South Africa, 617 kilometers of race ahead and 16,500 meters of positive elevation gain, that's what Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro, two Italians who have some experience in the Cape, have faced. Some will say "how could they not", and rightly so, as this was the eighth edition that Fabian had the pleasure of enjoying on the bike and the second for the pair from the Wilier - Vittoria MTB Factory Team.
The Cape is one of the events of the year, the race par excellence that every biker wants to compete and share, as hard as beautiful, and for a few days South Africa becomes a waste of pride, sweat, tears, dreams and bike, a lot of bike. Among all these are those of Samuele and Fabian, for whom this edition has had something special, "I would say that it has been the edition with the most fun trails of the last eight years".It has been hot and intense. With so many solid teams and no big mistakes by anyone, the race is full of adrenaline".
Despite so many editions behind him, Fabian, is open to surprise, "it's always very special and it feels a bit "new" because you never know what to expect, anything can happen...". The reality is that if we listen to him talking about the career he has made with his partner, it is evident that in the Cape Epic anything can happen.
To finish with a good taste in our mouths, we leave the best for last. The 2nd stage did not leave a good memory, neither for Samuele nor for Fabian, and despite a bad start, the couple managed to achieve the initial objective, to find the leading group. However, a surprise, in this case dressed as a problem exploded, and never better said, because it was a puncture that was to blame for having to measure the pace until they could change the wheel in the service area. This affected them, both in time and energy for the rest of the stages. The 5th stage was not at all pleasant for Samuele either, who suffered the consequences of a stomach virus that plagued him throughout the day.
But if we talk about stages, we also have to talk about the 6th and 8th, the two best for our protagonists, Fabian and Samuele respectively, and it is not that we say so, it is that they have said so themselves, "we were finally where we wanted and we could fight for the victory. It was very exciting to finish second on the podium, we did not expect it, as we had had some health problems the previous days", Fabian regarding the sixth stage, "we went out without any pressure, we rode well the penultimate stage and we placed in a solid 5th place overall. We gained positions from the back to the podium", Samuele tells us about the eighth stage. However, this was not enough to get a place among the top three in the overall classification, and although at first the pair of the Wilier - Vittoria MTB Factory Team Although at the beginning the Vittoria MTB couple saw it possible, the Cape has this magic, sometimes for and sometimes against, that at any moment everything can change, which did not deprive them of continuing to enjoy themselves on the bike.
Finally, they leave us an advice for anyone who wants to face one of the races, with capital letters, of the world scene, and it is the perseverance, keep going despite any obstacle or problem that may be in the way, because the goal is always to pedal, pedal and pedal, both in the Cape and in the Cape. Epic as in life itself.
