In August 2011 Exxaro was announced as a headline sponsor and official development academy partner to the Absa Cape Epic.
Less than a year after the Exxaro MTB Academy was established, it delivered the first success stories at the Cape Epic.
In 2012 nine teams of previously disadvantaged riders participated in the Cape Epic, and three of those teams finished in the top 100 of the Men’s category. Azukile Simayile and Siphosenkosi Madolo won the inaugural Exxaro special jersey.
Photo by Ewald Sadie/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
“It’s becoming really exciting,” says Mellis Walker, the Exxaro Liaison at this year’s Absa Cape Epic. “We have seven Exxaro teams in contention this year for the highly sought-after Exxaro jersey and one team in the Mixed category.”
One of those teams, Exxaro PWC, is currently leading the charge in the Exxaro race within the race. Jan Motshioa and Phillimon Sebona have enjoyed a great start to the race and currently lead previous Exxaro jersey winners Sipho Madolo and Azukile Simayile (of Investec-Songo-Specialized 2).
“It’s been difficult but good so far this year,” says Motshioa. “Stage 1 was little bit rainy, and when it’s raining my partner Phillimon is a little bit scared, but I just tell him to keep on going and when we are leading I just tell him to push, push, push.”
The process of selecting riders from the Exxaro Academy has become more refined as the years have gone by. At first, it was purely about getting riders from disadvantaged backgrounds into the Cape Epic. “It was about the numbers,” admits Walker. “But immediately we saw the riders doing well. We didn’t expect too much, but the results were great from the very start. In our second year everyone improved again.”
Last year our expectations were high and there was talk of a top 20 finish in the final overall standings. “We didn’t do as well, though,” says Walker. “I think the riders felt the pressure because everyone was so excited about the potential to get into the top 20 for the first time.”
The potential is there, and the Exxaro MTB Academy is certainly nurturing the talent in the right way. Through their system they have 100 bikes in circulation in the regions where Exxaro has business units – Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo.
Photo by Sophie Smith/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Throughout the year training camps are held, with a final Cape Epic team selection made after the completion of the The Bridgestone Route 66 MTB Experience. “Our top 10 riders – the top five teams within the academy – also stay in a house together,” says Walker. “The guys ride together as much as possible and we have an internal ranking system.”
The end goal for Exxaro is to take the term “development” out of the Academy’s strategy and really focus on producing well-rounded individuals who can handle a mountain bike race as well as anything that life can throw at them. Money-matters, nutrition and education are all staples of the academy. Right now, though, it’s race week. And that’s all that matters for the eight days of the Cape Epic.
“I can say that it’s a war out there,” says Motshioa. “So we pull up our socks and look in the front, not the back. We are looking forward to taking the Exxaro jersey to the Exxaro head office in Pretoria.”
This year the Untamed African MTB stage race takes place from 15 to 22 March 2015, and will once again take 1 200 riders through some of the Western Cape’s most unspoilt territory. The race begun with the Prologue on Table Mountain, starting from the University of Cape Town, and will eight days later at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville.
Meerendal Wine Estate will be hosting the finish of the race and the Grand Finale celebrations for the very first time on 22 March 2015. The Grand Finale will kick off with live entertainment, a Farmer’s Market, delectable food and wine as well as glorious scenery. Vantage points will be accessible to the general public, so that all may have a piece of the mountain biking action.
Photo by Ewald Sadie/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
