CAPE EPIC: With Dextro Energy* in the toughest mountain bike race in the world
Almost $4,000 entry fee. 1,100 participants. 681 kilometers route. 16,900 meters altitude. These are the numbers for the toughest mountain bike stage race in the world in South Africa: Cape Epic. Two words that represent unimaginable challenges. Two words that mean the world to many mountain bikers.
But for two men they mean much more.
Our story begins on July 12, 2010. On that day, Elmar Sprink's heart simply stops beating. Although his wife and a neighboring doctor were able to revive the then 38-year-old, an unimaginable odyssey began for Elmar. He has to wait two years for a donor heart while his condition worsens. The new heart will be inserted into him on June 8, 2012. His condition afterwards?
“It took me over half an hour to walk 400 meters at the beginning,” says Elmar, thinking back to his first attempts to walk around three months after the operation. It wasn't until July 2012 that he was released from the hospital after lying in bed for more than 189 days.
After that, the following applies to him, who was active as a triathlete and Ironman before the cardiac arrest: The body has to slowly get used to the strain, the heart fights for its life. And it wins. Elmar is getting stronger and stronger again, his stamina is improving, his will to push himself to his limits and far beyond them is returning.
And how: Since 2013, the “fittest heart transplant recipient in the world” has completed over 100 endurance events. He took part in the tough Transalpine Run and the legendary Ironman in Hawaii and became world triathlon champion at the World Transplant Games in Malaga in 2017 and 2019. In 2017 he also competed in the Cape Epic stage race for the first time.
What he doesn't yet know: fate will bring him back to this place just five years later. At his side was a person who also fell and got up again to achieve the unimaginable.
At Easter 2017, Peter Schermann suffered a severe stroke at the age of just 29. A friend who happened to be visiting called the emergency number and saved Peter's life. The high-performance athlete and mountain bike marathoner then fights his way back to life. His biggest challenge off the track. And he masters it.
THE ROAD TO CAPE EPIC 2022: TWO WHO FOUND EACH OTHER
Also in 2017, Elmar Sprink, who is now gaining his first mountain bike racing experience, wants to take part in the Transalp, the legendary crossing of the Alps on a mountain bike. When Elmar's partner was unavailable three days before the tour, he found a replacement through their shared cycling sponsor Peter Schermann. The two hit it off straight away; they are connected by their medical history, their passion for endurance sports and their absolute will to overcome any challenge.
The Transalp in July 2017, less than three months after Peter's stroke, was a human and sporting success. And the two of them can also impress as a team at the Swiss Epic, the Swiss version of Cape Epic, in 2020. By then it was clear: the mountain bike Olympus must be the next goal. Cape Epic is calling. And in 2022 the time has finally come.
CAPE EPIC: THE TOUR DE FRANCE OF MOUNTAIN BIKERS
Imagine there is a mountain bike race that covers 92 km. That torments you over 2,850 meters in altitude. At more than 40 degrees in the shade. Imagine a mountain bike race that is so hard that not everyone who starts with you finishes. And then imagine that this race was only the first of seven stages. Welcome to Cape Epic in South Africa.
Actually, the slogan of this probably most important and guaranteed toughest stage race on the mountain bike says it best: The race that measures all. Roughly translated as: The race that separates the wheat from the chaff. Participation costs $4,000 and starting places sell out within hours every year. Anyone who is not on the starting list for the Cape Epic can only qualify through the tough other races in the Epic Series. Be it 4Islands MTB in Croatia, the Andorra MTB Classic in the Pyrenees, the Swiss Epic in Switzerland or the 4-day stage races “Cape to Cape”, “Reef to Reef” and “Port to Port” in Australia: who shines here , is allowed to go to South Africa. And then experience the sheer mountain bike madness there in a team of two.
Cape Epic 2022 demanded everything from the 1,100 participants over a length of 681 kilometers and an altitude of 16,900 meters. Teams of two drivers competed to master this incredible challenge. The prologue on the first day – 24 km distance, 700 meters in altitude – was more treacherous than it looked on paper. This was followed by seven major stages. Right from the first one, some people realize that Cape Epic is different. Some give up. Or fall behind. Victory is far away.
ELMAR, PETER AND DEXTRO ENERGY* AT CAPE EPIC 2022
Elmar and Peter weren't interested in winning at the Cape Epic 2022. It was about achieving the goal. The big question: How would Elmar's heart play out?
“Other heart transplant recipients would last a few minutes at most. The problem with a donor heart is that the nerve connections don’t grow back,” says Elmar. In other words: the donor heart cannot adapt to loading and unloading as quickly as other hearts. Elmar's speed, his pace, is different than that of the other drivers.
Peter, who is competing for Germany in the Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships and takes part in races worldwide as part of the “Embrace the World” team, has to adapt to this pace, motivate Elmar and transport the equipment.Iso Drink , energy bars and liquid gels from Dextro Energy* included. The perfect fuel for two exceptional athletes.
“Elmar has to be as light as possible,” says Peter. This is the only way they can function as a team despite the differences in performance.
And from the prologue on day 1 of the Cape Epic it becomes clear: they work.
CAPE EPIC 2022. DAY 1. THE PROLOGUE
24 km, start at Lourensford winery. Elmar and Peter are highly motivated, the bikes are set up perfectly, the weather is good. While some people have had to struggle with defects or falls, the prologue is a piece of cake for both of them. Nevertheless, they are experienced enough to know: That was just the beginning. And tomorrow will be hard.
CAPE EPIC 2022. DAY 2. STAGE 1
“Hey, that's the Epic,” says Cape Epic founder Kevin Vermaak when asked about the incredible difficulty of the stage race. And the first stage proves just how epic this is. Highest level of difficulty. MTB challenges on dusty, uneven ground. Scorching heat. Miserably hard climbs. Plural. Peter and Elmar struggle over 92 kilometers and 2,850 meters in altitude. Challenges like the “Scaling King's Climb” and “Die Nek” not only sound almost mystical, they are also incredibly brutal. The first stage separates the wheat from the chaff. Many have to give up here. As I said: The race that measures all.
Elmar and Peter are tested. And they come through. Well supplied with Dextro Energy* products, they master the first stage. From now on everything will be easier. Or?
CAPE EPIC 2022. DAY 2. STAGE 2
Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. The second stage is almost in no way inferior to the first. 123 kilometers. 2,350 meters altitude. And again: brutal climbs, enormous temperatures and a surface that demands everything from you, meter by meter. If your fitness, concentration and constitution are not right, you will fail.
Stage 2 literally brings Elmar to his knees. After 67 kilometers he suddenly feels exhausted. The back hurts. Elmar doesn't know how he will master this stage of the Cape Epic, how he will last the next three hours on the mountain bike. In the end he sits on the MTB for another five hours. He and Peter drag themselves to the stage finish. Giving up is not an option. A silver lining on the horizon: Elmar's organization in advance was optimal. After stage 2, the two of them do not sleep in a tent at the start and finish like other riders, but in comfortable accommodation. A few massages, Dextro Energy* recovery products and lots of sleep later, stage 3 is coming up. Peter and Elmar are still there. The two exceptional athletes also mastered this unfavorable day together.
CAPE EPIC 2022. STAGES 3 TO 6
The stages become shorter and sometimes even a little easier. In the mountains, clouds drive away the almost unbearable heat and Peter and Elmar are spared from falls and mishaps. Material and drivers are in top shape. They rush through the impressive landscape and make good progress; the Cape Epic means well to them.
Until the night before the sixth stage. Peter is plagued by a viral infection and spends the night on the toilet. He survives the worst with cola, pretzels and medication, but the sixth stage is still torture. In the evening Peter is plagued by chills. And Elmar knows: If he gets infected, it's over for him. A viral infection would be the certain end of the Cape Epic 2022 for the heart transplant recipient. But everything is going well. With the big finale in mind, the two athletes persevere. Sometimes you just need a little more willpower and luck to persevere and overcome even the toughest challenges. This is also the epic.
CAPE EPIC 2022. THE LAST DAY. STAGE 7
Another 68 kilometers. Another 2,000 meters in altitude. The final stage is upon us. Elmar and Peter have already completed 613 kilometers. They climbed 14,900 meters in altitude. The reward: the entry into Val de Vie, the destination of 835 of the 1,100 drivers who lined up a week ago to achieve incredible things. In Val de Vie, laughter returns to the faces of the athletes. Here they fall into each other's arms - or simply fall to the ground exhausted. Anyone who drives into Val de Vie knows: The Epic tested me. And I passed.
The fittest heart transplant recipient in the world and his passionate team partner are among them. When three-time mountain bike marathon world champion Alban Lakata puts the medals on their shoulders, it is also a statement: We are here. We did this. We have overcome all difficulties. On the route. And off the track. Because that is also the Epic: much more than just a mountain bike race.
*Contains carbohydrates
A varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.
SOURCES
Jens Voegele, westsiders.de , report from Cape Epic 2022
PHOTO CREDITS
all pictures: Elmar Sprink and Peter Schermann
