Masters Champions Team Bridge/Momsen - A Manager's Tale
The 2013 ABSA Cape Epic certainly lived up to it's name, celebrating ten years of existence with one of the toughest editions ever.
I was fortunate enough to assume the role of team manager and soigneur to Team Bridge/Momsen consisting of Nico Pfitzenmaeier and Abraao Azevedo who won the Telkom Business Masters title finishing and outstanding 11th overall. Given that these guys are well into their forties, their combined performance was amazing and certainly showed their younger competitors a thing or two about patience and tactical nous.
Combined with an alternate approach to nutrition and wellness, many a contending team would do well to take note of the non-conformist approach to multi-stage racing, raw diet and holistic life values in general.
Nico is a vegan as well as a yoga expert while Abraao is a cycling coach in Brazil. They met on the podium of the World Masters X-Country Championships last year and decided to team up for a serious assault on the Telkom Business Master title this year. With their collective experience, it was always going to tough to beat them but their competitors certainly provided stiff opposition.
Team Juwi's Carsten Bresser and Udo Boelts held the lead for much of the early stages and were looking extremely formidable until a wrong turn and subsequent course deviation led to their very unfortunate disqualification.
This certainly wasn't the manner in which Nico and Abraao intended to take the jersey but good sportsmanship prevailed. Carsten and Udo were philosophical and didn't seem too stressed; their attitude was exemplary and, along with their support crew Roger and Liz, were awesome neighbours in the Wellington mobile home village.
Speaking of neighbours, we had the rather humorous experience of being parked next Team Multivan-Merida in Tulbagh. Rudi van Houts and Jose Hermida are always laughing and joking and this certainly rubs off on their staff.
5:30am starts with dance music and laughter in the Merida camp. Hermida used a Camelbak as a punching bag one morning to demonstrate his agility ending up with the bladder bursting with water all over the place! Their mechanics and soigneurs are a mix of Germans and Spaniards, who would listen to a radio comedy show every morning at 8am breaking out in fits of laughter for an hour or so.
A vegan approach to recovery set Team Bridge/Momsen apart with none of the conventional sports nutrition products evident in the camper's pantry. Instead, a healthy dose of Enduren and carefully made natural smoothies kept Nico and Abraao fueled throughout preserving their bodies immune system and ensuring no health problems creeping in halfway through the week.
Recovery smoothies were prepared in a juicer and consisted of a combination of beetroots, carrots, apples, oranges, grapefruits, lemons and a touch of ginger. This would be followed by a green juice, involving a top secret recipe known only to members in the Team Bridge/Momsen camp!
Afternoons would involve massage followed by a lunch based largely on potatoes, rice, lentils and green salad topped with one of Nico's vegan sauces.
Well done to all Epic finishers and staff. The end of the Cape Epic usually signals the beginning of autumn; hibernation for some and more racing for others. Whatever your choice, do it with passion.
Below are a random assortment of photos taken throughout the week.
Thanks to all our sponsors and in particular Roland Williams from Momsen Bikes, who made a daily trek out from Cape Town to lend support. Chapeau.
