Riding and Racing in South Africa!

With Covid (hopefully) well and truly in the rear-view mirror now and the world getting back to a sense of normality a timely invite dropped onto the doormat of IMB HQ. Wine to Whales, a 3 day stage race in South Africa organised by the “Epic “team responsible for a bunch of other big ticket events including Cape Epic - South Africa, Swiss Epic – Switzerland, 4 Islands – Croatia, Andorra Classic – Pyrenees, Cape to Cape – Australia as well as others. Let’s face it, that’s a large slice of pedigree there in putting on large professionally run races, pretty tempting.

This 3 day event is a little different on closer inspection. It still has all the “big event” feel with professional catering, accommodation, and everything else that goes with a big event. But the vibe they promote is far more chilled out and what the locals like to call “serious GEES”. Gees is an Afrikaans word meaning “spirit”, in this context it’s the spirit of MTB camaraderie, fun, like minded people doing the stuff that makes them smile and virtually giving everyone in the event a fist bump. 

Sure, the racing is full gas at the front but there are also lots of folks taking part for the laughs and grin factor. The beers and banter between the stages, the afternoon and evening chat replaying back the tuff ups and the glorious downs of the fantastic trails that cover this part of the world.

W2W has been around since 2009 so has enough years under its belt to have ironed out the bugs, coupled with the fact South Africa is just coming into summer the chances of blue skies and dry trails is pretty high. It had also been a while since we had an international race number board on the bar, but this felt as good an opportunity as any to “get back at it” so we booked up the flights and blew the cobwebs off the bike bag. 

The format is no different to many stage races, it’s a pairs event so go grab your partner or a like minded buddy that’s willing to share the fun. I looked no further than Dean Camier who has accompanied me on plenty of other similar events and doesn’t mind towing me round and shouting encouragement when my legs and lungs start to give up. 

Wine not?

The three day event kicks off at the Lourensford wine estate where the route takes us over the single and double tracks to the Oak Valley estate. Here we recover, refuel and spend the night. Day 2 loops round the Oak Valley area which is covered in sublime trails and views which lead back to the Oak Valley estate for more refuelling and resting. On the third day the trails bring us down to the coastal town of Hermanus famed at this time of the year for whale spotting (hence the Wine to Whales name). The best thing is all the venues are situated within about an hour drive of Cape Town so easy to get to if flying in. 

In order to pull off the spectacular feat of putting up an event with close to 1200 riders, the organisers split the racing in three different groups aptly named after wines. The Chardonnay event is the 1st running from Friday to Sunday, then Pinotage Monday to Wednesday and finally the Shiraz Friday to Sunday again. The Chardonnay hosts the Women pro race, Pinotage the ebike main race and Shiraz the men pros. The rest of the field consists of everyone else, regular folks making up 600 teams per event.

I completely get how this format will work both for riders and event organisers, getting the most use from all the expense and effort of setting up the race village. It’s a huge amount of infrastructure required to cater for 1200 riders + event staff, massage area, bike wash, tents, catering, chill out areas etc, acres of everything required to make a great place to hang out and make the event run well.

XC Warriors

Anyone that’s been to this part of South Africa will know that XC riding and racing is in the DNA of the place. Pretty consistent dry weather, varied terrain, quality climbs and descents with mile upon mile of world class singletrack has meant it’s a well known training ground for pro riders and teams as well as a great place to holiday and ride. 

For the average non-local faced with the challenge “where do I stay, and where should I ride” an event like W2W is an ideal way to shortcut all that hassle and just join a pre-baked “it’s all organised for you” event. Each day is around the 70km mark so spot on and achievable for most people but still tough enough to be a challenge whether racing full gas or 1st go at a multi-day event. 

Before you head into the race, the day prior to rolling up to the starting line you chill at the picture postcard Lourensford wine estate. Here you sign up, get your race plate and get some time to head into the actual area where the massive containers of wine are stored. Industrial engineering meets architectural beauty with masses of stainless steel pipes and vats, an area behind the scenes that you wouldn’t normally get to see. Besides the obvious abundance of wine, there’s cold beers, food, huge lounging bean bags dotted around the immaculate lawns, music playing and sun shining. I can’t imagine a better way to prepare for a MTB race! 

Stage 1 Lourensford Wine Estate to Oak Valley Estate. 72km 1500m of elevation.

The riders are pre categorised into groups of around 100 people. Each group gets about a 15 minute gap ahead of the next making sure everyone can enjoy the singletracks and not get stuck in ‘traffic’.

After breakfast we packed our bags for the local DHL crew to collect. As we were making our way to Oak Valley estate by bike, they would take care of our luggage. Pretty smooth! 

The commentary team are talking us through today’s stage and some of the specific new trails they have been working on over the last few months. There is so much work in the area maintaining and carving out new singletrack it's unreal, even the locals get to ride new stuff every year. 

Clicking off the km’s, we can see the Gantouw pass appears in the distance. This world heritage site is a key feature to the Wines2Whales, it is situated at the top of Sir Lowry’s pass and is famous for the ruts carved in the sandstone by the ox wagons locked wheels as they were dragged over the terrain. 

This was the only route through the Hottentots Holland Mountains until Sir Lowry’s pass was constructed in the early 19th Century. This is a portage and riders’ must walk their bikes, the only time in the race. The ox wagon tracks are clearly visible, and we climb our way up and over the pass. 

The effort is rewarded with a spectacular view of the Elgin region below as we snake our way down towards the Protea trail. More well groomed trails follow with some fast high bermed sections into the finish at Oak Valley Estate. All in all an amazing first day with blue skies and epic trails. Having dropped our bikes with the mechanic we collect our rider bags and head to the tented village. 

As part of the entry everyone gets an individual tent. If you’re no big fan of tents you can also upgrade to a luxury tent with daily fresh towels, camp bed, carpeted flooring, bedside lamp and table are a welcome sight. There is plenty of space to lay your kit out in some sort of order. This saves the usual routine of emptying the entire contents of my bag in a “recon” mission for the favourite pair of gloves for the following day. Next up was a trip to the massage tent, grab some food and then hit the chill out zone for a cold beer.

Stage 2 Oak Valley Estate to Oak Valley Estate. 68 km 1250m of elevation.

The route takes us through Paul Cluver wine estate making the riding into a sightseeing tour at the same time!. We pass right by the estate restaurant set in the backdrop of Groenlandberg mountains. While behind the glass guests are dining and sampling South Africa’s finest wines we pass by sweaty and covered in dust. As I whizz past I make a mental note to return later in the week to have a bit of that ourselves.

The route takes us over many bridges past a massive dam and through multiple gorgeous forests. So many fantastic trails again today, even a long pontoon bridge over a lake. Pretty cool day out with some fast flowing singletrack bringing you right into the finish line.

We return back in the Oak Valley Estate again where the luxury tent has our name on it. Happy that we made it past the halfway point without any big spills or mechanical problems too. One day to go! 

Stage 3 Oak Valley Estate to Curro Hermanus. 65km 1000m of elevation.

Last day heading out of the race village and we are on our way down to the coast. Some sandy fast trails today mid stage but the highlight for us has got to be the last 7 km on the Onrus River trail. All slightly downhill, hard-pack, fast and flowing all the way to the finish line. What a fantastic way to end a great 3 days of riding!

Finishing off

This 3-day event is a perfect introduction to stage racing. A super relaxed atmosphere, world class trails, incredible scenery, hospitality and #SeriousGees this is a great event even if you’re not of too competitive nature.

When you reach the finish, you’re right at the beach, ready to do some whale watching with a cold one in hand. Really bringing in that vacation feeling to it all. 

For 2023, the event will run in reverse from Hermanus to Lourensford. New trails are being developed all the time on top of the vast amount of already established ones, we can’t wait to find out what’s in store next year. Well done to the Epic team for creating this “mini epic” event. We loved it. 

To find out more or just to secure your entry into the 2023 event visit https://www.epic-series.com/wines2whales.

By IMB

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