Claire Rushworth - team soigneur, Benno Willeit - team mechanic; Bobby Behan - team manager; Ryan Palmer - team mechanic and Christoph Sauser - team rider

Being at the the ABSA Cape Epic is like being at a business meeting! My perception, going into the race, was that the whole experience would be like any other South African mountain bike race-everyone chilling, relaxed atmosphere…you know, like a little laid back. How wrong I was. Having top riders and their crew/teams with them certainly raised the bar in terms of professionalism. There were and still are, big names at that event, which really does put a different spin on the vibe created around the Epic. They are all there on business. Just another day at the office.

Ryan Palmer, Christoph Sauser, Bobby Behan and Songo Fiphaza at the finish of the Prologue

I think the highlight of the whole thing was getting to spend a little bit of time with the Specialized Factory Team, which was a fantastic experience. Christoph and Burry have all the lime light, but honestly, if it wasnt for Claire Rushworth (team soigneur), Benno Willeit and Ryan Palmer (team mechanics)…and Bobby Behan (team manager)-it would never have been as comfortable and easy for songo.info. The riders simply arrive, eat, nap, get a rub…yes, they ride and they did/do exceptionally well, but the behind the scenes team is mind blowing….Benno and Ryan work on the bikes, getting them all ready for the next stage.  Claire Rushworth, is like the mom-she is my new hero. She does EVERYTHING-washing up, packing and unpacking of camper vans, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, rubbing…the list can go on forever. AND, she does it with a smile man!! Benno and Ryan tinker away on the bikes that have been ridden on, and you can just see that they love every minute of what they do. There was always a fantastic vibe around the campers, with rocking hip-hop tunes coming from the sound system Ryan and Benno rigged…the best was Benno’s disco ball-it made an appearance at every stage on the event.

Benno- ‘tinkering’

Bobby having a bit of a chillout session

Just some of the names on Benno’s toolbox that he has worked with in the past

The Prologue, Stage 1 and Stage 2 were some of the most awesome days. To watch the riders come past the vantage points was real exciting. The morning of stage 3 was just insane-the songo.info team had increased their lead and all look set for a positive Epic finish…its amazing how quickly excitement can turn into disappointment…it was like I had hit a brick wall. When Bobby sent me an sms to say “Burrys out” I thought it was a joke. My hear went out to Burry, tough discussion for him to make. He really did himself and South Africa so proud on that short Epic. SO much preparation for a race he didnt even plan to do. If you think  about it-he only decided to ride in Jan when Christoph asked him!! He is an amazing talent and a gem of a guy which South Africa needs to get behind-coz he is going places.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 6:19 am and is filed under categories: ABSA Cape Epic, Burry Stander, Cape Epic 2008 News and results, Christoph Sauser, South African Charity, bobby behan, buy kilometers, songo.info and tags: , Benno Williet, bobby behan, cape epic, Christoph Sauser, Claire Rushworth, Ryan Palmer, songo.info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.