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Today was the longest stage in the history of the Absa Cape Epic. 146km with 1,819m of climbing. The yellow jerseys, Cannondale Vredestein, had one flat tyre too many, and had nothing to repair it with. They decided to ride in on the rim without the tube – for 18kms. The partners pushed in the off-road sections and pulled on the tarred road. They reached the finish line to find that they had lost a mere 8 minutes. And were still in yellow.

Nick's heart rate doesn't go over 136 beats per minute anymore, and that's when he's on his limit. “It's the fatigue more than anything and riding on your own is long and boring. The solo riders start at the back and I fought for the first hour or so to make my way to the faster riders“, said Nick from his luxurious homestay. There's only so much camping you can do while on a staged bike race. “There's no support in the headwinds from a partner and there's no-one to help you when you're isolated.”

Nick couldn't believe the amount of suffering on the hills. Most of the back riders would walk the hills. It was a day of attrition. The day started at 7am and the cut off time was at 6pm. If you're not in the cut off time, you're out of the points system.

Seeing the partners imploding on the course was amazing to watch. People who had gone too hard too early were slowly being relegated down from the 100's to the 150's. Whereas the people who were riding within themselves were going up the ranks.

So far Nick on his Specialised Epic full suspension mountain bike has only had one significant wipe out. The fatigue messes with your concentration and Nick found himself going over his handlebars and landing on the left side of his body. “You make silly mistakes, but you get up and you keep going.“

Keeto sent a text:
Ok, we live to fight another day. 9h40m. 80 mins before cut off. 20k's in the sand dunes. Tomorrow is the killer. My bum is making a comeback. 1kg of cream and 2 pairs of cycling shorts.

RobbyRicc