Of Bike Dreams through Distant Lands
Imagine a 750km human-powered pedal journey, cranking off from the coastal bliss of the Garden Route, ascending thousands of metres every day as you bomb the extra-terrestrial plains of the Klein Karoo, and finally crossing a distant finish line in the Cape Winelands a solid seven days later. This is the TransCape MTB Stage Race, and it is a journey that is sure to change your life.
The Cape. What an glorious province … You get it all here, from gargantuan forest giants, primordial mountain ranges and meandering river courses, to undulating wheat field farm lands and immensely diverse fynbos ridges. Nature reserves, national parks, private game reserves, conservancies: you name it, and you’ve got it.
The beauty is that all of these landscapes are innately linked together if you should decide to traverse the Cape by bike. Gruelling gravel passes, white-knuckle downhills, hide-away single-track circuits and endless dirt roads bisecting hazy plains … this is Pedal Paradise.
All you need is your bike, a week or two of down-time, and a huge dollop of vasbyt, and this could be your solo escape from the rat race. Otherwise you could decide to share this life-changing journey with a group of vibrant and like-minded individuals on an event such as the annual TransCape MTB Stage Race.
This means you don’t have to plan anything beyond getting your bike in the morning, and saddling up for the day’s testing journey. Meals, accommodation in boutique hotels, B&Bs or luxury guesthouses (yup, no tents!) and gourmet food stops en route give you get the best of both worlds on what has proven to be a world-class event.
Read on to join us on this year’s TransCape journey and relish in the challenges, splendour and headspace the field of riders discovered on their pilgrimage from the shores of Knysna to the vineyards of Franschhoek.
Day 1: Knysna to George (104km + 2 950m Ascent)
Seven days of gruelling riding kicked off from the Knysna Waterfront as the TransCapers took on Stage 1, immediately bombing into the verdant woodlands of the Garden Route. Anybody who knows the region, understands that starting at the coast means there is only one way to go, and that is up.
Flat went to steep immediately after the neutral zone along the Main Street, with the field bombing past Simola, and Gouna Pass and Kom-se-Pad as the first real tests of the day. The riders hung tough though, looping onto the 7 Passes Road and then via Beervlei and Bergplaas Plantations. Superb forest riding added an edge to the high-speed gravel chase, spreading the field as they blasted amidst the fragrant pines. The Belgian Team #25 of Niek Lingier and Bjorn Rondelez took the 1st Stage in a time of 5:20:40, with Team #27 (Rory Attridge & Martin Lambrecht) well off the pace in 5:48:45. The All-Girls Team of Bonny Swanepoel and Rene Schoeman took the Mixed Category in 6:07:40, with Corne Barnard top of the Solo heap in 6:18:13.
Day 2: George to Calitzdorp (148km / 2750m Ascent)
I know MTB Stage Racers are supposed to be tough, but today again made me realise why mountain biking must be rated as the Sport of True Heroes. The long crank to Calitzdorp blasts you into the teeth of Montagu Pass, with the gruelling Gamkaberg jeep-track ready to snap at your knackered calves should you survive …
Add a hades-like head wind to the equation and you immediately know you’re in for one tough day. The terrain is utterly in your face, with the temperature regularly peaking into the 40s. I rode the section to the top of Gamkaberg, and all I could think as I sweated up that damn hill was how much respect I have for the real riders out there.
Day 3: Calitzdorp to Riversdal (115km / 2200m Ascent)
No Country for Old Men … this is the movie I thought about most today on my bike and in the 4x4 as we documented a day of unrelenting grind on the bike. Endless and sweeping minimalist panoramas, bad-land outcrops, a grim tension hanging in the air … the faces this morning told a story of an evil stage yesterday, with a lot more to come on Day 3.
Rooiberg Pass unapologetically served up a downright rude wake-up call to any tired legs out there, but this was by no means the only test of the day. Meandering back roads come packaged with ups-and-downs, but not necessarily in a good way as you battle for rhythm while waging a tenuous war against the elements.
The badalways goes hand in hand with some ugly (the haematoma on one rider’s thigh was a case in point) and a whole lotta good. Hidden valleys, friendly locals sprouted right from the heart of Mother Earth, black eagles prowling the blue skyway above, and a planet full of space within which to lose yourself …
Day 4: Riversdal to Swellendam (124km / 2300m Ascent)
Today was mountain biking heaven for stage racers, with constantly changing terrain and vegetation. About 50kays from Riversdale, the peleton looped into the mountains above Heidelberg to experience the gloriousness that is Grootvadersbosch, and for a couple of hours lost themselves within this piece of fantastical fynbos paradise.
Back roads then boomed them down south and under the N2, for a final face-off with the many nuances of Mother Nature as they juddered home via the Bontebok National Park. It has not been an easy journey so far and there will be more pain, but the half-way mark has been breached! Ahead lies the breathtaking landscape where the Overberg morphs into the Cape Winelands, and one can sense a latent elation within the racers.
Day 5: Swellendam to Greyton (113km / 1650m Ascent)
So, today was the day that the Saffas came to the party, eventually taking a stage off the ‘Belgianators’, Team Versluys. It was left to the manne from #Team27 — Martin Lambrecht and Rory Attridge — to work their magic, and they did so in fine form to bag their victory on the 5th stage into the beautiful village of Greyton.
The shorter stage suited them well, it seems, and they blasted home in a time of 04hr 36min 25sec, with Bjorn Rondelez & Niek Lingier coming in a minute back in 04:37:30. Corne Barnard continued in his fine vein of form, and claimed a deserved victory in the Solo Category in 04:36:47, sweeping into his home town of Greyton in high spirits. Bonny Swanepoel and Rene Schoeman remained in the lead in the Mixed Category, despite a couple of mechanicals out in the field today.
All in all, the day made for imaging gold and fast-paced mountain biking, with amber light pouring bathing the pastoral beauty of the Overberg. It was clearly obvious that the field has relaxed into the TransCape vibe, with much bantering and bonhomie along the route.
Day 6: Greyton to Villiersdorp (71km / 1900m Ascent)
Good things are worth waiting for, and Greyton is certainly a case in point. This must rate as the most beautiful section of the whole of the TransCape route this year, with superb sections of single-track lovingly groomed within the majestic mountains overlooking this tranquil village.
Today, Versluys once again put the hammer down, and not even the intimate knowledge of his local trails by solo champ Corne Barnard could avert yet another Belgian Blitzkrieg. It was also the first day I heard just on 99% of the riders say the route was too short.
Everything that is truly mountain biking featured here in the Winelands, from swooping single-track and death-defying downhills, to waist-deep river crossings, endless vistas, gruelling climbs and blitzing speed segments. I got to ride the first single-track loop from Greyton and into Genadendal, and I was smitten …
Day 7: Villiersdorp to Franschhoek (66km / 1700m Ascent)
Today unarguably marked the end of a fantastic beginning for the TransCape family. History was made as the inaugural event finished in the Winelands, with the riders blasting home along a tortuous route over the rugged Cape Fold ranges and into historic Franschhoek.
From town, a neutral zone boomed the riders to Theewaterskloof Dam, where the harsh realities of the day kicked in with Groenlandberg in all its pissed off splendour. The ascent up to Rusty Gate was gnarly to say the least, but the nearby finish served as a powerful incentive, and the peleton swept home vigorously and full of fantastic spirit.
Jan van der Bergh gave it stick to win his first stage in a powerful climb up Franschhoek Pass, and by 14:00 the last group of riders rolled into La Couronne Wine Estate after a journey they will surely never forget. Smiles, tears, elation, pride … all under-written by an immaculate sense of family that has bonded the TransCapers over the past week.
“This event is here to stay, and bound to become one of the world’s favourite stage races”. Not my words, but that of the charismatic Niek Lingier (one half of the victorious Team Versluys).
Huge congratulations are due to Wayne and Lenore Collet and their whole team. You guys rock, and I for one cannot wait for next year.
