Last but not least

2015-03-22

Thabo Mamatshele lifted his bike above his head and gave a mighty roar. The 32-year-old rider was the 2015 Absa Cape Epic’s final finisher at the ultimate stage of the eight-day mountain bike race on Sunday.  Family and friends swamped him, giving him bear hug after bear hug. 

“It had been touch and go,” he said. “I got sick last night and didn’t have my legs today so I just prayed that I would finish the Epic. I’m glad that I made it, but I’m sad my partner didn’t.” Mamatshele’s partner, Sefiso Mkhabela, was forced out of event on Friday after falling ill. Would Mamatshele be back to ride next year? He shook his head. “Not even if you paid me a million bucks,” he said.  “It’s a draining event and don’t want to put my body through that again.”

There were hugs, fist bumps and tears as Absa Cape Epic mountain bikers crossed the finish line for the final time. Many people believe that this has been one of – if not the – toughest race since the first Epic 12 years ago. The race has had its share of thrills at the front end of the pack which have included sprint finishes and tough racing. It’s also had plenty of drama at the back, with one rider beating the maximum stage time by a single second on Stage 1 and a couple who collapsed with 30 seconds to spare on Stage 2. There was even some concern on Sunday that some riders may miss the final maximum stage time, which would have been a first in Epic history, but none did.

The final team home was Team Dripoot’s members Reuben van Niekerk, an amputee, and Dagmar Muhlbauer, who clocked up 63 hours 39 minutes in the saddle since the Prologue almost 800km ago – a mere 32 hours and 39 minutes behind the yellow zebra  jersey team of Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy, who finished in 31 hours.

Muhlbauer was too emotional to speak.  Van Niekerk, riding with a prosthetic limb after losing his leg in a motorbike accident in 2008, beamed from ear-to-ear when he crossed the line yesterday.

“Everything is hurting,” he said. “It’s been tough. I almost missed the maximum stage time twice so it was such a relief to cross the line today,” he said, adding that he had been overwhelmed by the support he had received from people from all over the country.   

“I will have a few beers to celebrate. I learnt a lot about myself in the last eight days – I learnt that even when you are in such a deep hole, you can find the energy to get home.”

This was Van Niekerk’s second Epic finished - and even he wasn’t prepared to commit to riding next year.