10 BURNING QUESTIONS WITH MARISKE STRAUSS

The top South African female finisher at the 2017 Absa Cape Epic was Mariske Strauss of the Hansgrohe Cadence OMX Pro team. She and teammate, Annie Last of England, spent the entire race in third place overall, but fortune favoured them on Stage 6 when pre-race favourites, Robyn de Groot and Sabine Spitz (Ascendis Health) lost over 30 minutes trying to repair a broken handlebar.

This lengthy delay saw Strauss and Last leapfrog Ascendis Health into second place on the General Classification with one stage remaining. A position they comfortably held to the end

For a double celebration, Strauss and Last also won Stage 6, crossing the line with the widest smiles and were involved in a close sprint with Ascendis Health on the final stage, losing out narrowly on the stage win.

By Sean Badenhorst

Photos: Dino Lloyd

This was your third Cape Epic and your best finish. You’re the South African XCO champion. Will your focus remaining firmly on XCO or might you migrate more towards marathon racing?

My love will always be XCO and I still have a heap of goals still to achieve before I’ll be ready to part with it. But nothing stops me from doing the odd marathon race when it fits into my calendar.

What was your primary objective before you and Annie started the 2017 Cape Epic and did you achieve that?

Well seeing as we haven’t ever raced together before and it’s the first time Annie did a stage race like Epic, we went in very open-minded and the plan was more to see what we can do and where we slotted in. My goal was definitely to get a podium, but second on GC and a stage win was an amazing bonus.

You were on the stage podium on six out of the eight stages – Three thirds, two seconds and a win. Your sponsors (OMX Pro/Silverback/Cadence) must have been really happy with that?

I am supper happy and yes I think it’s safe to say they are just as happy as we are. It is after all a team effort so it’s just as much their success as it is ours.

A total of 23 women’s teams finished this year’s Cape Epic – a new record. The number that entered was 27 teams (equal to the 2013 highest number). These numbers are encouraging, but there’s still a huge difference to the men’s teams. What do you feel is the biggest barrier to this number growing?

Well, from where we started it has grown in leaps and bounds and it is super exciting to see. I think having the equal prize money was a massive step into the right direction and then having the same media coverage plays a HUGE roll. Hansgrohe gave us a great platform and I hope we can just build on what we have. The issue is that even if we have equal prize money to justify the expense to sponsors, we need the same media as the men otherwise they won’t see the return on investment they do from the men. But that said, it is moving in the right direction and massive thanks to all who are helping make that happen.

This was your first Cape Epic with the new separate women’s start. How much of an effect do you feel this has had on the women’s race?

Wow this made a MASSIVE difference, except for our little sprint incident at the finish of the last stage, everything ran smoothly. It levels the playing field and makes the women’s race ‘fair’. In the past it was a bit of a dogshow and if you could grab a strong men’s bunch that was pretty much the race. Now we can actually see proper racing, and super close at that. I think this was probably the most exciting racing we’ve seen in ages and that will boost the women’s racing even more…it’s something to watch and makes it exciting.

The average Cape Epic fan or spectator doesn’t see what goes on behind the scenes of the contender teams. Did you have any behind-the-scenes moments this year that are worth mentioning – either positive or negative?

Mmmm ha ha! Well not much to mention. We eat, sleep, massage then before you know it its time to head out on the bike again. The best was probably in Elandskloof where team Bulls (our neighbours) decided to have a watergun fight… I used my Cadence bottle!

This is your first Cape Epic teamed up with Annie Last. What are her strengths and would you team up with her again?

Well, Annie is an amazing technical rider, has a great personality and sense of humour, which is a necessity when doing something like the Epic. We are actually fairly closely matched, which makes racing together great fun. I would for sure love to team up with her again. I mean we made it through an Epic and came out better friends than we went. Looking forward what’s to come.

Which was your lowest moment at the 2017 Cape Epic?

Mmmm, that would probably have been Stage 5. I was chewing rocks and started in reverse going up the very first climb. Annie was a champ and nursed me through it all.

The shortening of Stage 2 created much controversy. We feel it changed the race and suited the XCO racers. Do you agree?

Well I actually enjoyed the longer stages, but it definitely made the racing a lot harder I think. It was a good day and feel it was a super tough call to make but was the right one. Not only for the rider safety but we are also in the middle of a drought, so well done Cape Epic, I know it must have been a super tough call to make.

 
What advice would you give to a female mountain biker that’s keen to tackle her first Cape Epic?

Train hard, take it one day at a time and enjoy the ride. It is such an amazing experience, but make sure you take it on with someone that you get along with; the Epic is like entering a marriage, teamwork to the end . Consistency is your friend especially when taking on the Epic.   

TREAD’s extensive coverage of the 2017 Absa Cape Epic, brought to you by Momsen Bikes. Follow us on twitter: @TreadMTBmag, Facebook: Tread – Mountain Biking with Soul and Instagram:@treadmtb

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