Karin Schermbrucker/Cape Epic/SP

Professional mountain bike riders Erik and Ariane Kleinhans hope to win the gruelling Absa Cape Epic in the mixed category.

JANIS KINNEAR

Staff Reporter

After tying the knot 10 months ago, Erik and Ariane Kleinhans are determined that their compatibility and rigorous training assure them first place in the mixed category in the gruelling Absa Cape Epic.

Last year, the Stellenbosch couple, both of whom are professional mountain bike riders, finished second in the popular mountain bike race.

“We have unfinished business and for us as a mountain-biking couple, it is the highlight of our season to be able to do this race together – but competition is tough and we’ll have to work hard for it,” Erik, 29, said of their decision to return as team Contego.

The couple are not strangers to the Epic, as Erik is participating for a fifth time and Ariane for the second.

In the mountain biking fraternity, Ariane, 28, has become a rider to watch as she won the women’s category of the MTN Tulbagh Marathon at the weekend.

The couple have each earned a string of racing accolades.

Erik took first place in the 2009 Wines2Whales and the 2011 Staalwater MTB challenge, while Ariane won the 2011 Elsa Bike trophy, Karoo2 Coast and Crater Cruise.

From March 25 to April 1, the couple are to tackle some of the province’s most unspoilt terrain, in competition with about 1 200 other riders. The race begins with a prologue on the Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, and ends at the Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, after covering 781km.

“The prologue is the deciding factor for the first stage, therefore the tension and pressure are quite high, and this makes it difficult on the technically demanding course of the first day,” said Ariane.

She believes taking on the challenge with a partner who shares the same passion for the sport is the best formula for entering as a mixed team.

“I have a great partner who is always looking after me and motivates me.

“He also carries all the spares and extra bottles, and is able to fix a mechanical fault a million times better than I could,” she said.

But husband and wife acknowledge that it will be no easy feat to get to the finish.

“I’m always the weaker one, so it’s about me pushing myself to the absolute limit,” said Ariane.

“Last year, I really suffered, but with someone motivating you the whole time, you don’t have a choice but to really get the best out of yourself.”

They started pre-training for the event last December.

When they are not interval training or practising in the heat, the couple spend time cooking together, starting every day with a bowl of “Kleinhans muesli”.

“Like any other relationship, we also have challenges we have to get through but that makes us an even better team and I believe this will be our big advantage in the race,” said Ariane.