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Last email from Team Shlang Balles at 8pm Tuesday night:

43 degrees in the bush. Total teams left 479 out of 600. Very very tough day. The heat is difficult to explain. Shane's bike is broken, he is out. If Team ShlangBalles can get through tomorrow's stage, we know there's a chance we can finish. Every time you fart it bubbles because there is so much lube up your crack. Had puncture on tubeless, so had to ride 4km up 12% hill on flat tyre to get to mechanical tent. Ons vok voort! Team Shlang balles is off to bed.

The South African television station, SuperSport, is doing a great job on the Cape Epic coverage. Two reports in the evening, and a longer show in the morning with a summary of the stages. They focus on the pros, but also show some of the non-pro age groupers who are out there toughing it out to avoid missing the cut off times. The age groupers race is where the action is as far as I am concerned. They're doing long days on the bike and are enduring far different types of pain to the greyhound pros who are showered and rested long before the middle of the pack guys have even allowed themselves to think of the finish line.

Today the teams hit dairy country. The lush forests allowed the riders some respite, but the hot humid conditions didn't provide sufficient shelter. The riders cursed the designer of the Cape Epic course who had chosen the hardest and most remote areas of the Eastern Cape's trails.

So the news today that Nick Stephenson's partner, Shane Peters, had to pull out of the race with a broken bike. Despite the sad thought of withdrawal, it must've been heart-warming to think that the bike broke before Shane did. I rode with Shane last year in the Pyrenees. I will always remember how he was leading the front of an attack group on a day race in the Pyrs with Nick by his side. On his coat tails were a group of riders struggling to hold on and a junior French pro coming through the ranks. No-one other than Nick and Shane were taking a turn at the front.

The young pro thanked Shane after the race for a great ride.

Another competitor suffers from a broken bike

Nick managed to finish the ride solo and although he is no longer riding with his team partner he is still in the race. So he doesn't qualify for a position ranking but will continue to receive a time for each stage and his overall time for the race.

The announcers of today's start and the finish line nearly suffered from a heatstroke when temperatures soared in their tent to an astonishing 46 ° Celsius. They announced for eight hours non-stop and it is nothing short of a miracle that they weren't cooked by the day's end.

April 2nd is the longest day of the Cape Epic. 146km's in 40 degrees.

See you then.
RobbyRicc