4-4-07 // Events: Greg Minnaar Conquers the Cape

Mark Squire

Last week Pietermaritzburg's Greg Minnaar, once again, tackled the famous Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race across the western Cape of South Africa. For the second time in two attempts he made it to the finish line after a grueling week of 7-hour days in the saddle, for a total of 886km.

This year Greg rode with top South African female cross-country racer, Hannele Steyn-Kotze, in the Mixed Category, and since he recently signing a sponsorship deal with adidas Shoes, rode as the adidas Team, number 27.

The first few days were tough on the pair, and with a total of six punctures, lost valuable ground early. Well outside the top 10 in their category early on, the pair fought back to finish 7th in category and 70th overall.

"The event was super tough, and a lot harder than the first year I rode it, with longer distances to cover and much more climbing. The event has also really grown a lot too. This is a really big deal now. It was good riding with Hannele as I learned a lot about how to eat while riding a 7-hour day, and how much it can help you with your endurance. I basically did this to support the event and for the challenge. It's not a strategic part of my downhill season preparation, but I think a little bit of extra fitness is never a problem!” remarked Greg.

In the final four days of the event, Greg and Hannele put in some big efforts to try and gain ground on some of the exhausted competitors, and this paid off with some good time gains. When asked if he would do it again Greg said, “Yah, for sure. Maybe next year I'll ride with a male competitor and try and mix it up with the top teams!”

For more event Info go to www.cape-epic.com