So with the ABSA Cape Epic rapidly approaching and the Prologue route right on the back door of our Rondebosch office Seamus Allardice decided to give the route a reccie ride and let you know what to look out for. Here are his tips:
Sus the Top Tips:
- Stay safe: Don’t be a hero there are 7 long, hard, stages to follow. Leave the crashing to the pros.
- But Maintain Momentum: There are precious few flat sections on the prologue route, so try to maintain your momentum as well as you can, without taking risks.
- Expect to Work Hard: It’s a very tough 20km, with a few rocky and loose gravel climbs, don’t expect an easy 20km ride.
- Push Hard on the Climbs: if you want to secure a good time, climb with all your might.
- Refuel on the Tar: You’ll probably only need to eat once in the 20km route, so save if for as soon as you reach the tar section on Table Mountain Road, there’s a little climb on the tar, but hitting a gel there should give you the boost you need for the last 10 – 15 minute blast back to UCT.
- Allow the more Skilled Partner to Lead: Approaching the new singletrack let your more skilled partner get into the front and follow his/her wheel down the singletrack, along the jeep track descent and the lower singletracks around Rhodes Memorial.
- Stay and Show your Support: Organise a friend or family member to have an ice cold recovery drink ready for you at the finish, get changed out of your sweaty kit, and stay to support the later starters.
Route Breakdown:
A) UCT Outbound:
It’s a section I haven’t ridden, but from what I’ve been told by Rob Vogel of Table Mountain Bikers they’ve built/modified existing footpaths up to the Rhodes Memorial Road. The early part seems to be on campus roads or paved paths through campus, so it shouldn’t be anything to worry about, though you should be warned that like the rest of the route it’ll be deceptively steep.
B) Rhodes Mem Road to the first proper climb:
The kick up off the tarred Rhodes Memorial Road along the jeep track is quite savage, it’s loose and rocky but it’s short so try to blitz it. Once on the contour the route rises and falls by turns as you work your way past Groote Schuur and University Estate (below you on the lower slopes of the mountain). It’s a nice section to get your legs going, but look out for a couple of sharpish corners with ball bearing like pebbles that’ll have you skidding into the bushes if you over-cook the speed. Take it a little easy, the race is still long and you don’t want to injure yourself inside the first 5km.
C) Walmer Estate to Deer Park:
At a sharp fork in the road you start to climb a gradual, smooth surfaced climb up towards the King’s Block House, but where you would usually switch back on yourself heading up to the Block House you carry on straight towards Deer Park and the terrible Motherf*cker Hill. It’s probably the most fun jeep track section so make the most of it because when you reach the old quarry the fun ends. Abruptly! Car Magazine Editor, Steve Smith (he’s riding the Epic with Craig Kolesky) predicts that MoFo Hill will have many riders walking. And if you don’t pick your line right that’s an inevitability. So rather take your time, don’t rush into the climb, aim for the hardest packed, most loose gravel free line and just grind it out. It’s not long, only 300m so suffer through it. I rode it out in the gusting wind on Tuesday evening and I haven’t been training for the Epic so you’ll be fine.
If you do resort to pushing, please (please, please) respect the riders who are riding it and get off the hard line!
From the top of MoFo down into Deer Park you can let your bike fly. Try to recover for the climb to follow.
D) Deer Park to Dead Man’s Tree:
The climb from Deer Park to Dead Man’s Tree is rocky to start with, then nice and smooth and finally on loose gravel. For the lower section choose your line well and plan your lines past slower teams well. On the smooth section, you might want to recover a bit as the rocky section can take it out of you, especially if you had to accelerate past slower riders. For the top section, the two switch backs immediately below Dead Man’s Tree I’d suggest following the line on the grass verge as it’s nice and hard, plus it’s free of loose grave that could cause you to wheel spin and lose momentum.
E) Table Mountain Road:
I’d suggest a quick munch as soon as you hit the tar, but don’t slow down as you’re climbing still and you don’t want to lose momentum unnecessarily. Once you hit the highest point of the tar road a short descent follows (obviously) where you can take in the beautiful views over Cape Town, before a short climb takes you off the tar and onto the old service road to the King’s Block House.
F) Tar to The Singletrack:
Give it gas! Let go of your breaks, let your stronger technical rider pick a line and if you’re the less skilled rider follow his/her wheel at a safe distance. It’s a super section and if you carry enough momentum you’ll be able to power up the 200m climb to the start of The Singletrack in your big blade (for you 2 x 10ers).
G) The Singletrack:
It’s not as technical as it looks, so don’t let it worry you. I’ve reccied it twice now (bear in mind that it’s still closed to mountain bikers so I’m speaking from the experience of walking down it) and my advice is to get far back behind your saddle, as it is very steep, and let your wheels roll – don’t lock up your breaks. It’s steep but almost entirely straight, apart from two corners at the top and one near the bottom, so if you get back you’ll be fine. You don’t need mad skills to navigate it safely and still at a fair speed. To view more photos of The Singletrack click here.
H) Below The Singletrack to UCT:
The jeep track below The Singletrack follows a contour line for about 1km and is the perfect time to pack away your sunglasses and have a quick sip of your drink. The descent that follows is through the forest and if you have suspect vision (like me) you’ll want to be able to see the best line, so taking dark glasses off when it’s safe to do so is a good plan.
The jeep track has two rocky sections, where I stopped on Tuesday to pick up a large metal peg, but the eroded lower section of the jeep track has been fixed by Table Mountain Bikers. A grassy section of jeep track separates the top section of jeep track from the new Rhodes Memorial singletracks, but watch out for the sharp right hand corner, it has a tarred line on the inside, but the tar has long ago broken up in the left hand track. If you over-cook it you’re going to end up in a row of young trees planted hard on the outside of the corner.
The top Rhodes Memorial singletrack drops into a small bridge and then climbs for about 10 meters so don’t get into too heavy a gear. After the short climb you can race as fast as your technical skills will allow, across a short section of gravel road and down the lower Rhodes Memorial singletrack. There are a few sketchy sections, but only the run down towards the fence around the dam offers any real opportunity for a crash. Just keep it rubber side down, you’re nearly home.
Corner wide, close to the tree, rather than try to pick a line through the rocks after the flat flowing section after the sandy corner and then get into a gear which will allow you to power up a steepish 2 meter climb back onto the tar above the cattle grid-gate.
From there it’s a sprint along the tar into UCT again and then onto the fields and the Prologue finish.
Download my Route Reccie Ride (and The Singletrack walk)
Bearing in mind that I started at our offices in Rondebosch, so I’ve cropped the route to start and finish at the grid-gate where you enter the Rhodes Memorial estate. You can download the gpx file to follow the route yourself here, or view the ride on Stava by clicking here.
