Intense heat, illness and leopard warnings: Yukoners recount epic South African bike race

Heat stroke, gastrointestinal problems, exotic wildlife, and an airline workers' strike — if Andy Preto and Thomas Tetz were looking for an adventure, they certainly found it.

The two have just returned home to the Yukon after fulfilling a long-held dream: to participate together in the grueling, multi-day Absa Cape Epic in South Africa.

The event bills itself as the "most televised mountain bike race in the world," and it involves bikers from all over the world competing on a roughly 700-kilometre course through some harsh and arid terrain.

"I had a heat stroke for sure one day. Thomas said I looked like a lobster, and I was violently ill," said Preto, back home in Whitehorse on Tuesday.

"Probably a low point of the race was when I accidentally threw up on Thomas as we were racing. He tried to pass me at the wrong moment."

Tetz said it was still cold and snowy in the Yukon when they left for the race last month.

"It seemed like a shock to the system when we got there," Tetz said. "It was really hot."

Preto said the many aid stations along the race route were a lifeline, helping them stay relatively cool and hydrated in the 40 C weather. The two would regularly pour ice on their jerseys to keep from overheating.

On the trail at the Absa Cape Epic. Preto and Tetz said the biggest challenge was dealing with the intense heat and staying hydrated. (Submitted by Andy Preto)

"You started hearing stories about people getting removed from the race with kidney failure and collapsing, and it started to get worrisome," Preto said.

"It was challenging, for sure. It had its highs and lows."

Race gets 'harder and harder, and we haven't even started'

The event was a long time coming for the pair, and there were plenty of setbacks before they even started the race, including a fractured leg, an airline labour disruption, and a global pandemic.

Five years ago, Preto and Tetz participated together in another bike race in Mongolia. Then, the following year, they were set to compete in the Absa Cape Epic.

"We were in Cape Town, and the night before the race, this thing called COVID-19 made the news — and we had to quickly scurry home because the race got cancelled," Preto recalled.

Then, a year ago, they were again training for the South African event. That's when Preto had an accident while cleaning a chimney.

"I slid off the roof and wrecked my leg," he said. "As I hit the ground and realized what I had done to my leg, my first thought was, 'Africa!' ... yeah, it was not a good scene at all."

After surgery and some weeks on crutches, Preto was back on his bike by last fall, training.

Then last month, the day before they left for South Africa, they had to scramble to rearrange their travel plans when the airline Lufthansa was hit by a workers' strike.

"So before we even got on the plane, we looked at each other and rolled our eyes and said, 'Oh my gosh, this race just gets harder and harder, and we haven't even started,'" Preto recalled.

"We definitely did the milk run around the planet, but we got there."

Tetz on the trail. (Submitted by Andy Preto)

Starting the race, Preto was a bit nervous about how his leg would hold up but it ended up doing just fine. The bigger problems, he said, were the heat and "our guts."

They also had to contend with wildlife. Tetz went for a training ride before the race and saw a huge snake, and on one part of the race Tetz spotted a road sign warning of leopards.

"He [Preto] said, 'Oh, this is a joke for tourists,'" Tetz said. "And later on we talked to a local guy and then he really told us there was some leopards there."

Preto said he asked whether leopards actually eat people.

"[He said] 'Oh yeah, they do' — so I guess the leopard thing is not a joke," Preto said.

Preto thought the signs warning of leopards were a joke for tourists, until a local set him straight. (Submitted by Andy Preto)

In the end, they finished the race without a leopard encounter, or kidney failure, or any other serious ailment beyond the heat stroke and stomach problems.

"It's been like a five-year goal. So regardless of the weather, we were both happy to be there," Preto said.

They haven't yet planned another racing adventure.

"We don't know yet. We wait a little bit," Tetz said.