Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n Back to today though. After the admittedly miserable day yesterday today’s stage was a pleasure. Well, it was 111km with 2000m of climbing so it hurt, and it wasn’t easy, but we tapped out a good rhythm and rode really well together. Saving a little in the tank for what’s tipped to be a tough stage tomorrow it was a well measured effort.<\/p>\n The stage kicked of with a fast 12km on tar and dirt roads. Near the front of our group we sat in the bunch and enjoyed the slipstream. The one thing we’re learning about the Cape Epic though is that tar typically means “enjoy it while it lasts ‘cos we’re about to make it tough”. And sure enough we soon began the first climbs of the day. The route profile looked a bit like a city skyline with three sharp and steep climbs at the end aptly named the “skyscrapers”.<\/p>\n Photo by Ewald Sadie\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n Photo by Gary Perkin\/Cape Epic\/SPORTZPICS<\/span><\/p>\n We were quickly ticking off the kilometers and soon at water point 1. A good thing since my back tyre had been slowly losing air and was now a bit too cushy. It had started playing up with about 25km to go in yesterday’s stage, but this morning appeared to be good to go. Fiddling with the valve at the stop I tightened everything up and topped up some air in the hope a quick fix would do the trick. Over the next climbs and descents to water point 2 that slushy rear end made a second appearance. Not wanting to waste time trying to pinpoint the issue I’d already decided to cut my losses and pop in a tube in place of the tubeless setup.<\/p>\n Arriving at the stop off I made a beeline for the SRAM tech zone to ask for a tire lever saving having to dig for mine. The tech’s from SRAM took charge and told me to grab some water and snacks. Upon returning they’d replaced the dodgy valve and had begun refitting the tyre. In under 5 minutes we were topped up and again on our way. You do feel like a bit of a rockstar pulling in and getting attention like that – the kind of stuff we see on the World Cup circuit. My own pit crew… for that moment at least.<\/p>\n After the stop we had two more climbs across the “cityscape” before a flatter fast section linking between farms below the hills. The reprieve was welcome, but we were itching to get over the last three climbs and home. Again we found a good rhythm tending to reel in many teams on the climbs. These weren’t overly long, but in parts had a cruel gradient – a feature I tend to enjoy!<\/p>\n![\"ACE2015_STG04_NM_20150319_6282.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-2-0-47586600-1426789440.jpg\")
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