IMAGINE what it takes to finish every single Absa Cape Epic – an eight-day, 658km race that climbs 15,775m. It needs the stamina of a lion and the mental toughness of a monk.
Suffice to say those who have are few – only three in fact.
On February 28, 2004, 550 cyclists gathered in Knysna’s morning light, preparing to go off on a ride into the unfamiliar that would eventually become the Cape Epic as it is known today. John Gale, Mike Nixon, and Hannele Steyn were among them.
The renowned originals, who have completed all 18 editions and seen the competition develop into the apex of mountain bike stage racing, are still present at the start, every start, over two decades later.
ABSA @CapeEpic
Wild & open, sometimes inhospitable & other times beautiful, this land both tests & surprises all who tackle its trails
where: Western Cape, South Africa
when: 19-26 Mar 23https://t.co/oUbtbLhSfzhttps://t.co/VG0IYfzQ3i pic.twitter.com/li83vNJwNn— Capestop (@capestop) February 19, 2023
These Last Lions have completed an amazing feat of human endurance by travelling a total of 12,126 km through 137 stages, including 12 prologues and three mid-race time trials.
The riders have experienced both the traditional Knysna to Cape Town routes and, starting in 2009, the more recent version, where certain stages start and end in the same town. They have also climbed a total of 284,187 metres.
Their continuous involvement in the marathon may appear absurd to some people, maybe even bordering on the insane. Yet they only fail to comprehend their fervour.
“Like Baloo (in Disney’s Jungle Book), I’ve got the tiger by the tail.” This, According to Gale, a chartered accountant in Cape Town. “He has to go back to feel sure the other end has fangs.”
Nixon, a commercial real estate businessman who is also a native of Cape Town, calls the race “irresistible”.
“The Tour de France of mountain riding is right outside your door. Also, my darling wife has become accustomed to the loneliness from December to March after all these years, so when she asks for me back, I’ll stop,” he jokes.
8 days. 7 stages. 658km. 15 775m of climbing – this is it. The @CapeEpic starts in 28 days, and we are proud to be a #sponsor! https://t.co/kTmcb6fZA7 #pickpickfords #boysinblue #sponsorship #partners #capeepic pic.twitter.com/6x4CsdEOOm
— Pickfords SA (@PickfordsSA) February 19, 2023
The sole female member of the Last Lions pride, Steyn, fell head over heels in love with the Cape Epic right from the get go.
The geneticist from Knysna recalls, “It became my favourite race experience from the very first one when I had no idea what to anticipate or what multi-day racing was all about.
“At the time, it was merely one of the scheduled events on my calendar as a professional racer for one of the sponsors of the Cape Epic, but once I resigned from competitive racing in 2007, I had already completed four and intended to do at least five.
“Each year following that, I had the good fortune to get a sponsor, and it was harder to crack the top 10. Once you have completed 10, you must either quit or continue until the following significant number,” she added.
Steyn is training like a “crazy lady”; for the event despite breaking her arm on January 28 of this year, necessitating the addition of a titanium plate to her body.
“I will definitely be at the start of the 2023 Absa Cape Epic,” she says determinedly, asserting that the lioness cannot just submit to the lions on a titanium plate.
Overall, all three riders believe preparation is key for the race, being held from March 19-26 this year.
Gale continues, “A complete year of luck in training and being lucky enough with health, employment, and personal life is also necessary.”
What this also means is that the riders are hoping for eight days in a row of good fortune on the bike. Not being hurt, not becoming dehydrated, not becoming sunburned, and not wrecking the bike. A lot of luck is required.
“Every year, the field gets stronger, quicker, more equipped, and more ready,” Gale says.
As for Steyn, the challenge of the race is motivation enough.
“I will try and do it until something outside of my power stops me.”
