More than 1,000 riders took to the trails of Southwest Western Australia for the 14th edition of the Cape to Cape — the first time the event has run at full capacity since pre-pandemic.
Cape to Cape took place in 2021, but WA’s border restrictions were still in place, meaning the race was essentially only open to folks living in the state. For 2022, riders from all over the country and beyond descended on the Margaret River region and pedalled with enthusiasm from the gun, for four days of racing on some of the best trails in the state.
With a stacked field, here’s how it all played out.
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Stage 1 | Cape Leeuwin | Ominous with the threat of mud
With so many riders from the east coast heading west for a reprieve from the never-ending cycle of La Nina, early in the day, it appeared the weather had followed them across the country.
Fortunately, the precipitation was only short-lived, and was just enough to pat down the top layer of dust — there was a collective sigh of relief that stage one wouldn’t be a repeat of the 2018 mud bog.
A small group of the usual suspects went off the front early, on Skippy Rock Road. Brendan Johnston and Jon Odams of Team Giant Shimano would then gap the breakaway group and ride off into the sunset for the stage win.
“It was good out there, the weather was a little ominous on the way down, but it turned out to be perfect. The little bit of rain that we had settled the dust, and we had really good dirt. Stage one is always really hard, and it’s got the most climbing, so we were happy to kind of get away, and then just manage our effort from there,” said Johnston
Jarrod Moroni and Peta Mullens of Roxsolt Rolla led into the singletrack in the mixed pairs. But Karl Michelin-Beard and Emma Viotto of Shimano MyRide picked up where they left off after Reef to Reef and crossed the line first for the mixed pairs, with Holly Harris and Mitch Docker of Team RCC coming in third.
Team DBBM, with Ella Bloor and Lucie van der Schalk, would take the victory for the Women’s pairs, making it back to the lighthouse nearly four minutes clear of Total Rush Off-Road pair Verita Stewart and Purdie Long, and Last Minuters Izzy Flint and Alexandra Durr rounding out the podium.
Cape to Cape is Bloor and van der Schalk’s first stage race together, and the pair was working well throughout the day.
“I’m pretty comfortable in a bunch coming from a road background, whereas Lucy is fresh from the EWS, and it’s her first time in lycra,” said Bloor. “So it’s a bit different, but we complement each other’s strengths, and we had a really good day out there.”
Stage Two | Boranup | The Highway to Hell
Stage 2 of the 2022 Cape to Cape took riders to Boranup for a 54km course, the longest of the four days.
Starting and finishing at Mr Barval Wines, the Boranup course is always a rider favourite, however, it looks a bit different to the last time the Cape to Cape came through. Boranup experienced a bushfire in late 2021, and the regrowth has kicked into overdrive around the trails.
There was plenty of drama out on the course, with the attacks coming hard and fast in the men’s pairs race, and the day would ultimately come down to a bunch sprint.
“It sort of unfolded how we were thinking it would. There was a big bunch onto the climb, we got a gap which became a selection after that — always after the Highway to Hell section where you turn onto the fire road, there’s always attacks there,” said Giant Shimano’s Odams. “We just marked the boys and made sure we had a little bit left in the tank. It was a nice little sprint at the end there.”
“It’s going well, that’s for sure. After three years, it’s great to be back, and it’s great to have a proper race. We’re loving it,” he said.
In the end, Giant Shimano would nose in ahead of Joel Green and Tali Lane Welsh (Trek Commtel) by just four seconds, with Reece Tucknott and Adam Blazevic (Giant Australia Off-Road) a minute behind in third.
The mixed pairs saw a shuffle in the GC, with Roxsolt Rolla finishing two minutes clear of Shimano MyRide, taking the overall lead. Team RCC would again take third place on the day.
“…We were with the elite men for 20km and then kind of started to separate around Highway to Hell. We sort of attacked on the descent, but Karl is so strong he’s able to pace Emma back and give her a bit of push. Then we went on the limestone over the top, I wasn’t that keen to, but Jarrod was like a dog with a bone,” said Mullins. “We wanted the stage win today, I think the next two stages really suit us, and I think we’ve put enough time in today for the green jersey, which is really nice.”
In the women’s pairs, it was one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. Third-place pair Team Last Minuters Durr experienced a broken derailleur and a slashed tyre, while Bloor and van der Schalk maintained their lead, despite an early crash in the bunch.
“It was all good, I just did a bit of tuck and roll,” said van der Schalk. “I’m pretty proud that Ella didn’t come off as well, I was more worried about her behind me. We were just in the pack at the start, and someone tried to go around the outside and slid out. There wasn’t much I could do at that stage, it was so tight, (I) just went for the jump and roll.”
After a hard day of chasing back on, Bloor said she was looking forward to some singletrack time.
“We’re really looking forward to the single trail, I think that’s where Lucie is going to shine and I can’t wait to follow her wheels and her lines,”
Stage Three | Margaret River | Singletrack heaven
The penultimate stage of the Cape to Cape took riders to singletrack heaven. Hitting just about every trail in The Pines and Compartment 10 trail network over 42km; riders at the pointy end and the back of the pack all finished the day with smiles on their faces.
“It was more fun for me on the single trail, not just chewing stem and led probably a good half of it today, which was good. (We) had a ball out there,” Odams said.
Giant Shimano made it a hat trick, going off the front early, extending their lead an additional three minutes. A sprint finish for second and third shuffled the podium from yesterday, with Trek Commtel nosing ahead of Giant Australia Off-Road, but it wasn’t enough to overtake in the GC.
In the mixed pairs, Roxsolt Rolla went back to back, putting another four minutes into their lead over Shimano MyRide.
“We were distanced on the early climb today. I didn’t feel good off the start, and we had to work really hard to get back Emma and Karl, who were with a couple of the men’s teams and I didn’t feel that comfortable following her on the single track. She had the pressure on, but then I thought, well, we’ve got to try something, so we went around and boosted on one of the a-lines and gassed it to the finish,” said Mullens.
“Coming down the last descent, Jarrod had a crash, and then I had a crash. I was like, slow down. We’ve got a gap. I think you can never rest on your laurels, there’s a prize for every stage win, and we’ll be going for another,” she said. ”
The penultimate day also saw team DBBM make it a trifecta, winning the stage by more than six minutes, despite a stop-start day marred by mechanical issues and a wrong turn on course.
“It was super fun out there, hats off to the trail builders and volunteers out there for keeping the trails in good nick. There were super fun shapes in there, and we just had a really fun race,” she said. “I felt for Ella stuck in her easiest gears on some of those (sections), but it was a good mission of pumping down there.”
Stage three was also SuperSox Saturday, where the events charity partners Bike DR and Dismantle raise money for its flagship youth program.
“…Something like today allows us to fundraise something like $60,000 to $70,000 that we put directly into a youth program called Bike Rescue, where we travel around regional and remote WA helping out young people that are having a tough time, and basically pairing young people with youth workers and using bike mechanics as a vehicle for that,” says Dismantle CEO Pat Ryan.
“It’s a complete game changer, for a young person that doesn’t function well in a classroom, they will function extremely well when they’ve got a bike and tools, and bike mechanics to tear apart bikes and put them back together,” he said.
Stage Four | Cape Naturaliste | The Epic Series season finale
The fourth and final stage of the 2022 Cape to Cape took riders for a 34km rip to Cape Natralisted.
The Giant Shimano and Team DBBM would both make it a perfect race, taking their fourth respective stage wins and the General Classification for the Men’s and Women’s Pairs.
“We just gelled so well this week. We’ve just got so much experience year on year, we just play that every day, we take our turn during the race, and it’s been the perfect week for us,” he said. “Last year it was a shame not to be over here because I’ve done it so many times, it’s special for me, to be back and win some more stages and another overall is great.”
Bloor continues, “It was so much fun, I felt like we battled for the last few days, and we couldn’t have had a more perfect day today. We just had so much fun, we rode as hard as we could, and the trails were awesome.
It’s pretty special, Lucie has ridden out of her skin all week. It’s her first time in lycra, (and) her first time racing an XCO race, let alone a stage race. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Roxsolt Rolla would win the stage for the mixed teams and with that, their first Cape to Cape as a pair.
“The first day was the toughest, but today was the toughest as a duo. I didn’t have very good legs, and Jarrod was even trying to push me on the singletrack to keep me in touch. We just chased all day, and we didn’t get back (on) until about 20 minutes to go, and even on the road back in, we couldn’t see anyone because there were cars behind us, and then we had cows in the last paddock,” said Mullens. “It was pretty exciting, really; it was a great stage,” Mullens said.
While the elite racers often get much of the focus through multi-day stage races, there are unbelievable folks further back from the pointy end of the race too. From Katherine Ross and Sarah Gardner, who have just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and are racing as a team, to Leon Wilken, who is recovering from a spinal injury caused by a motorbike crash 12 months ago. And then there is Bruno Wicki, who has raced every Cape to Cape back to the beginning!
And with the end of Cape to Cape also comes the finale of the 2022 Epic series in Australia. While the start of the series succumbed to wet weather, the remaining stops were home runs. We can wait for next year, the dates are to be announced, but watch the Cape to Cape website for more.
