It was on the 6th of December that I got a
text message from Geddan Ruddock asking me whether I would be interested in
taking part in the Cape Rouleur. Now I have never been one to say no to an
invitation of this nature and it took me a good few seconds of contemplation
before I replied with an unconditional yes. Googling ‘Cape Rouleur’ brought me
back to reality. First of all, this is a road race: what am I, primarily a
mountain biker, doing riding an event like this (3 Argus Tours don’t exactly count
as road cycling experience)? Secondly, I don’t own a proper road bike: mine was
manufactured in the early 80’s, is made from steel and still has those down tube
shifters. And thirdly, this event was definitely not aimed at plebs like me: a
quick glance at the entry cost and accommodation options confirmed that. Thankfully
we had our entry fees covered by our newfound sponsor, Oryx Stainless.
The Cape Rouleur is operated by HotChillee, founded by
ex-South African Sven Thiele; himself an avid cyclist. It forms part of their
global events series that includes, amongst others, the London to Paris and
Alpine Challenge. The event is primarily aimed at European amateurs, but this
year saw the introduction of a pro category as well. The route surrounds and
level of organisation makes this the perfect event for pro teams wanting to
give their riders some last minute Cape Epic refining. This year also sees the
joint 10 year anniversary of both the Absa Cape Epic and HotChillee – HotChillee
has 3 teams competing in the Epic, with Kevin Vermaak, founder of the Epic,
joining the Cape Rouleur for the final day’s ride into Cape Town.
Despite all my best training efforts, my race report will
inevitably be from the middle of the pack. For pro results and some views from
the front you will have to visit the Cape Rouleur website. Team Oryx Stainless
eventually entered two teams due to some last minute cancellations. Geddan
called on some old racing connections of his to get the second team together
and we were convinced that Team 2 would be the stronger team.
Sunday the 3rd of March saw us gather at 3:00
in the afternoon for registration at the race village, set up next to the
Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek. The sponsor’s banners and nomadic tent gave
the area a festive atmosphere, and did nothing to calm the butterflies in the
stomach. I was struck by the level of organisation and professionalism, but
also the relaxed vibe coming from the organisers. The opening ceremony had its
fair share of celebrities being introduced; with amongst others the entire
Bulls mountain biking team, Western Cape minister of economic affairs Alan
Winde, rugby legend Joel Stransky, cycling legends Stephen Roche and Maurizio
Fondriest as well as local TV personality Vanessa Haywood taking part in the
race.
Immediately after the opening ceremony we were lined up
for the prologue, consisting of a 7.6 km time trial along the Robertsvlei road,
a well-known stretch for us locals. Or let me put it this way, I thought I knew
it well. Never did I know that this short section of tar road can inflict so
much pain. From the word go I was struggling to hang onto the wheels of my team
mates, finally being dropped on the first climb. From there on it seemed like
an endless painful battle for oxygen to get to the finish line. The object of
the time trial was to determine the seeded groups for the rest of the race. Our
teams were split in two, with Michael (team sponsor) surprising us all with his
excellent time. So the A-bunch was made up of Dennis, Michael, Geddan and
Justin. Our B-bunch cyclists were Tobias, Ludwig, JP and I. My feelings
regarding my performance on the day were mixed between disappointment and
relief. A-bunch sounded like it could hurt; and my main aim for the week ahead
was to enjoy myself.
Stage 1 was set to be an easy ride consisting of a 128 km
loop out towards Paardeberg. The weather, however, had some other plans. It
turned out to be a scorcher of a day, with temperatures reaching the mid 40’s
along the route. Luckily the wind played along and we had the rare situation
where we had the South-Easter behind our backs on the way out and a light
North-Wester blowing us back into Franschhoek. For most of the morning we were
riding a brisk pace, catching up with group 1 in Klapmuts. This forced an early
rest stop. Rest stops are a part of this event; as well as a proper lunch stop
and the occasional coffee break. Racing takes part along flagged sections.
Yellow is a GC timed section that counts towards your overall time. Green is a
sprint section with points allocated for the first 3 riders over the line. Red
is a KOM (king of the mountain) section with once again points only awarded to
the top 3 over the line. The yellow sections are normally raced very hard and
day 1 was no exception. My aim was to help set up Ludwig or JP for a win, but
the pace was so high that I battled to do that. The section was also longer
than planned and in the end JP held out and went over the line first, with
Ludwig and me not too far behind. A welcome lunch stop at Ridgeback Winery followed.
The heat was taking its toll and quite a few riders were struggling. After
lunch we headed past Paarl with the final stop of the day scheduled at
Drakenstein Prison for a photo opportunity underneath the statue of Nelson
Mandela. On the way there the first and only bit of disorganisation in the race
played out in the form of some confusion on the route through Paarl. This saw
us taking a wrong turn twice and doing a 6 km loop through Paarl. Group 2
riders don’t get points for the green or red sections, but that didn’t stop us
racing for honours and both Ludwig and I finished at the front of the bunch in
the sprint before the prison. An easier pace along the home stretch saw us
riding into the race village hot, but with enough energy to look forward to the
next day’s climbing. A beer or two seemed like a fitting wrap-up of the day.
With everybody settling easily into their start groups we
were all carefully optimistic about day 2, a 146 km stage with 1939m of
climbing. You somehow never get used to Franschhoek Pass on cold legs, and
today was no exception to the pain associated with it. Ludwig knows the pass so
well that it was no surprise to see him crossing the line first in our group.
The excitement and adrenalin of racing saw me breaking my own personal best and
the elusive 30 minute barrier up the pass. The downhill was frustratingly slow,
but throughout the event there was a big emphasis on safety and the ride
captains were not going to take any chances. The fast pace up Franschhoek Pass
took its toll and the KOM section up Viljoen’s Pass saw me blown and slowly
slipping to the back of the bunch. It was only the hand of the ride master on
my back that spurned me on to finish the climb in fair shape. This push from
the ride captains became known as the “hand of shame” later on in the
race. Lunch at Houwhoek Farm stall was
for me the best of the tour and we all felt refreshed and strong for the final
push of the day. We still had the GC and sprint sections ahead of us. The
yellow section was brutal and ended on a nasty nagging hill. Ludwig crossed the
line second and I followed a minute or two behind him. JP was having a bad day,
but came back strong on day 3. Shortly after we had our only mechanical issue
of the race with Ludwig puncturing both wheels riding over a rock. Once again
we were left impressed with the way the organisers dealt with this. A short
ride in the mechanic’s van had him back on the road in no time. Ludwig had a
brilliant day on the bike and to show his dominance of group 2 he also won the
green section in a tight sprint. Coming over the pass a second time was never
going to be easy, but I took it easy and felt strong at the summit. Rolling
into the race village we were met with the wonderful news that Geddan was now
wearing the red jersey as amateur KOM leader. Team Oryx dominance indeed.
The queen stage of the Cape Rouleur was definitely stage
3, with 2008m of climbing over 208km. Local traffic regulations saw us leave in
a single bunch at 5:15 to enable us to safely ride through Stellenbosch traffic
before the rush hour. The think bike marshals
impressed throughout the event with their skill at rolling road closures and
they were put to the test once again through the Stellenbosch and Somerset West
morning traffic. Clarence Drive is always spectacular and we were blessed with an
extraordinarily beautiful windless day. Riding this stretch of road can unfortunately
be treacherous in normal traffic, but the ability to ride it within the safety
provided by the race organisers made this one of the highlights of the event. I
don’t think anyone looked forward to the racing sections of the stage, but once
we saw the yellow banners it was as if someone set off a hand grenade in the
bunch. No wonder that we started to pass some group 1 riders that fell off the
pace in their group. Unfortunately this was also where disaster struck in group
1, with Geddan and a few other riders involved in a crash near the finish line.
Geddan was left with some serious bruises and a torn KOM jersey and bib shorts.
Some of the other riders were not so lucky with two of them suffering shoulder
fractures. Geddan was patched up with further first aid applied during the
lunch break at Salandra Farm Stall. This did not stop him from claiming another
KOM win on the day, cementing his place as overall amateur red jersey winner. A
tough section lay ahead of us after lunch, with more than half of the day’s
climbing still to come. Some punctures and other mechanicals meant more
frequent rest stops that were all very welcome. The final climb up Franschhoek
Pass was made easier with the atmosphere amongst the riders – we all knew that
we were close to receiving our finisher’s medals. A helicopter up in the air
filming the final climb and descent made it even more special. Riding into the
race village we all felt relieved and proud to have completed this event. There
was also the prospect of a gala dinner to look forward too. This was catered
for by a local restaurant and the food and event organising was of the highest
standard.
The Thursday stage was made up of a festival ride into
Cape Town, with a lunch stop at Nitida Winery and post event drinks and snacks
served at the Cape Town Hotel School. The escort into Cape Town by the VIP
traffic squad made us feel like true VIP’s ourselves, with the reception at the
Hotel School adding to the experience.
There is just something special about this event. The
format, organisation and rider mix all playing a part, but The Cape Rouleur is
more than just a sum of the parts. It is a fantastic event to be part of with
an atmosphere second to none. Franschhoek can be proud to be chosen to host
this event. Chatting to the organisers they would like more community
involvement next year with local business benefiting from the spin-offs generated
by an event of this magnitude. The race will definitely be bigger next year
with more riders being allowed. Sven is a man with vision and this race will
only go from strength to strength.
Will I do it again? Stupid question.
No comments:
Post a Comment