They struggled in Saturday's seventh and final stage, but Rebecca Rusch and Matthew Weatherly-White of Team Specialized/Red Bull finished the ABSA Cape Epic 685-kilometer (424.7-mile) stage race that had over 14,000 meters of climbing.
Rusch, 40, a two time 24-Hour Endurance mountain bike champ, competed with her coach Weatherly-White, 45, of Boise. They placed sixth among Mixed Teams and 45th in General Classification out of 561 teams and 1,100 cyclists.
Their final time for eight days of racing in scenic South Africa was 35 hours, 47 minutes and 51 seconds, over three hours behind Mixed Team winners Adidas Big Tree (32.13:09) featuring Nico Pfitzenmaier of South Africa and Alison Sydor of Canada, 22nd in General Classification.
Rusch and Weatherly-White, after being consistently in fifth or sixth place among Mixed Teams all week, faded to 14th place in Mixed and 137th GC in the seventh and final stage at the shortest distance, 60k from Oak Valley to Lourensford. They finished it in 3.47:49.
The overall winning men's team was the Bulls from Germany, Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm, by five minutes in 28.10:13. Here are a couple of quotes from the Idaho riders after the fifth and sixth stages late last week:
Rusch said in an email to supporters, "I know this is a long race, but each day is five to six hours with a very fast, explosive pace.....I am looking forward to the final finish line in Lourensford, but I will miss our nomadic lifestyle and the camaraderie that has developed."
Wrote Weatherly-White, like Rusch a first-time Cape Epic finisher, "The goal each day was to stay safe, race hard and enjoy the scenery. We are looking forward to the final finish line and closing the books on an incredible week of racing and training."
