{"id":17000,"date":"2017-03-09T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T08:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2017\/03\/09\/fabulous-four-on-what-it-takes-to-finish-the-absa-cape-epic-r6243\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T07:06:38","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T07:06:38","slug":"fabulous-four-on-what-it-takes-to-finish-the-absa-cape-epic-r6243","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/fabulous-four-on-what-it-takes-to-finish-the-absa-cape-epic-r6243\/","title":{"rendered":"Fabulous four on what it takes to finish the Absa Cape Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"

So the Absa Cape Epic is only days away and the butterflies are starting to flutter around your stomach.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-17388000-1489048953.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Who best to turn to for a bit of advice than four very unique individuals who have finished every edition of the race since it launched in 2004? Yes, that\u2019s an incredible 13 editions of the race in which even the best-prepared of the professionals is not guaranteed a finish.<\/p>\n

How on earth have they \u2013 the Last Lions \u2013 avoided all the calamities that riders can encounter on the Untamed African MTB race? Crashes, illness and mechanical failures have felled literally hundreds of riders over the years, but not these four.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-24536600-1489048973.jpg\"<\/a>Photo credit Emma Hill | Sportzpics<\/span><\/p>\n

So what is the secret?<\/p>\n

\u201cLuck!\u201d says John Gale, one of the Last Lions. \u201cMore specifically, you need to avoid the myriad opportunities for bad luck to bring you down in either the run-up to the event or during the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Nixon, who has also summited Mount Everest and explored all sorts of remote regions, has this bit of advice: \u201cExpect that you are going to run out of talent on one of the stages and have a bad day \u2013 it happens to everyone. Talk to your partner, get over it and, more importantly, get through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-28223300-1489048974.jpg\"<\/a>Photo credit Mark Sampson | Sportzpics<\/span><\/p>\n

The only woman in the group and a former winner, Hannele Steyn, says the key to finishing is \u201ctaking care of all the things that you can: bike, clothing, spares, training prep, nutrition \u2026 the other things are outside of your control\u201d.<\/p>\n

The fourth Last Lion, Craig Beech, strikes a philosophical note: \u201cFour percent – and that is all. I am reading this book at the moment by Steven Kotler called \u2018Flow \u2013 The Rise of Superman\u2019. Read it. He speaks of your level of skill to the challenge you are facing. And to reach a state of flow, all you need to do is to push your skill level by four percent. That is such a small increment. The Absa Cape Epic is going to throw the greatest mountain biking challenge you have yet faced at you, day-in, day-out for eight days. The challenge is there. If your skills are not, just think, four percent is all you need to get to a state of flow, and then flow all the way through to Val de Vie. You will then find that you will most likely be doing a daily four percent come the end of the race, and for a good time to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

And any advice for first-timers?<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining prep should be done by now, but make sure your nutrition is planned and you have trained with it,\u201d Steyn says. \u201cYou have to be prepared for all sorts: Make sure you pack for cold conditions (rain jacket, under layers, long-fingered gloves) and take spares like extra cleat screws, rear hanger, plugs, chain links, tyre sealant, CO2 cartridges, tube and zip ties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nixon wants them to chill. \u201cBy now the preparation is done so relax \u2013 my experience is that more people arrive on the Epic start line over-trained rather than under-trained.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-11493600-1489048972.jpg\"<\/a>Photo credit Emma Hill | Sportzpics<\/span><\/p>\n

Gale\u2019s advice starts with \u201cget to the start\u201d and closes with \u201cget to the finish\u201d. But before starting he recommends that you \u201cdo enough training to know how hard you can ride; make sure the bike is absolutely perfect before you start; negotiate effectively with the wife and boss; avoid injury and bankruptcy\u201d.<\/p>\n

And once you have started: \u201cKeep the rubber side down \u2013 no crashing, no burning, no illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake it your office for the next week,\u201d Beech says. \u201cMake the landscape of the Western Cape your place of work. Hard work it will be, but it beats sitting in meetings or in a confined space tapping away at a keyboard. Just as you would encounter in any day\u2019s work, there will be times that you would perhaps consider a change of approach or giving up on a deal. But don\u2019t. Just take it all in. From the distant vistas to the process of flow as you pick your line through a forested, rocky single track.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So the Absa Cape Epic is only days away and the butterflies are starting to flutter around your stomach. Who best to turn to for a bit of advice than four very unique individuals who have finished every edition of the race since it launched in 2004? Yes, that\u2019s an incredible 13 editions of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[76,24,1623],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-17000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-absa-cape-epic","tag-cape-epic","tag-last-lions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17000"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=17000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}