Cape Epic Diary | Daily updates from Jaco Venter & Sascha Weber of Trek Vaude
Cape Epic, you know it right? The gnarliest marathon stage race on the planet that attracts the best in the business. It’s the Tour de France of dirt endurance. To survive it you’ll need to be in peak endurance shape, have skills, and bucket loads of motivation. For 8 days, riders will traverse 681km of unforgiving trails around the Western Cape, climbing in excess of 16900m in pursuit of a GC result or simply a dream to finish.
This year, one of South Africa’s all-star Grand Tour professionals (Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta rider) Jaco Venter has teamed up with three-time German National titleholder, Sascha Weber to ride as Trek Vaude. Having raced together in Europe a few seasons back, the riders are familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses. “Jaco likes to start fast before settling into a rhythm,” says Sascha, “I’m happy to go hard early on and see what opportunities arise for us as the race unfolds.”
In a bizarre crash a few weeks ago, Jaco suffered a broken collarbone and withdrew from the Tankwa Trek to have surgery. To minimize the loss in form, he was back on the bike (indoor trainer) just 5 days after the operation – remarkable.
Stay tuned to this page for daily updates (with a few tips and insights from two highly experienced professionals) as they roll into the 2022 Absa Cape Epic.
Day One, Sunday 20 March | The Prologue
24km & 700m from Lourensford to Lourensford
Sascha: “Right at the start the plan was to go pretty fast for the first 10 minutes. Then Jaco put the hammer down on the climb and I was struggling actually. With the speed and the heat, we had to slow down a bit. I was fighting and Jaco was smashing away and we caught two or three teams ahead of us. We went full gas for one hour which is always hard. We are happy. We did well. Jaco is in good shape. It was a nice stage.”
Jaco: “I was feeling pretty good today. We started off quite fast and got into our rhythm – we didn’t do anything crazy today. We stayed together and worked well. I’m feeling good and happy about the day. It’s perhaps nothing special results wise but this was never a stage for us. We just wanted to get through without incident – it was very rough out there, very rutted out and super dusty with a lot of places to make errors in. Our bikes performed well – we had no mechanicals.“
The guys finished P17 today with a time of 01:03.41 and are optimistic about their form and the upcoming stages. “We are looking forward to tomorrow’s stage and then by day 3 or day 4 we will kick in a little more,” said Jaco.
TIPS FROM THE PRO’s: It’s going to be hot for a few more days so remember to get the electrolytes into your system – both when on the bike and after the stage. Staying hydrated (and cool) is vital during these 8 days.
Day Two, Monday 21 March | Stage 1
92km & 2 850m from Lourensford to Lourensford
Sascha: “I was feeling good. Jaco had a tough day. It was a hot, dusty and hard day with a lot of cramping but in the end you have to finish the race. We didn’t have any mechanicals and many other teams were battling with stuff out there. An important part of the game is not to crash too – we made no mistakes and just brought it home to the finish line. Tomorrow is another day.”
Jaco: “From the start I could feel I was not feeling great. I was trying to hold back a little bit. Sascha was quite excited and strong today so he made me suffer from the start. Then about halfway through I realized today is just about survival, unfortunately. We lost a lot of time, I was suffering and had some cramps. I definitely never spent enough time on my mountain bike in the last few weeks. It was just a bad day. It happens. It’s funny how cycling humbles you – the one day you are feeling good and the next day you are on your hands and knees. Maybe tomorrow it will reverse. I’ve had worse days, like at the Grand Tours but its a little different on the mountain bike as there is no car for drinks or a bunch to sit in.”
Day Three, Tuesday 22 March | Stage 2
123km from Lourensford to Greyton
Jaco: “Was a better stage today. At the start we had a piece of wire rolled up into the cassette so had to stop for that. After we fixed that we worked forward catching riders. We rode a bit conservatively in the beginning as I wasn’t sure how my body was going to respond after yesterday. Sasch was excited and feeling good today and was ready to attack but I had to hold back a little. Towards the end we opened it up a bit and passed like 5 or 6 teams to finish P13 on the stage. It’s a good recovery after yesterday’s stage I think. Hopefully, there is more to come in the next few days. A lot of guys suffered with the long stage today. There was a lot of wind, sand and rocks. It was a hard day and we are pushing now.
Sascha: “A five and a half hour day and things went better than yesterday. We are both feeling good. The start was cool and everyone was scared about the running section. We had to stop to remove something from a wheel and we lost our position in the lead bunch at the start of the portage section. We started to chase the groups back then somebody told us we were in P11 (which was incorrect) so our motivation was high and we were pushing to get back inside the top 10. Jaco was fighting and suffering but we did a good race in the end. We are now in P17 in the GC and we are looking forward to racing here in Greyton. Some of the favorites dropped back today and there is for sure space to move up on the GC. It was a long day today and the form was better so lets see what happens tomorrow. We’ve had no mechanicals – the bikes are doing the job. Jaco is also looking better than yesterday. we trained for this and are ready for more. Today feels like a race. We did well, he was fighting, I was fighting. We know tomorrows stage, we know where we need to be in front. We are looking forward to it.
Day Four, Wednesday 23 March | Stage 3
101km in and around Greyton
Sascha: “A windy start today and we were feeling good. At the 20 minute mark someone hit my shoe and it broke so I had to stop. After fixing the shoe I was at the back and had to chase back as Jaco stayed with the group. Just as I got back onto the group we hit another climb and I was sitting on a cross-wind and the two riders ahead of me dropped back so I was forced back. Then Jaco was waiting and we continued riding. We sat with the Scott guys for about two hours. Then with 15km to go we wanted to push forward and we went pretty quick over the last two climbs and we finished P13. In the end, it was a good position. Tomorrow we hope the legs are good again and we will fight to be in a good position. We were the second fastest team on the last climb today.
Jaco: “We had a pretty good day again. We started on a nice big road today and it was fast and we were in the action and at the front. We got caught by a crosswind on a climb and slid off the back. Then we rode in a group of six with the Scott guys and then in the last 20km we dropped them and surged hard. We are going to push hard to move further up the GC again tomorrow.
Day Five, Thursday 24 March | Stage 4
82km in and around Greyton
Sascha: “A good day today. We were familiar with the stage and trails. Jaco was sitting in front, comfortable and on a good day. I had some stomach issues last night and felt drained today. Many guys had punctures and mechanicals but we know the trails and our bikes we fine. The bike works really well on this rough terrain in Greyton. We were riding with Team Bulls, we caught Toyota Specialized support team and Scott Bandida so we knew we were making back GC time from earlier in the week. We saved some energy for the final sprint. Now it’s all about recovery – my stomach is making strange sounds and I don’t feel great today and I suffered a lot. Luckily Jaco was in great shape and was driving the pace hard. We are sitting better in the GC now and looking to move forward over the last three days.”
Jaco: “We had a really good day today. We started off conservatively staying within our own limits. We rode in a group that was fighting for the Top 10 and then as the race went on we started catching riders like we have done the last two days as well. On the last climb, about 20km to go, there was a hard section with technical downhills and we rode smart. A lot of guys were crashing, having flats and mechanicals. There were all sorts of problems out there and we never took any big risks. We lost a couple of seconds on the downhill to be super safe and look after things. We are really happy with 5th — considering the problems we had before the race and in the early part of the race. I think if we carry on like this we are going to have a good Epic. We are looking forward to the next few stages. Tomorrow is quite a hard one but it’s in familiar territory for me and Sascha. Our strategy has worked well so far so we are just going to stick to it.”
Day Six, Friday 25 March | Stage 5
115km from Greyton to Stellenbosch
Sascha: “Quite tired right now as the wind was super strong. We dropped back on the first climb and controlled our pace as Urs was super strong. My battery went flat and we had to change it. Towards the end of the stage, I had a small crash but I think we finished 7th and moved up the GC. From Franschhoek, it was almost a home race because we know all the trails. We are looking forward to tomorrow.
Jaco: “We had another good one. We started slow and found our rhythm. We made it back to the front group on Franschoek Pass which was nice but we couldn’t hang on too long as they were a little too fast for us and we have to manage our own speed. We are very happy. The terrain is super rough and we are quite lucky with the bikes.”
Day Seven, Saturday 26 March | Stage 6
76km in Stellenbosch
Sascha: “Good day for us. With a Top 5 done and we moved up the GC into 10th. The plan today was to start at a controlled speed and ride with the Bulls. Jaco felt good. I struggled a little on the first climb. After Banhoek we slowed a little and the gap to the front was 6 minutes. We had no crashes, no mechanicals. We are happy with this.”
A good day for the squad today. Conditions were hot with a lot of climbing. Another solid ride has taken them into P10 on the GC.
Jaco: “A solid day today again. The start was hard and we marked a few riders that we had to pass to move up the GC. We pushed all day. Everybody is getting tired it was a really tough stage today. Those trails are harder when you are tired. We are happy we are in the Top 10 with one day to go.”
The Finale, Sunday 27 March
Jaco: “It was a really good 8 days. Today was full gas from the start. Again, we managed our pace. We saw the Santa Cruz guys go early in the stage so we were actually worried all day. It was really tight in the end to secure P10 on the GC. It felt like a road race – we sprinted into the line and only made it by like 14 or so seconds, which is crazy after 8 days of racing. We did the Top 10! I can’t thank the team enough, my Dad, Dennis, Kandice and Sascha too. Beer time!”
Sascha was unavailable for an interview. We are currently trawling the local wine farms and bars in search of him. Peace!
| IMAGES: Ray van Breda, Myles Kelsey, Cape Epic, Nick Muzik |