Right, you have around 120km to crank, from Calitzdorp to Riversdale … that sounds pretty do-able, right? Hmm, if you’re an MTB God, I mean, of course. Stage Racers do it every day, and all that.

But #TransCape is different. Chuck in a gruelling ‘King & Queen of the Mountain Stage’ up the girtty Rooiberg Pass, assorted undulating (read: pedal your arse off) gravel roads, a never-ending Badlands Loop, and a Garcia Pass section that sucks up every little bit of life left in those weary legs.

Sometimes an additional little 10kays gets chucked at you when you’re chasing riders who are off-route, but in the end, it all works out, and you get to Riversdale, the backmarkers literally by the skin of their teeth. And then you drink a beer. Or six. And suck up what tomorrow will dish up in the TransCape stakes.

Big up to Billy Stelling who toook 9min off Esther Suss and Sharon Laws today. That took huge cahunas, and the man still had the time to pull of elaborate hand signals in a skiddy gravel corner, and at 40km-plus an hour. Respect.

Click here to view the pics