Day six was a long hard day...

boys at start

So after yesterday 27km time trail we pumped out a top 50 time of the day and pushed us back just outside the top 50 at 55 Men. So all in all where happy to be racing in the front again. Now things can turn so quickly in a race of this calibre with world class riders and guys who have been training for 8-12 months specifically for this event. Day 6 brought on that reality of how tough this race actually is for most. Roeloff woke up in a pool of sweat last night and his gut empty churning. So it was not a good start to what was already going to be a long hard day. After 50km into a super fast paced open road start today (day 6) the Ox (Roeloff) started to fade and found it hard to hang in with the pack and from there things started to deteriorate with over 100km’s to go. Now if anyone has ridden a 100km race they know how tough that is, but to ride 148km with five previous days of hard riding in the legs, hard rocky terrain and throw in a few 8km climbs and soft sand wanting to puke and dump all the way is hard for most to comprehend. However we rode on and paced it slowly and dropped back to nearly the mid field riders. It was a hard and long day in the saddle but completed the course in 7hrs well within the 11hrs cut off time. So the good news is we are still in the race, bad news we have dropped back to around 100th Men and chances now of placing in the front are slim or dashed. As Roeloff is excreting blood out his rear end and skim’s that tomorrow will be a social ride.. but am sure we will cross the finishing line on Sunday either way!

Roeloff trying to get some food down

important to eat on the bike! long hard day but we made it!

Day 5 Time Trial

Well after a very long hard day yesterday with the mishaps in route was also a long hard night as those looming rain clouds in the morning developed into pissing rain which didnt let up. our little tent town is very non-rain compatible. The ground was soggy our stuff was getting soaked and when it started to rain INSIDE the tent we had no option to look for somewhere else to sleep. So we grabbed the sleeping bags and headed for one of the big marquis where we actually scored a comfy couch and eventually got to sleep.

But in the morning the rain had stopped and the day was looking mostly fine for our 27km time trial and we were looking forward to a nice 1.5 hr on the bike instead of the 5-6hr plus of days previous and days to come!

After hanging out our gear to dry, a good breakfast, basic bike maintenance and pre ride rub down (thanks to Carrie), we climbed on the blocks after 12:40 and were off! Our aim was to not push too hard but we had a decent ride with no issues and feeling good and strong and finished in a time of about 1hr 27min which we pretty happy with.

Tomorrow is the big one 147kms as we make our way from Worcster to Oak Valley. We feeling good, but the plan is to not go out too hard and take it a little easier on the downhills and try not end up visiting the mechanic or the medic! But will be a long hard day no matter what and we will be happy to get through it!

The challange of Day 4

With rain clouds looming on the horizon we lined up the start for what was to be a day of challanging events as we tackled the 127km stage from Sorensberg to Worcster... We had a bit of a stressy morning getting organised, sorting out last minute issues with tyres and missing GPS, but once on the start line all was good and when the gun went off we were rearing to go and feeling strong. Things were going smoothly and swiftly and by the 40km our position was looking good, but with 80 odd kms to go anything can happen and it did at about the 50km mark when I snapped a pedal! De ja vuex of the Argus! We were 25km away from the next water point where there would be a mechanic and a hope for a new pedal, the only option was to carry on and try not lose too much time. But the terrain was tough, steep and rocky decents, sand everywhere, so was not going to be easy. Then five kms later the other peddal slipped off! so working my hardest for the next 20km to rest on the spindles during the down hills and running up the hills there wasn't much Roeloff could do to help . But eventually we got to the water point where was very happy to find the mechanics had pedals on hand (at premium cost) but was still using time as also had to change the cleats over, fill our water bottles and camel backs and stock up on food to see us through the final 60 odd kms. We crossed the line in about 6rhs 45min which with a lot of disappointment dropped our placing considerably down the field from 50 to 60. But we still feeling positive. is a hard race and these incidents are part of what happens when you push you bike and body over these distances and rough terrain. Time trial tomorrow, a nice short day allows us a bit of a rest and plenty of time to recover, and hopefully pull a few places back!

Stage 3 complete

Stage Three 104kilometers once again beginning and ending in Sorensberg, circumnavigating the surrounding mountain ranges. We were feeling good, but decided to pace ourselves as still a good few hard days to come. Although having a plan and putting it into practice are two seperate things! as is hard to hold back once you're in the race! The weather was pristine which meant freezing morning and scorching temps throughout the day. The route was super dusty, loose and rocky as expected, but Team BOS stayed on their bikes and flew down some very long, steep decents.. but unfortunately some walking was unavoidable going up! We finished the day in good time maintaining our position around the 50 mark so we are happy about that. Having the whole afternoon to recover and with the help from extra long massages and refreshing BOS ice tea we feeling fit and the muscles feeling loose and with a nice chilled head space to take on our longest stage yet tomorrow of 125km! Its an early start up at 5:00am and racing at 7am so we about to go have a feed, eat as much as we possibly can and hit the hay or should i say tent!

Early morning preperations

Massage and recovery and Paris and Carrie's private spa

The Epic 2011 has begun!

Well the Epic has begun! Always hectic getting organised for the first stages so bit of a delayed post! We kicked off with the prolouge in Tokai forest formatted as a time trial was a very fast paced 27km as we raced against the clock for our initial seeding. But we managed to hold our own with a 1hr 18 min finish time holding the number 1 spot until the pros kicked off a few hours later. We ended up in the top 50 over all (including the pros) with a 43rd position for the category. Yesterday Stage one 89km starting and finishing in Sorensberg and was a tough day for us! A very fast A group start with the pros had has pushing the limits the first 20km and very loose rocky terrain which saw many unstuck on the ups and downs if not walking them! The day claimed quite a few casulties, many had to pull out due to injurys, including a few broken collar bones in the field. Team Bos coming out mostly unscathed with a few tumbles that left Roeloff with a sore hip, but we feeling good for the 104km stage 2 after some much needed massaging and recovery in the afternoon including a refreshing swim in the Tulbah public pool. We finished the day keeping our top 50 position and even reclaiming a spot or two which has us hungry and motivated to maintain!

Turns out race organisers wouldn't allow us to do our own massage in the race village so we found our own epic spot in the veld

Team Bos kicks off Cape Epic on Sunday

Look out for fast racing Zebra's on bikes.

Hay All the Absa Cape Epic kicks off with a time trial prologue on Sunday

All teams will participate in a team time trial of approximately 27km in Tokai Forest, which forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. The start and finish venue is at Chrysalis Academy in Tokai Forest (Cape Town), on Sunday 27 March 2011.

Teams will have a pre-allocated time slot for their time trial and teams depart at 25-second intervals from Team Bos kicks off at 7:40am and should be be on the line in 1:30hrs odd.

Each team's time in the prologue will add to their overall time and will be used to determine the seeding for the start of the first stage on Monday morning. The prologue allows the entire field to be seeded in a transparent manner.

Live TV - The prologue will be broadcasted on SuperSport from 09:00 - 14:00, so tune in if you want to follow from the comfort of your home.

Just another day in perfect Africa

One can travel around the world in search for isolated waves and epic trails but for us it generally is right on our doorstep. Here is yesterday's session all to myself which was followed by quick Team BOS ride around Tokai forest to get familar with the loose surface we will be racing on Sunday. Ps: we kick off at 7:40am and should be back over the finish line +-9am :