Adventurer Riaan Manser and his wife Vasti take on the race they have grown to love – the Absa Cape Epic
Riaan Manser is about as adventurous as you get: his bearded features first became familiar to South Africans as they watched from afar while he rode a bicycle around Africa and then circumnavigated Madagascar by kayak.
Then it was off to Iceland for another testing circumnavigation by kayak.
Next he took to a tiny boat with then fiancé Vasti Geldenhuys and they rowed across the massive Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to New York. And after they got married earlier this year they crossed the treacherous section of the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii by rowboat.
So what is it about the Epic that keeps him coming back?
“Firstly it means I can have a super challenging week but still be ‘home’. And, probably most significantly, I am not away for two years trying to do something like circumnavigating the African continent,” Riaan says.
In spite of this year’s setback, Vasti will be on the starting line alongside Riaan: “The Epic draws you back into its clutches every year. When you have tasted how it feels when you cross that finish line … there are not many things that can make you feel such accomplishment,” she says. “When Riaan and I crossed that finish line in 2015 I wanted to go back, and even though I broke my hip in 2016 I still want to go back. You just can’t help it.”
Is he looking forward to becoming an Amabubesi rider?
“Very much so. Apart from the pride of completing three Epics, the memories we have made over these years have been awesome.”
What are their objectives for the race? “I cycle because it keeps me in shape,” responds Vasti. “Riaan and I train each year for the Epic, but do not do many MTB races in the rest of the calendar year (our rowing keeps us busy). For me, I would like to finish the race with Riaan. Even if it is as team 600 I’ll be proud.”
WHAT & WHEN: The Absa Cape Epic takes place from March 19 to 26 next year. It consists of a prologue and seven stages and is raced by two-person teams. The 2017 route will take riders through 691 km of Western Cape countryside and up a lot of hills: the accumulated vertical gain over the eight days will be 15 400m.
