Behind every successful team of two at the Absa Cape Epic is another team of helpers, professionals, friends or even volunteers who have your back. For the amateur riders, that could mean co-opting in a spouse, sibling or friend for the week to act as a soigneur (helper). Selection is crucial, though.
You don’t want to make the mistake one hard-racing team of amateurs made a few years ago by roping in a well-meaning but dopey friend. He parked the camper van as far away from the finish as possible. He neglected to hook up the power points and ate the team snacks while waiting for his riders to finish.
The elite riders, of course, can rely on the very best, like Matt Beers and Keegan Swenson (Outride | Toyota | Songo), who have Specialized Factory Racing’s Performance Director Mike Posthumus on hand to act as their behind-the-scenes man.
Posthumus is a top rider himself and looks after Specialized’s factory team - so he’s not technically assigned to their Off-Road team (that is, Matt Beers, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane). However, due to his proximity to the event (he lives in Cape Town) and Absa Cape Epic knowledge, he was called up to assist.
“We (Specialized) don’t actually have a factory rider here, but I have close ties with Matt and the team, so I am here as the team manager,” says Posthumus. His main role is to make sure ‘boxes are ticked’, even down to mundane tasks like ensuring sunglasses aren’t left behind.
“My job this week is merging what I have previously done in a performance capacity with overall management - doing the simple things that aren’t so simple - taking care of logistics, booking guest houses, getting ice, moving race villages, preparing ice socks… it’s a very wide scope.”
From a performance perspective, Posthumus is still relying on his professional expertise as a top international coach to assist the teams. “We are keeping an eye on the finer points - nutritional plans on the stages are finely worked out - preparing bottles, what to take, when to take it and ensuring the plan is adhered to. Every night we do a full debrief, every route is combed over with intimate knowledge. We go through what to look out for, where things could come unstuck, when to eat. I would say riding is a lot easier than what I am doing now!”
Also charging around this year’s Absa Cape Epic in support of a team is former elite rider, Theresa Ralph. She’s the soigneur for Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda (Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM), who currently sit second overall in the Aramex UCI Women’s Category race.
“The girls joke that I only have one job - but that one job involves lots and lots of sub-jobs!,” says Ralph. Her day-to-day at the Untamed African MTB Race involves managing the team, running around between meetings, communication with the race organisers, arranging everything that needs to be done on a daily basis, and then racing from waterpoint to waterpoint to make sure the team nutrition is in order.
“That’s the first part of the day!” says Ralph. “Then the team gets back and it’s time for sports massage and generally keeping them off their feet. You need to get the legs ready for the next day. Another big part is keeping the team vibe nice and happy, making sure that it’s a fun environment. For this role, you get up earlier and go to bed later and it’s go, go, go in between. It’s very different to just riding the Absa Cape Epic, but probably as taxing!”
Of where there is no doubt, is the value a back-up crew brings to the event (unless your back-up steals your food) for the participating teams.
“It’s absolutely essential to have helpers at the Absa Cape Epic,” says Ralph. “You have to maximise recovery and we try to do everything to keep the riders off their feet, keep them happy, take any tasks away from them, keep them focussed. If you want to do well at this event, you need the backup!”