Robert Engelbrecht and Antoinette Harding are the Absa Cape Epic’s heartbreakers in chief – although they prefer to think of themselves as the people working behind the scenes to make sure all’s fair in dirt and singletrack. They are the race commissaires; the rule enforcers.
“Rules are rules,” said Engelbrecht, who was stationed at Water Point 2 on the 92km Stage 2 of the race on Tuesday, keeping a beady eye on the pros as they whizzed past.
He said being a commissaire may not be as tough as riding the eight-day stage race, which is weaving its way through the Western Cape, but it was “a highly stressful job”. At 5.30pm on Monday’s tough and muddy 113km Stage 1 route, they had the unenviable task of cutting the number boards of 10 riders who failed to meet the 10-hour maximum stage time. One of the riders, Hein Venter missed it by 10 seconds.
“The media descended like vultures on the poor guy,” said Engelbrecht. It was Harding who did the dirty deed – her first ever board cutting.
“Any cyclist racing in an event goes at his or her fastest and if they aren’t fast enough to reach the finish by the maximum stage time it’s really heart-breaking. I know how much that board means to them,” said Harding.
Venter surrendered his board reluctantly, giving it a kiss before handing it over to Harding. “It wasn’t too nice – not at all,” she said, “but unfortunately it’s a job you have to do.”
According to Engelbrecht, when riders begin each stage they know what the maximum riding time allowed is and have to plan accordingly.
“The riders have to pace themselves and if they have a mechanical, well, that’s part of the Epic, that’s mountain biking.”
Both commissiares are keen mountain bikers but haven’t taken on the Absa Cape Epic challenge. “The Epic is tough. They climb 16 000m over the week, and what makes it extra tough is the enforced maximum stage time. If you don’t make it you get a blue number board. You can ride again but you don’t get a medal and that’s mind shattering. If you don’t make the maximum stage time a second time your blue number board is taken away – and you can’t ride anymore.”
Engelbrecht said that just one bad day could see six months of Cape Epic training being washed away.
He said they are passionate about their jobs as commissiares and are only appointed after writing exams and many years of experience. “People think it’s a glamorous job but it’s highly stressful. We are up at 5am and only go to bed after all the protests, debriefing and planning for the next day. Our job is to ensure that the event runs smoothly. We keep a low profile; we’re like the third umpire.”
