Rainmaker RollerCoaster
Posted By Gravel Union
On the 17th October 2019
Event Title:
Rainmaker RollerCoaster
Date:
05.10 - 11.10.2019
Distance:
Stage 1 - 28km
Stage 2 - 97km
Stage 3 - 109km
Stage 4 - 111km
Stage 5 - 53km
Stage 6 - 106km
Stage 7 - 90km
Location:
Swellendam > Plettenberg Bay
Country:
South Africa
Altitude Gain:
approx. 10,000m over all
% of Gravel:
95%
Bike Ridden:
Ribble CGR SL
Tyre Width:
38mm
Organised by HotChillee, the Rainmaker RollerCoaster is both a gravel stage race and a genuine adventure in an incredible location. Fully supported with tented accommodation each night, you can race in a pair, solo or just ride at your own pace. Although the landscapes are vast and the wildlife big, the event is small, relaxed and informal.
Racing as a pair, I partnered up with Siphé Ncapayi, a 19-year old development rider from the Kwano Cycling Academy. I’d met Siphé when I’d ridden the event recce in 2018 and the Kwano riders had joined us for the final day. I knew from then that he was a strong rider and hoped he’d be kind to me as I was more than twice his age!
Stage 1, following the three-hour transfer from Cape Town to Swellendam and bike fettling, was a shake down prologue. It was a stunning evening ride through the Bontebok Park, where we rode alongside giraffes, ostriches and tailgated wildebeest on a 60 kph descent. Siphé and I went hard and put 3:47 into the second placed pairing from the Velokhaya Cycling Academy.
Stage 2 was a two-part loop. After a 20km neutralised roll-out, the racing was fast and furious on a stunning and continuously undulating ribbon of gravel. I don’t remember a single flat section all day! The constantly rolling gravel soon thinned us out into a lead group of three teams, us, Velokhaya and Songezo Academy. Our group stayed together, averaging over 36kph, to the neutralised river crossing at Malgas but Siphé had lost a bottle and, while waiting for the hand-pulled ferry to load, he was playing re-hydration catch-up.
After the crossing, the pace lifted even more for the final 30km and cramp struck Siphé hard. The other teams attacked, averaged over 45kph, and slashed our lead to 35 seconds by the end of the stage. We knew what had gone wrong though and were confidant of making amends the next day.
Stage 3 left Swellendam and headed to Riversdale. Along with other lumps and bumps, the significant obstacle of the day was a climb christened Alpe D’Huez. Climbing 400m over 3.5km with ramps over 25% and the roughest gravel on the steepest pitches, it was where we planned to make our move.
A steep boulder strewn field followed by a steep technical descent split the field and, until the foot of the Alpe, with just under 70km ridden, we were in a group of eight riders including our closest rivals from Velokhaya. Siphé lit it up on the opening slopes and we shed everyone apart from the Velokhaya pair. We squeezed more on the steepest pitch, I was right on my limit, but finally we split them.
We ripped down a blisteringly fast descent, the RollerCoaster was living up to its moniker, and, having established what we hoped would be a stage winning gap, ground our way through the horribly lumpy final 30km. We finished on fumes but, although we’d found it tough, others had found it tougher. We won the stage by 19:43 over Velokhaya and extended our lead on GC to just over 20 minutes.
Stage 4 could be summarised as a desert crossing bookended by two mountain passes. The first, the Garcia Pass, was a stunning road climb that wouldn’t look out of place in the Alps or the Dolomites. After that, we turned off the tarmac and onto a rolling strip of gravel that snaked into the distance, weaving a pallid white line through the reds and oranges of the Klein Karoo desert. The second climb, a gravel monster, was the 8km Rooiberg Pass. A stunning climb, reminiscent of the Atlas Mountains, it had multiple false summits and, with a heat-addled brain, I stupidly tried to split the group but only succeeded in leaving Siphé isolated.
The descent off the Rooiberg was rocky and technical and I knew that the Velokhaya boys, who’d opted for MTB’s, would rip down it. The temptation was to chase hard but I figured a puncture or crash would cost us more time and so we took it steady. Once back on the flat, we chased hard and, despite my tactical blunder, limited our losses to just 2 minutes.
Stage 5 was effectively a 2-up Gravel Time Trial and, despite being billed as a recovery day, we decided to take advantage of the flat and short stage to try and bolster our lead. Coming from a track and time trial background, I knew it’d suit me. This was unlike Stage 6, which had multiple climbs and, although I can ride rollers well and usually have one or two bigger climbs in my legs, I’m 80kg and the profile filled me with dread - I knew we might well need a cushion.
We blasted it and managed to get in just minutes before a downpour that was the first rain in Oudtshoorn for 7 weeks. The sodden Velokhaya team came in 16:44 after us and, although delighted with our ride, I’d gone pretty deep and my stomach seemed a bit unsettled. As we sat on the veranda, watching giraffe and springbok, I just hoped that the 34:57 we had on GC would be enough given the profile of the final racing day to come.
After a freezing desert night, my stomach felt decidedly odd at breakfast and I didn’t set off on Stage 6 feeling very confident. The other factor that had been thrown into the mix was that, with her African Cup race having been cancelled, we’d been joined by top pro rider Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and her ex-pro triathlete husband Carl Pasio. It was obvious from the start that Ashleigh wanted a decent training hit-out and, once the flag dropped, was drilling it on the front.
With rising temperatures, an inability to keep any food or drink down and a relentless pace on the climbs, the writing was on the wall. I popped once, Siphé got me back on, but then I popped again and we were dropped.
For the remaining 30km, it was a case of crisis management and damage limitation. If it hadn’t been for the amazingly beautiful trails we were riding and Siphé nursing and encouraging me, I would have ground to a complete halt. Despite the 30C temperature, goosebumps on my arms and legs, increasing nausea and headache all indicated I was becoming really dehydrated. However, we made it to the finish and the marshal reckoned we were only 10 minutes back.
We still had another 10km on tarmac to cover though to get to camp and, with more hills, more wind and our fatigue, it seemed to take an eternity. When we did finally get in, I really wasn’t feeling good and any attempts to drink resulted in me being sick. Finally, the race medics intervened, put me on a drip and, as it worked its magic, I found out that we’d only lost 9:43 and had won the race by a final margin of 25:14. I rallied for the awards that night and it felt great to stand on the top step of the podium with Siphé. We’d ridden far from the perfect race but the course, his company and the simply stunning South African gravel had made it the most memorable event I’d ever taken part in.
Stage 7 was a neutralised processional ride to Plettenberg Bay, taking in Siphé’s home of Kwanokuthula, visiting his school and the Kwano Cycling Academy and seeing a Qhubeka bike handover that had been facilitated by the Buffalo Foundation and Rainmaker who support the event. However, once it’d been confirmed that there was no need for me to ride for our win to stand, the medics, based on the fact that I was still not feeling 100% and it was forecast to be 30C+, refused to let me ride.
I was gutted but knew how deep I’d gone yesterday and, although sure that I could have limped through, the point of the day was a fun social ride, not a suffer fest. Riding the stage in a support vehicle, I was even more disappointed as the scenery and the trails were some of the best that the RollerCoaster had delivered. A seemingly endless descent through a gorge that resembled a film set, breathtaking ridge lines and wonderfully smelling pine forests.
The 2020 Rainmaker RollerCoaster will take place between October 3rd and October 9th and entries open on October 18th 2019.
Whether you intend to race or ride, it’s a gravel adventure that’s genuinely unique.
The route is being further refined and improved for 2020 and will offer a full seven stages of racing.
For more details go to https://www.hotchillee.com/event/rainmaker-rollercoaster/
Photos @DanielHughes
