The oft-repeated line at the Absa Cape Epic Prologue is “you can’t win the Absa Cape Epic at the Prologue, but you can lose it”. This applies for elite riders as well as those just hoping to cross the finish line of the Grand Finale in one piece.
The Hyenas - the event’s official sweeps - also note that they have seen more crashes at the Prologue than on any other stage at the race. “There is a lot of nervous energy,” says Richard McMartin, one of the Absa Cape Epic sweeps. “I have only crashed once at the race, and that was on the Prologue!”
With riders spending countless hours preparing for their biggest cycling challenge, it’s understandable that some ‘butterflies’ might creep in, especially with the Prologue format of teams starting one-at-a-time at two-minute intervals. Riders stand around nervously waiting their turn to get their Untamed African MTB Race journey started, a bit like waiting outside the headmaster’s office when you’ve been up to no good.
“Nerves are good! If there are no nerves then that means there is no respect for the route,” says five-time Absa Cape Epic finisher Letshego Zulu.
“Having completed a few does help, but it’s good to have a few nerves at the start to help you focus on the task at hand. At the same time, preparation is everything. My coach says 'If you have done the homework then you have nothing to fear'.”
Zulu’s riding partner, Sibusiso Makamu, says the best way to beat any nerves is to not worry about the entirety of the race. “I just look at what is in front of me,” says Makamu. “My strategy is to always ride waterpoint to waterpoint. I don’t look at tomorrow or Stage 2. I just ride.”
For Cape Town riders Kenrick Brown and Mark Ward, the nerves are there, but they are more ‘we just want to get started’ nerves. “The closer you get to the event, the more you want to start riding, so you are a little nervous in that respect,” says Ward. “We are local, so we know the Prologue trail and weren’t too worried before the start,” says Brown. “Stage 1 is looming large though and I think we might feel some butterflies before we start there.”
For Nelspruit rider Henk van Aarde the best way to beat the nerves is to ‘not race’ and make sure you are technically proficient. “After all the training you just want to get started, so it’s more like slight impatience than nerves. But we are also here to ride our bikes for eight days and have fun, not race. That, and being technically good riders, means the nerves don’t really affect us.”
