Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of Team RE:CM dominated the 2013 ABSA Cape Epic from start to finish to claim the Mixed Category title with a winning margin of more than two hours. After their victory in the world\u2019s most prestigious mountain bike stage race, they were able to reflect on just how they achieved their success.<\/p>\n
\u201cExperience, preparation and exceptional race support,\u201d said Erik Kleinhans. \u201cThat\u2019s how I\u2019d summarise our race broadly. But of course it\u2019s all in the details and that\u2019s where I think we had the edge over our rivals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of Team RE:CM cross the finish line during one of the 2013 Cape Epic stages. They won seven out of the eight stages in the Mixed Category.<\/em><\/p>\n It was the couple\u2019s third Cape Epic as a mixed team. That, combined with the fact that they\u2019ve raced in at least 12 stage races together, gave them the experience, for stage-racing in general and the Cape Epic in particular. Many of their podium rivals did not have that kind of experience as partners, some only riding together for the first time in the actual race.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerally speaking, mixed is the most technical category because of the differences in strength and skill levels between the male and the female,\u201d explained Erik. \u201cWe were fortunate to have a problem-free race whereas some of our rivals weren\u2019t so lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n Erik and Ariane arrived at every refreshment point\/tech zone with a strategy that saw them minimise any time wastage. Ariane rode straight to the chain lubrication point, had her chain lubed and then rode on, while Erik gathered spare bottles, food and snacks before having his chain lubed and then setting off in pursuit of his wife. With three of these points on most stages, the time saved with slick, efficient visits can add up to minutes by the end.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was our strategy when we were ahead or alone, with no other mixed teams around us. When we were with another mixed team we\u2019d leave when the first of them left. It\u2019s an unwritten rule of sportsmanship in stage races. You don\u2019t ride away from a rival team in a refreshment\/tech zone,\u201d explained Erik.<\/p>\n The RE:CM pair won seven out of the eight stages, finishing second on Stage 5, less than a minute behind the stage winners. On the route, Erik either gives Ariane a push or tows her by having her hold onto his jersey pocket.<\/p>\n \u201cPulling and pushing at the right time just allows Ariane to keep a constant pace. Like getting over a steep bump or cresting the summit of a climb, two instances where you tend to lose momentum and rhythm,\u201d said Erik.<\/p>\n Married couple, Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of Team RE:CM, successfully defended their ABSA Cape Epic title in dominant fashion.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut, we went into the race well trained and peaking at the perfect time. That\u2019s thanks to our coaches. Christoph Sauser (four-time overall Cape Epic winner) helps me and Andrew Smith is Ariane\u2019s coach. During the build-up we did a few four-day training blocks that simulated the endurance and intensity we\u2019d need to achieve in the race. And we did the three-day Ride the Rock and Grape Escape stage races as build-up events. Those two races were on similar terrain to what we experienced in the Cape Epic and they also got us into the daily rhythm of a stage race.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Kleinhans couple their mindset was also \u2018pre-set\u2019 in order to minimise surprises and stress.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew Stage 1 was going to be really hard with lots of sand so we expected the worst. Then we just completed the route as best we could. Any negativity would have been detrimental, so we just stayed positive. In order to do that of course, your sugar levels need to stay constant, so we ensured our nutrition was relevant and consistent. We use Biogen as our supplement brand,\u201d explained Ariane.<\/p>\n Unlike some other teams, who experienced both minor and serious mechanical problems, Team RE:CM had a faultless race.<\/p>\n \u201cOur bikes (Trek Superfly 100s) and our tyres (Bontrager) never once gave us any trouble whatsoever. We were very fortunate this year. A technical problem can mean the end of your hopes of a win in this race,\u201d said Erik.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to point out just how much support we got from Lange Sports and RE:CM. Kandice Buys, our manager, and Magnus Gouws, our mechanic, are incredibly experienced and calm. They made sure we just had to pedal and recover as best we could. And we got to stay in buildings, which really makes a difference, especially when it comes to recovery,\u201d said Erik.<\/p>\n Piet Viljoen, Executive Chairman of RE:CM, poses for a photo with his champion Cape Epic team, Erik and Ariane Kleinhans.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNothing was left to chance. Every detail was examined and taken care of. It wasn\u2019t only Ariane and I that won this race, we had amazing support and that counts for a lot. More than you can imagine. It\u2019s a great feeling to have been able to defend our title with such control.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cErik and Ariane were simply superb. They\u2019re true professional athletes in every sense. It\u2019s a pleasure to have them on our team and their gratitude for our support is refreshing,\u201d said Malcolm Lange, of Lange Sports, the company that owns and manages Team RE:CM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of Team RE:CM dominated the 2013 ABSA Cape Epic from start to finish to claim the Mixed Category title with a winning margin of more than two hours. After their victory in the world\u2019s most prestigious mountain bike stage race, they were able to reflect on just how they achieved their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21945","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21945\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21945"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}