Picture credit score: @hillwillie
The Absa Cape Epic stands as an annual check of endurance, drawing mountain biking fanatics from all over the world to South Africa’s Western Cape. This difficult multi-stage race pushes rivals to their absolute limits throughout demanding terrain, with groups of two tackling a course that spans roughly 800 kilometers over eight days. The occasion showcases the area’s various landscapes and attracts a world area of each skilled and newbie riders, solidifying its repute because the world’s premier mountain bike stage race.
With 2025 marking the Epic’s twenty first operating, we caught up with First Endurance athletes and fellow Canucks Robert Britton and Andrew “Lespy” L’Espernance, who competed as teammates for his or her first time in one in every of biking’s most notoriously difficult races.
Fellas, thanks for taking the time to shed some mild in your expertise on the 2025 Cape Epic!
Q: First off, how did you go about getting ready for the Cape Epic’s distinctive challenges—the two-person crew format, the infamous summer season warmth, and the eight-day size—as first-timers to the occasion who needed to cope with the daunting journey from North America?
Lespy: When Rob and I made a decision to take this problem on, we knew we’d be good within the crew format. We did a point-to-point coaching camp down the coast of California collectively in 2024, and people 1550 km in eight days had been greater than sufficient to persuade us that we work properly collectively. Whereas we didn’t do any particular coaching collectively earlier than the occasion, we did have 5 days on the bottom in South Africa earlier than the race began to determine issues out. Figuring out that the journey to South Africa can be arduous, I spent somewhat extra time at residence this winter in comparison with earlier years, although my one journey was a giant one, spending the month of January in Australia. There have been some scorching days down there, particularly in Tasmania, and that kickstarted my warmth prep. As soon as residence, I did one other block of extra particular warmth coaching, throughout which I might complement classes on the bike with 20-25 minute classes within the sauna post-workout. My spouse and I’ve a barrel sauna within the yard, which makes issues tremendous simple. So far as the problem of an eight-day race, each of us are well-versed in stage racing and we had been assured that we had the depth and expertise in pacing that we would have liked to race strongly day in and time out.
Rob: I took a two-pronged strategy. First, I knew I needed to grow to be a significantly better technical rider—positively my greatest weak spot. Second, I wanted to be match sufficient for what would doubtless be the toughest week of racing I’d do all 12 months. Sadly, we had a brutal winter in Victoria, so the technical work bought scrapped and I went all in on health. Fortunately, my background as a highway racer made the thought of eight days of racing rather less intimidating!
Q: The journey from North America to South Africa is a little bit of a haul, to place it frivolously. Have been there any obstacles in getting there, or within the lead-up to the race begin?
Lespy: It’s definitely a haul! To be trustworthy, although, all of it went very easily. For me, it was two back-to-back in a single day flights. The primary was Montreal to London with a 10-hour layover in London, then on to Cape City. One of the best transfer we made was to get a lodge room on the London airport and have a very good sleep partway by means of the journey. We weren’t arriving tremendous early for the race, so doing all the things we may in journey to cut back the load was necessary. I did my finest to eat proper on the airplane and packed single-serve EFS hydration packets to verify I used to be getting electrolytes to remain hydrated.
Rob: Actually, whereas the journey was extreme to say the least, it couldn’t have gone extra easily. I had an 18-hour flight from Vancouver to London with an eight-hour layover, booked a lodge, bought some sleep, then took a 12-hour flight to Cape City, the place I lucked out with a full row to myself. I truly bought a stable quantity of sleep. So far as long-haul flights go, it was a dream.
Q: Inform us somewhat concerning the ambiance within the race villages every evening, so far as the lodging, meals, general vibe, assets out there to the riders, and so on.
Lespy: We opted to remain out of the race village and booked lodging that adopted the trail of the race. This gave us much more management over our vitamin and restoration. In some circumstances, we had been capable of spin again to the home after the stage and be showered and in restoration mode inside an hour. That being stated, the race village is a large manufacturing, in contrast to something I’ve ever seen. We bought to expertise it earlier than and after the race and that was superior.
Rob: Lespy and I are approach too delicate to be sleeping in tents for one thing like this! I actually don’t understand how individuals did it—between the intense warmth and extreme humidity, you’d by no means cool off or dry out. We stayed in an Airbnb, and that was difficult sufficient. We did benefit from the hire-a-mechanic service, which was a complete gamechanger. After day one, simply with the ability to hand off the bike and decide it up the subsequent morning clear and dialed was wonderful—identical to the nice outdated days.
Q: Describe the largest problem you confronted through the course of the occasion, whether or not bodily, psychological, mechanical, logistical or in any other case.
Lespy: I feel the largest problem was the logistics within the days main as much as the race. We had been a comparatively massive group, with two groups racing (my spouse Haley Smith and Aussie Ella Blood teamed up and crushed it) and two assist employees. There was so much to do when it comes to planning, bike prep, trying out programs, race registration, media, organizing wheels and spare components for out on the race course, and extra. As soon as we rolled down the beginning ramp for the prologue and bought issues rolling, all of the stress went away and we may simply deal with driving and dealing collectively.
Rob: Actually, on daily basis was a problem. Technically, I’m nowhere close to Lespy’s degree, and even from a health standpoint, this type of racing is so completely different from what I usually prepare for. I used to be within the field just about all the time. Once I say the difficult half was all the things between the beginning and end line, I’m not joking. It took 100% focus and energy each single day to barely grasp on whereas Andrew patiently waited for me. I’ve by no means been below that sort of strain so constantly.
Q: Was there one stage particularly that stands out in your thoughts above the others? (and why?)
Lespy: Stage two stands out to me for a couple of causes. First off, it was a really distinctive stage: a 66 km time trial race, which isn’t one thing they’ve executed lately. Rob and I had been each driving sturdy and dealing properly collectively that day, and we had the good thing about beginning behind some riders that had been properly inside our attain of catching. It’s all the time a giant increase to get to overhaul your one-, two-, and three- minute individuals in a TT. We sort of got here aside ultimately, however it was a very good efficiency general. It additionally occurred to be my birthday. Our legendary soigneur Fraser informed the announcer and so they performed a music and introduced it once we got here throughout the road. Fairly particular.
Rob: Oh yeah—stage two, the time trial. I used to be feeling sturdy and assured, as time trials are my factor. We had been completely ripping, passing each one of many 15 groups that began forward of us. Then, with 10 km to go, my legs fully seized, and I had cramping like I’ve by no means skilled. I needed to get off the bike three separate occasions, and Andrew even needed to push me up a few of the climbs. We bought caught by virtually each crew we had handed. It went from being our greatest day to our worst—identical to that.
Q: What kind of expectations did you may have for your self going into the Epic and the way did it evaluate with the truth?
Lespy: I don’t suppose I set clear expectations for myself when it comes to a end result, however I did know precisely what I needed to get out of the journey to Cape Epic. This race has been on my radar for some time, and it’s one the place I consider I’ve the expertise and skillset to compete on the entrance. Being a pairs race, the partnership actually issues. With a lot of Rob’s time in his profession being spent on the highway, I knew that we doubtless wouldn’t be capable to compete on the very entrance, so my objectives for the race had been to be taught as a lot as potential about it for future editions, get a while at race pace, and get a very good coaching profit for the remainder of the season. And, it goes with out saying, that one other massive purpose was to benefit from the expertise of racing with a very good good friend and good crew.
Rob: Ha! My expectations couldn’t have been extra off. I knew it will be laborious, however I didn’t anticipate this. It wasn’t particularly technical by West Coast requirements, however the pace and depth uncovered each inefficiency; the warmth, which I believed I used to be ready for, hit approach more durable than I anticipated; and the day by day calls for had been far past something I’ve executed earlier than. I knew it’d be powerful—however I used to be nonetheless shocked.
Q: Did you may have any “earworms,” when it comes to a music or mantra that constantly ran by means of your thoughts through the race?
Lespy: There was a music that I placed on through the drive to one of many phases that the remainder of the crew was not completely satisfied to have of their ear through the race. Undecided I’ve the center to share what it was, although.
Rob: My interior monologue principally went: “Don’t crash. Don’t die. Don’t get dropped. Don’t overlook to drink. Don’t overlook to focus. You’re too burdened—loosen up! Wait—too relaxed! Focus! Don’t die. Catch up!”
Yeah… that, for eight days.
Q: How did you and your teammate assist one another through the harder moments?
Lespy: Communication, empathy, and endurance. If you happen to adopted alongside, that Rob was placing in 100% on daily basis, and I do know firsthand what that’s like, so I attempted my finest to be the teammate that I might need in that scenario. In a race like Cape Epic, there isn’t a particular person, there’s simply the crew. Over the eight days we labored collectively to extract the most effective out of ourselves every day.
Rob: Andrew was in all probability essentially the most affected person individual on the planet, and I’m so grateful for that. If the roles had been reversed, I’m undecided I might’ve been almost pretty much as good of a teammate. Past that, I largely tried to cover behind humor—tears of a clown sort of vibe. Daily was powerful, however it wasn’t laborious to shake it off and begin joking round shortly after the end.
Q: Have been you capable of implement and keep a selected vitamin technique all through the race or did it find yourself evolving because the occasion wore on?
Lespy: My vitamin technique on the bike was quite simple, aiming for 1000 mL of fluids and 120g of carbohydrates per hour. I might regulate the “focus” of carbs/fluids all through the day primarily based on temperature, consuming a bit extra carbs early within the day when it was cooler, and a bit much less in a while when it was hotter. I did this largely with EFS-PRO Excessive Carb and it was very easy. As a result of it’s such a light-weight tasting drink, it was by no means a battle to drink, even after eight days of consuming it in large portions. I’ve been utilizing the product for 2 years now, and it was comforting to have the ability to depend on one thing that I knew would work. There have been many different issues to fret about with this race, so simply sticking to my vitamin plan constantly labored completely.
Rob: Andrew can deal with extra carbs per hour than I can—he’s simply higher at coaching that upfront. I didn’t wish to push too laborious and danger GI points, so I caught to round 72–90g/hour, largely from high-carb combine. The spacing of the feed zones made that fairly manageable, and I’d fill within the gaps on longer phases with Liquid Photographs.
Q: Did it’s important to cope with any accidents or particular bodily setbacks?
Lespy: I had one small crash on the queen stage, once I slid out over a slippery bridge. It was not a giant deal, however I did come down on my left hand and pinky finger, which I broke final 12 months at XCM World Champs and had surgical procedure to restore. Initially I used to be nervous I had injured it, however ultimately it was all good.
Rob: Actually, if there was one factor I used to be actually impressed with, it was how properly my physique held up. Other than my thumbs getting destroyed from shifting a lot, all the things else was stable. I’ll completely take that as a win!
Q: What was the funniest factor that occurred throughout your Epic?
Lespy: We had numerous enjoyable with our crew–there’s a dynamic whenever you get deep right into a stage race and really feel tremendous fatigued the place it doesn’t take a lot to make you chuckle. In hindsight, I think about they had been largely humorous little moments like that, however there have been numerous them.
Rob: Wanting again, the funniest factor might be that Andrew truly satisfied me this is able to be an ideal concept. Now I notice it was payback for final 12 months’s coast experience, the place he introduced a pen to a gunfight. Lesson realized!
Q: Was there a selected piece of drugs that proved invaluable through the journey?
Lespy: It’s powerful to select only one piece. Cape Epic is a race that pushes every bit of drugs to the restrict. I’ll select two: powerful tires and good sealant. There have been goat heads in all places on target that would poke a small gap in your tire. I ran a particular model of the Maxxis Aspen, made particularly for this race, which has a barely harder casing. I paired it with a beneficiant serving of Stan’s Race Sealant, and the setup labored flawlessly over the entire race.
Rob: Does our second “volunteer” soigneur depend? Fraser—the roommate of Haley’s race accomplice—loves a very good journey and stated he’d come over and assist out for enjoyable. Wanting again, I don’t suppose we may’ve pulled the week off with out him. Not precisely a chunk of drugs, however he was completely invaluable.
Q: What’s the one factor that shocked you most concerning the Epic and do you propose to return?
Lespy: I used to be positively shocked at each the extent and recognition of this occasion particularly, and marathon mountain biking in South Africa usually. I knew it was a giant deal, however to expertise it firsthand was one thing else. It jogged my memory of a few of the greater World Cups or World Championships I’ve executed in XCO. I’m hoping that this scene or motion towards marathon mountain biking makes its approach again to North America as a result of it actually is an incredible method to race bikes and expertise a spot.
YES! I’m positively going again. From the second the race completed I used to be prepared to return.
Rob: I used to be pleasantly shocked to see glimpses of my outdated self by the top of the week. Once I raced on the highway, I’d normally get stronger as the times went on, or no less than fatigue slower. That appeared to occur right here, too, as we began shifting up the standings after a couple of days of beatings. I’m undecided I’ll return to the Cape Epic particularly, however the organizers are placing on a gravel race of comparable high quality this fall—and that’s positively piqued my curiosity.
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