The event started in Knysna, on February 8, and ended in Franschhoek on Valentine’s Day, February 14.
The two women, racing as “Team Transvestites”, as they were the only women’s team participating and therefore had to compete in the mixed division, were outstanding and won the category comfortably.
Amazingly, they also outclassed the majority of the men’s teams and solo riders on most of the stages in the race, and finished the event sixth overall, a remarkable achievement as Schoeman has been cycling for only two years, having done three stage races, while Bonny, a stage race veteran, is a cancer survivor who turns 50 later this year.
On day one, from Knysna to George, the pair, who had officially met only two days before the event started, made their intentions clear.
On a tough route from Knysna’s Waterfront, the two raced hard up Simola Hill before turning up the pace and passing many of the men’s and solo riders as they headed northwards, passing through the town of Rheenendal and traversing the dramatic Homtini pass, all the while building a solid lead over the other mixed teams in the field.
By the time they were faced with the final assault on the finish line, along the famous seven passes road, to the NMMU Campus, in George, they were well clear of their closest mixed rivals, Jaco Engelbrecht and Mia van Rooyen, of Midrand, and finished the 109km stage – which required the riders to climb a demanding 2716m, in 6:07:40, nearly 20 minutes ahead of Engelbrecht and van Rooyen.
This performance also saw The Transvestites finish sixth overall for the stage, which was won by the Belgium men’s team of Björn Rondelez and Niek Lingier.
If day one wasn’t a tough enough test then day two, from George to Calitzdorp, separated the men from the boys or, in this case, the women from most of the solo, men’s and mixed teams.
Arguably the toughest stage of the TransCape, day two started at the Protea Hotel, in George, passed by the back of George Dam, on through Witfontein towards the Montagu Pass, with a 65km, fast flowing route through the Little Karoo taking participants to probably the biggest challenge of the TransCape, the stunning Gamka Berg.
While the section through the Gamka Berg Nature Reserve was relentless and temperatures topped the 40 degree-Celsius mark along sections of the 147km stage from George, the Farrarmere resident and her partner cycled to the finish line at the beautiful Calitzdorp High School, in 7:11:05.
Incredibly, they took fourth place overall, with only three men’s teams, including the Belgium race leaders, crossing the line before them.
This was also nearly 30 minutes ahead of Engelbrecht and van Rooyen and hours ahead of some of the other participants, who spent just short of 12 hours in the saddle for the day.
The two women also received high praise from fellow rider Martin Lambrecht, who, along with partner Rory Attridge, finished the stage as runners-up in 7:03:20.
After Lambrecht had a puncture, the men’s pair were behind The Transvestites and had their work cut out to pass the women.
“The girls were incredible on the climbs and it was only on one of the descents that we were able to catch and pass them,” he said.
After these challenging first two days of the race, stage three’s 118km route, from Calitzdorp to Riversdal, was “easier”, although just over 2 000m of climbing, including the stunning Rooiberg Pass and strong headwinds through a stretch of the Little Karoo, may not have felt easy for many in the field, with a few riders calling it a day.
Schoeman and Swanepoel, however, again showed their class and crossed the line in 5:14:34, winning the mixed section for the third day in a row and fourth overall.
With the Belgium team comfortably leading the race, with three stage wins, the Gauteng women put in a big effort on day four, which saw the field cover a 120km route, which left Riversdal to follow an undulating 60km stretch along the foot of the Langeberg mountains, before heading westwards to the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve.
Once through the reserve they passed through the quaint little town of Zuurbraak, headed south past Buffeljagsrivier and into the Bontebok National Park, before heading to the finish line in Swellendam.
Here Swanepoel and Schoeman came over the line in 5:47:20, less than 20 minutes behind the stage winners and race leaders, Rondelez and Lingier (5:29:34), and the second placed Lambrecht and Attridge (5:31:25).
This after Swanepoel hit a rock and went over her handlebars in spectacular fashion, before hitting her head and finally landing on her behind along the route.
Undeterred she got back onto her bike with a few war wounds and raced on with Schoeman, to once again win the mixed section.
Starting day five the women’s cumulative times saw them placed third overall in the race, but it was to be a disappointing day for them, as mechanical problems – Schoeman had a front wheel puncture – early in the stage cost the mixed section race leaders a lot of time on the route from Swellendam to Greyton.
This gave Engelbrecht and van Rooyen the chance to record their first stage win, in 4:54:38 of the TransCape MTB race, with Swanepoel and Schoeman getting home in 5:29:24.
While this hiccough saw them drop substantially down the overall standings, it was still good enough to keep the women comfortably in the lead of the mixed category.
Stage six, with a lot of single track racing, favoured the stronger male participants in the field and saw The Transvestites finish the 72km ride from Greyton to Villiersdorp in cooler and rainy conditions, a little off the pace, in 4:27:28.
This was good enough for them to win the mixed section, but saw them cross the line in 15th place overall.
Despite this result they went into the final “short” stage – 75km – of the TransCape event, from Villiersdorp to Franschhoek, on Valentine’s Day, still leading the mixed and in sixth overall.
After digging deep one last time, to conquer the famous Groenlandberg and Franschhoek Pass, they finished this gruelling event at the La Couronne Wine Farm, in Franschhoek, on Saturday morning, February 14, in 4:09:40, winning the mixed division and finishing sixth overall, with the Belgium team the first TransCape MTB champions.
In total the women spent 38:27:11 in the saddle and, speaking at the finish line, the Benoni rider said: “It was tough, tough riding, but the people were amazing from day one, the views fantastic and it was just an awesome ride.”
