 weeks in, and after 2 courses of antibiotics there wasn’t any change or improvement in my health. Always optimistic.... I remained confident that if the illness subsided, I would be fit enough to race so I travelled to Roth in anycase. Sadly my night fevers persisted and this took the choice from out of my hands and I had to pull out. I was absolutely gutted; I had been planning this race for 11 months and had endless daydreams and conversations about it. Both Declan and Tim were in good shape, so even without me Freespeed were set to fly…

That day was a tough day for the whole team. Me, because I was frustrated, ill and annoyed that I wasn't well enough to race. Tim because he pulled out on the run, and Declan because despite towing a trailer load of wheel sucking drafters around, missed his Sub 9 by a couple of minutes. hat adowner for all of us....Thank goodness for Erdinger!!!

I've learned to move on quickly after a bad experience. My focus shifted towards Las Vegas 70.3 World Campionships and I also entered Ironman Cozumel in November. Tim entered Challenge Copenhagen and Declan enjoyed his summer vacation training all over the globe.

For Jenny and I our training now centred around 70.3 racing and we focused on building race speed on the swim, bike and run. We already had London Triathlon in the diary and we were set to race on both days to make it more of a challenge.

The team would race in a celebrity relay on Saturday, then again on Sunday. Jenny would race the Olympic distance plus (Double bike and run) and Tim and I would race the Olympic. London Triathlon is a triathlon on a mammoth scale and we loved being a part of it. The organisation and efficiency of the staff at Virgin Active are second to none. Come race day... Jenny crushed the field in the Olympic plus; I hung in there having led off the bike in the sub 2.30 Olympic distance race and ended up in third. This was the first fast run that I’d done in weeks and the next day it really hurt.

Overall 3rd, Swim 25:08 T1 03:10 Bike 56:58 T2 02:17 Run 38:38 Total 02:06:10


Tim had been training hard for Copenhagen. He’s very strong minded and has a talent for being able to really increase his focus when it’s needed. I’ve always admired this about him and knowing this made me really excited to see how he would race. Heading to Copenhagen he said he was ready to let rip...and he didn’t disappoint!! The dream of Sub 9 obliterated…. He smashed it going 8.56 for 19th overall... Bravo Tim – what a result!


With Las Vegas in mind, next up for Jen and I was 'The Pennymatters Classic Triathlon' at Dorney lake. We had been doing lots of faster paced stuff in training and this race fitted in well with our training schedule. F3 organise and a great local series of races which are perfect to test your race technique and speed. Despite a solid week of work and training behind us and without a taper, we both raced very well. Jenny was the first female and I was second male. Things were looking good for both us in Las Vegas....
Stuart
Overall 2nd Swim 22:50 T11:05 Bike 1:00:17 T2 0.41 Run 34:45 Overall 1:59:39
Jenny
Overall 1st Swim 22:57 T11:17 Bike 1:06:22 T2 1.00 Run 37:41 Overall 2:09:20

On the spur of the moment we decided to enter a team for the National Team Relays, but neither Tim nor Dec could make it… Fortunately Richard Hobson(our coach) and Sarah Gailey from Fulon Tri came to the rescue, but this did complicate things. We were no longer eligible for the Club category. Instead we changed our entry to the Open category because both Richard and Sarah were not Freespeed members. We had a really fun day hanging out with Tim from Compressport and were lucky with the weather.


There were some speedy teams and we were in head to head with Loughborough University for third going out on the final leg. As last man out, I set off ahead of Tom Bishop from Loughborough. I had about 15 years on him and it wasn’t long before age gave way to youth. We were both running 3.05min kms which I knew I couldn’t sustain. I held on the best I could, but we narrowly missed out on third position by 30 seconds(In a time of 3.19:15)… we all pledged that we wouldn’t let this happen next year and we were up for a rematch




Just two weeks had passed and Jenny and I were on our way to Henderson, Las Vegas to race in the World 70.3 Ironman Championships. Henderson was a fabulous place for a race. It was my first time in Las Vegas and its simply an awesome place to visit. There are so many exciting tourist attractions including the Las Vegas Strip, The Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. To top all this off the race course is a really tough and honest. It was not just a tough bike or run but it was also a non wetsuit lake swim. This meant it was really fair and favoured the all-round athlete, rather than the bike or run specialists.


On race morning we were set off in waves and the previous day’s rain had made the water very cool. I suffer particularly in the cold and so does Jenny. We were held there for 15 mins treading water. I was freezing by the time the gun sounded and consequently didn’t really swim to my potential. This was the start of a catalogue of errors for me and despite picking myself up after each blow I never really delivered the race I should have. Jen on the other hand was on fire coming in bang on 5 hours and securing 4th in her age only just off third. Whoop.. whoop!



Stuart
Age Group 19th Swim 32.12 T12.57 Bike 2.32:15 T2 1.32 Run 1.27:54 Overall 4.36:30
Jenny
Age Group 4th Swim 32.18 T1 3.36 Bike 2.45.31 T2 1.37 Run 1.37.24 Overall 5.00:26


We both agreed that we loved the race and the course and its one we’d like to do again. I loved it there and I think that having raced it once I’d fair better next time around.

This was practically the end of the season for the Team; Dec sadly had picked up an Achilles injury and had to pull out of Kona. Tim had raced Ironman Wales with a view to an early slot and had missed out by seconds so was now in off-season mode. I was the only one still training. Jenny and I kept up our swim sessions but she had also eased back her training due to work pressures. In the back her mind she was toying with entering 70.3 Phuket. This had slots for both 70.3 World Champs and Kona. I on the other hand had Ironman Cozumel left to race with a view to qualifying for Kona. Training had gone well and I had only a few weeknds left before IM Cozumel. On one such weekend. I combined my training with 7 hour session (bike/swim) on a Saturday and a race on the Sunday.

It was a great plan, The Jekyll and Hyde Duathlon was a super race (Run 4.2km/Bike 20km/ Run 7.5km) and there were some really fast runners and duathletes. Although I had biked the fastest split I gave away a bit of time to these short distance specialists each run, and came in 4th overall which I was really pleased with.

Overall 4th Run 14.10 T10.28 Bike 31.05 T2 0.27 Run 27.47 Overall 1.13:56

Next up was Ironman Cozumel.....

Freespeed Dominate - UK 70.3 Wimbleball June 2011

For the first time this season all four of the Freespeed team athletes were down to race at the same event, Ironman UK 70.3. Having been to Devon to practice the course a month ago the decision was taken to combine the race with a camping trip in the beautiful Wimbleball countryside. This looked to be a flawed decision on arrival as 24 hours of torrential rain had left the fields and surrounding roads in a state that had everyone questioning their choice of carbon race wheels.

As luck would have it the rain and wind subsided during Saturday night and clear and chilly conditions greeted the 1600 athletes as they made their way into the freezing lake.

Stuart Anderson Sailfish G Range


This was a good test for the new team Sailfish G Range wetsuits and good swims by the three boys saw them come out of the water ahead of the team fish, Jenny – she’ll get her own back at a future race for sure. In the meantime, all four were on the bike and pushing hard. Stu quickly made it to the front of the age group field and comfortably stayed there until T2, coming off the bike side by side with one other athlete. Dec had worked his way through the field into a good position to attack the run and Tim was well placed in the 40-44 age group. Jen meanwhile was inside the top ten overall, loving her brand new Blue Triad SL and holding a position 3 minutes down on the first female age grouper, Tracy Cook.

Stuart Anderson


Jenny Gowans Blue Triad SL


Once on the run, Stu stormed to victory in the amateur race and 8th overall holding a gap of never more than 30 seconds to the chasing athlete in second place. Dec ran through to 4th place amateur and Tim kept it strong to take the third spot on his age group podium. Jen was struggling to make an impact on Tracy Cook who still held a two minute gap with three miles to go but a late surge brought her to the line in first place and a double amateur race win for Team Freespeed. A dream result and hundred per cent success rate for the team at the awards ceremony.

Jenny Gowans


Tim Bishop



Declan Doyle


Next up was the World Championship roll down and needless to say all four picked up their slots to Las Vegas in September and can’t wait to get out there and race the best in the world.



Team Freespeed Compressport

All of the above wouldn’t have been possible without our sponsors and it was a lot of fun to spend time with Tim from Compressport over the weekend – he was also celebrating some great results in the pro ranks. All four of the team are genuinely surprised at how good their legs are feeling in the days after the race.





New race kit from Skinfit has now arrived and custom design training kit is in production – exciting times with a major sponsorship announcement to be made in the next week or so.

Freespeed rides again.....

Team Freespeed will once again be in action this coming season with a focus on middle and long distance triathlon. The four team members are all based in west London and are some of the best amateur athletes currently racing:

Stuart Anderson fastest British age group athlete
at the Ironman World Championships, Kona 2010, 2008

Declan Doyle fastest Irish age group athlete
at the Ironman World Championships, Kona 2010

Tim Bishop fastest British age group athlete
at Ironman Lanzarote and Ironman Western Australia 2010

Jenny Gowans Norseman Extreme Triathlon winner 2008,
Age group winner at Ironman Austria, New Zealand and Regensburg

We are in the process of finalising some exciting sponsor support for the team, announcements to be made soon, in the meantime here is a sneak peek at the kit the team will be wearing in training.

Freespeed... Anyone need some?

With a new year brings new goals and challenges…..

I wanted to introduce a new Bike Fit studio in West London offering the industry leading bike fit technology, the RETUL fit system. The studio is run by a good friend of mine who is passionate about cycling whether it be road racing, Time Trials, Sportives, Triathlons or mountain biking. Richard is an accomplished rider himself and has raced all the major European cyclo sportives and multiple Ironman events including the coveted Ironman Hawaii. His passion for cycling and experience shows in his FIT's and the time he spends getting you in the most efficient position for your chosen discipline, something which is worth more than any piece of kit you buy for your bike.



A good bike FIT is key to more power, more comfort and injury free cycling. With the RETUL system it is an exact science and you will always have your exact measurements to set up which ever bike you ride.

So what does this mean……?

It means that not only will you be set up in a position where you can maximise your power output over your chosen distance, but you’ll also find you’ll optimise your run potential off the bike. All three of Team Freespeed ran our fastest Ironman marathon splits in Kona this year after being fitted by Richard. Both Declan and I also notched up Sub 5 hour bike splits... I had thought I had my position nailed until, I’d seen Richard. So if you want to run the same set up system of all the top Pros and rule out any race concerns about your optimum position, check out Freespeed.


For all the technical details, specifics and post FIT service its best to contact Richard. He is currently offering a £50 discount for January and if you let him know I passed this on to you he will make every effort to be flexible with FIT times to fit in around your availability.

Start 2011 in the best possible position, its FREESPEED!!

Ironman World Championships 2010 - Kona Hawaii

The lead up to my race hadn't been perfect; I'd qualified in Wisconsin the previous year. Since then I'd had to pull out of both IM Lanzarote and IM Nice due to injury. I had torn ligaments in my left ankle which had affected my running for the rest of the year. My early plans of a sub 3 marathon were slipping away...



Kona would be my first Ironman of the year, with this came the uncertainty of how I would race. I arrived earlier this year than I had in the past, this was to be a very special couple of weeks for me and few weeks that would shape my future. Mette and I were married in St Peters Church, Kailua Kona - Hawaii on the 3rd October. It was a very special day for both us and made even more special by all our friends and family who were there


My race didn’t have a perfect start I had positioned myself two rows back in the middle. As the cannon sounded the paddle boarders were too close to me and blocked my swim. I had to go sideways before I could go forward and this wasn't easy with around 1500 other athletes behind me. From that point onwards I tried to relax in the 'melee or thrashing arms and feet' that was the swim. Exiting the swim, I felt good, relaxed. I hadn't been any where close to the red line; I was conscious that this was where I could make up some time.



I ride to watts and quickly settled into a rhythm passing the faster swimmers. I’ve recently been Retul’d by Freespeed and my position felt strong even in the Trade winds at Hawi. This gave me confidence and a sub 5 bike was the result!! my first ever in Kona…..... I put this down to having a plan and sticking to it. I use a concentrated Infinit Speedfil on the down tube and have a profile torpedo with water on the bars. This is all I carry, no bars, saltsticks or any other nutrition.




The run was hot, and although I was just off my target pace I felt like was just hanging in there...At the turn point I saw Declan Doyle was about 200m behind me and Tim Bishop was a little further back. Both looked strong. I train with both Dec and Tim and know how capable and talented they are, I wasn't sure if I could hold my pace. I saw a sign at the side of the road that said ’ Pain reassures you that you’re alive’ I was alive alright… and hurting!! From the start my run felt hard, I didn't remember 2008 being like this. But this year I was shooting for better than 21st in my age group and it came at a cost. Richard Hobson, my coach, was just ahead and it spurned me on to see familiar faces. I could see that he was hurting too, thank goodness for that as Tim and Dec still looked fresh. Heading out onto the Queen K into the lava fields, I felt alone and strangely took strength from this, my race was in my hands and it was mine to let slip away. I took solace that I was still passing more athletes.

I was so glad to see the finish, there’s nothing quite like the finish on Alii Drive and I will cherish that forever. My friend’s from Disney Tri were there cheering me on and for the first I shared the finishing flume with no one.... It was mine and mine alone.



My fastest race to date in Kona, 89th overall including all the Pro's. 36th Amateur and 10th in age group. 1st British Age grouper again

Swim 1:06.21
T1 3.03
Bike 4:55.30
T2 3.10
Run 3:09.15