Sahmurai Looking Sharp

2015-03-03

From 2007 to 2010 Germans Stefan Sahm and Karl Platt were the dominant team in the Absa Cape Epic: they won it three times and finished second in 2008.

But in mid-2011, after the Team Bulls pair had finished third in that year’s event, “Sahmurai” was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis and his form dipped. In 2012 they finished sixth overall and in 2013 the Team Bulls management paired Platt with Swiss strongman Urs Huber.

Whatever disappointment he might have felt at the time, Sahm appears to have put it behind him now and has entered the 2015 Absa Cape Epic with South African Timo Cooper.

He has been in strong form recently, winning the solo and overall categories at the Tankwa Trek and the Garden Route 300. He has also settled in Stellenbosch from his native Germany, and seems to be in a good place generally.

So is he over the thrombosis at last? “I think so,” he said this week. “The clot will be there forever, but it’s not bothering me … I’m used to it now.”

He is pleased with his form, which has been “very good”, but candidly accepts that his best years were from 2007 to 2010 and does not seem to have particular ambitions for the 2015 Absa Cape Epic.

“We’ll see how it goes. You know how the Epic is … it’s crazy: one day you are a superhero and the next you are fixing punctures all day.”

He has never raced as a teammate with Cooper, but “we’ve done lots of training together and I think we’ll make a good team”.

He and Cooper stuck together for parts of the Garden Route 300 and it obviously went well – winner Sahm was joined on the podium by second-placed Cooper.

Sahm is still a member of Team Bulls but its management has given him the go-ahead to join Cooper under the JAG Foundation banner in the 2015 Absa Cape Epic.

Part of 38-year-old Sahm’s recent revival may be his successful move from Germany to Stellenbosch, where things are “going very, very well”.

In spite of the “Sahmurai” nickname, the German appears to be of a fairly laid-back demeanour, and his sportsmanship over the years has won him many fans. They will be delighted to see him getting back into good form and taking part in the world’s premier mountain bike stage race.

* This year’s race takes place from 15 to 22 March and will once again take 1 200 riders through some of the Western Cape’s most unspoilt territory. The race kicks off with the Prologue in Table Mountain National Park, starting from the University of Cape Town, and finishes eight days later at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville.

Meerendal will host the finish of the race and the Grand Finale celebrations for the first time. The Grand Finale will kick off with live entertainment, a farmer’s market, great food and wine and unmatched scenery. Vantage points will be accessible to the general public. Entrance is free.