The Cape Epic winners in person: Our world: Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller
Jan Timmermann
· 15.04.2024
Every professional mountain biker dreams of the perfect race. Of the moment when everything meshes together and victory is clinched with a dominance that clearly says: "Nobody is faster than me". When the whole thing also takes place at the Cape Epic, the Tour de France of mountain biking, the story can hardly be topped. At the end of every single race day, the duo of Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller stood at the top of the podium. Eight out of eight stage wins and finally the overall victory - it doesn't get any better than that! The performance of the Dutch-Swiss racing team is even more fascinating when you consider the fact that neither of them are actually marathon riders. In the strong field of endurance pros, the cross-country athletes of the Ghost Factory Racing Team were the absolute underdogs.
According to their own statements, they would have been satisfied with a midfield finish or even an early elimination. That they would dominate the most media-effective event in the MTB world was actually still unthinkable at the start. However, after gaining a good minute lead over the competition in the prologue, it quickly became clear that the names Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller would make history at the Cape Epic 2024. Who are these two female XC racers who astonished the entire scene? What makes the women under the helmets tick? We found out in the BIKE section "Our world".
Profile: These are the Cape Epic winners
Anne Terpstra
- Age: 33
- Birthday: 05.01.1991
- Height: 166 cm
- Weight: 55 kg
- Nationality: Dutch
- Team: Ghost Factory Racing
- Profession/study: Bachelor Medicine
- Greatest successes: Cape Epic victory, Tankwa Trek victory, 2x XCO World Cup victory, 6x XCO Dutch Champion, XCO World Championship runner-up, XCO European Championship runner-up, Olympic participation in Rio 2016
Nicole Koller
- Age: 26
- Birthday: 02.05.1997
- Height: 170 cm
- Weight: 61 kg
- Nationality: Swiss
- Team: Ghost Factory Racing
- Profession/study: Businesswoman / top-class sport Recruit school Swiss Army
- Greatest successes: Cape Epic victory, 2nd Tankwa Trek, XCO#2 Internazionali d'Italia Series victory, 10th XCO World Cup, Team Trial Mixed Relay UCI Road Bike World Championships victory
The beginnings: From the edge of the pool to the Cape Epic podium
Both Terpstra and Koller were active in the water before their cycling careers. Koller regularly trained with the lifeguards as a teenager, while Terpstra first pursued classic swimming and then water polo. Although both still trained in the indoor pool for a long time, especially in winter, they are now rarely drawn into the water. Terpstra now finds lane swimming boring. Koller is different: in the water, she blocks out the rest of the world and enjoys time alone. Basically, the two bikers still benefit from the effects on lung volume and breathing technique. Koller also tried her hand at gymnastics for a few years, mainly because of her circle of friends. As a former trampoline jumper, she still appreciates stretching sessions today.
I wore contact lenses for the first time in my last water polo game before switching to my bike. Although I wasn't good with the ball, I could only swim well, I scored the first four goals in that game. During the break, my father said: 'You're in such a good mood' and I replied: 'Yes, I can suddenly see the goal so well! - Anne Terpstra
The fact that the athletes got into mountain biking in the first place is thanks to their siblings and a bike club where they lived at the time. As Terpstra was still too young to stay at home on her own as a child, she regularly had to accompany her family to her older brother's MTB training sessions. Although her parents had nothing to do with mountain biking at the time, her brother's passion eventually spread to Anne. In addition to her training as a swimmer, she hoped to develop into a triathlete later on. However, just like Koller, one day their training times in the swimming pool and on the trail got in the way of each other and they both decided in favour of MTB. Koller's two older brothers also managed to infect the rest of the family with the fascination of mountain biking.
Although I didn't really like cycling at first, I stuck with it because we did it together as a family. My brothers are three and seven years older respectively. In the beginning, I was always the weakest member of the group. - Nicole Koller
It's my brother's fault that I ended up cycling. I was used to riding with someone for ages. Maybe that's why I think partner races, like the Cape Epic, are so cool. It was always weird for me to be alone somewhere. - Anne Terpstra
Terpstra is proud to have a bachelor's degree in medicine in his pocket. However, a professional career was not compatible with professional sport. After completing vocational training, Koller is now a member of the Swiss army. She completed her 18-month basic training in the winter of 2017/2018 and was one of the first troops to train top athletes without a rifle. Although she is currently required to attend political events from time to time, she does not have to complete any compulsory courses with a weapon and benefits from the Swiss sports promotion programme. Whether the 26-year-old this year at the Olympic Games will start depends on the performance of the Swiss cross-country riders and her personal performance at the first World Cup events in Brazil in 2024. As a Dutchwoman, Anne Terpstra has significantly less competition and is seeded for the races in Paris.
As a member of the Swiss army, I have the luxury of being paid a salary for national team training camps and appointments with the World Cup team. In return, however, I always have to be part of the national team. It's not always easy among the many strong female mountain bikers in Switzerland. - Nicole Koller
Mental strength helps to win the Cape Epic
Without question, an eight-day stage race like the Cape Epic is a mental challenge. Dealing with this kind of stress is not always easy, especially for Koller. In such situations, distraction and the social environment help her. Koller and Terpstra both practise meditation and autogenic training. For the latter, her strong body awareness is both a blessing and a curse. She spends a lot of time listening to herself and at the end of each day she always knows whether it was a good or a bad one for her. She can always use such details to her advantage, but sometimes she would prefer not to notice everything. When she realises that something is not right, it can easily stress her out. There was little room for distraction for the athletes during the Cape Epic. Both were highly focussed at all times and never once looked at the statistics on their bike computers. Instead, they relied on their instincts.
I spend a lot of time with my bike and am interested in data. When it's important, I'm a numbers guy. But I would say that I'm also good at letting go of that. - Anne Terpstra
During everyday training, both Terpstra and Koller switch into mental tunnel mode time and again. They are already familiar with this from their earlier sporting careers when swimming laps in the indoor pool. Their thoughts then often drift aimlessly.
During training, my thoughts keep wandering to things I still have to do. But as soon as I get off the bike, I forget about them again. Then in the next training session I think: 'Oh crap, there was something! Anne Terpstra
They can't allow themselves these breaks in the race. Terpstra in particular doesn't like riding behind someone's rear wheel. Relying on what the rider in front is doing is not her strength. Although she knows Koller's riding style very well and can sometimes move into second position, she doesn't find riding behind pleasant. She much prefers to see the track in front of her, stay in control and decide for herself which line and braking point she chooses. Koller actually finds it very pleasant to follow. She knows that her team partner has the same skills and can then relax more easily. Before the start of the Cape Epic, the duo had actually firmly assumed that Terpstra would ride ahead. It was only during the race that they realised that a reverse order seemed to work better.
The preparation of the cross-country riders
As XC racers, Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller had rather exotic status in the Cape Epic marathon race. Last year, they rode the Tankwa Trek in South Africa together and promptly took first and second place. Apart from Koller's moderately successful start at the 2021 Marathon World Championships in Switzerland, the pair had virtually zero marathon experience to date. Although they used joint training camps specifically to practise riding with their partner, Terpstra and Koller did not train together any more than usual during the off-season. Nevertheless, they see their team spirit as a decisive advantage. Both have been cycling together for a long time and without knowing each other very well on and off the bike, winning the Cape Epic would not have been possible.
There is no time to get to know each other during the race. You just have to get on with each other. - Anne Terpstra
Speaking of advantages: the athletes are certain that their nutritional strategy during the stage race was around half the secret of their success. Together with an expert, they had planned their carbohydrate supply down to the last gram in advance. During the race, Terpstra and Nicole fuelled themselves exclusively in liquid form with gels and drink supplements from the South African company Cadence Nutrion. The athletes burned around 4000 calories per stage. That's quite a lot for a woman. The nutrition before and after the races was also meticulously planned. Thomas Wickles, team manager and partner of Anne Terpstra, could hardly believe how much the two women were able to eat during a good week. In the morning, for example, they ate huge amounts of toast. Even oatmeal would not have been ideal for their purposes. Breakfast had to be a quick and uncomplicated intake of carbohydrates. After all, the team didn't want to get up any earlier than they already did.
During the race week in South Africa, Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller slept together in a motorhome. Although this was not a completely new experience for Koller - she and her family used to travel to campsites in caravans - she had never travelled without conventional sanitary facilities. Contrary to all Dutch clichés, the Cape Epic was Terpstra's first time camping. However, for a race in a place so far away from home, both would have preferred a hotel bed. Sleep and toilet logistics were not always optimal in the camper. Apart from the sleeping situation, the team was well equipped in terms of equipment. Their Ghost Lector FS race bike weighed around 10.6 kilos when ready to ride, including repair materials and pedals. This made their bike one of the lightest of the race.
Will we do the Cape Epic together again? At the moment I can't imagine it. It can't really get any better anyway. But: Never say never! - Anne Terpstra
Jan Timmermann
Editor
