Nic Lamond races to the top at the Cape Epic
Now in its 12th year, the Cape Epic is an eight day mountain biking event that took place from the 15 to 22 March 2015. A monster of an event, the Epic sees both local and international mountain biking enthusiasts heading to Cape Town to take on the massive adventure and challenge, riding from University of Cape Town to Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, in what is now considered the most prestigious mountain biking event in the world.
Competing as Team RSAWEB Biogen, 37 year old Nic Lamond and 29 year old Carl Pasio raced to an outstanding finish, taking 17th place in their category and 20th place overall. Racing their third Cape Epic together, the team finished the 739km of the daunting mountain terrain in a total of 35 hours and 14 minutes with an average speed of 21,23km/h and a total climb of 1600m.
Completing his 9th Cape Epic altogether, Nic commented ahead of the event; “The Absa Cape Epic is really two races. And that’s part of its magical attraction. On the front line of the starting grid are the world’s best mountain bikers paired up, all eager to claim a share of the R1,6 million prize purse on offer. These are hardened professional riders whose training calendar and racing commitments are carefully composed each year, with the Epic an important feature early in their seasons. The biggest stage race on the planet… 739km around the Western Cape. Covering over twice the vertical ascent of Mount Everest in the process.”
He continued by observing what it is like to compete as an amateur in an event of such massive proportions such as the Epic; “Behind the high-tech bikes and matching socks of the pros are the rest of us. Over 1 100 excited amateurs, who have found a willing partner and made sacrifices to face eight tough days in the saddle. We have dragged our tired bodies into the hills before sunrise and shoehorned training sessions into our humble routines. We have had countless discussions about training techniques, skills improvement and equipment choice. Part of the inspiration to endure this daily torture for months comes from understanding what a rare privilege it is to cover the same challenging terrain as our cycling heroes. And we want to prepare ourselves to at least enjoy the experience.
It is evident from the incredible results that the team achieved that the early mornings and hard training sessions were all worth it as the team and by the look of the pictures a lot of fun was also had along the way. Well done to Nic and Carl – we are very proud of you!
Images supplied by Gary Perkin / CAPE EPIC / SPORTZPICS.
Here is an interesting article on Nic Lamond and MTB stage racing.
Click here to chat