Every year 1,200 cyclists gather in Western Cape, South Africa to take part in the Absa Cape Epic. A grueling eight-day mountain bike race that traverses nearly 800 kilometres of remote backcountry and forces riders to climb more than 16,000 metres of elevation.

This year, two Canadians participated in the race: Tamara Goeppel of Whitehorse and Thomas Tetz of Tagish.

The event is widely considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious mountain bike races in the world. Bart Brentjens, a 1996 Olympic gold medallist in mountain biking, referred to the race as the "Tour de France of mountain biking”.

Competing amongst the best in the world, Goeppel and Tetz rode their way to a top 10 finish.

"It was pretty wicked,” Goeppel told the Star this morning.

"Eight days of racing back-to-back is pretty wicked on it's own but there was lots of freaky weather. From really hot temperatures to high winds and a stage five day that's hard to talk about.”

The race is broken down into seven main stages with each distance having a max stage time, if cyclists fail to complete the course before time expires they are allowed to continue the race but are not recognized as official finishers.

The fifth stage is 119-km long with 2350-m of climbing. The competitors have 10 hours to complete the distance.

The fifth leg of the race begins in Caledon, a town of just over 10 thousand people about an hour east of Cape Town. When Goeppel and Tetz climbed into the saddle, the weather shifted dramatically.

High temperatures had marked the previous four legs, with medics discussing shutting down sections of the race when the heat topped 40 degrees.

"We were praying for rain,” said Goeppel. "We got it, but we got it in buckets.”

Within two days, the heat gave way to extreme winds and unrelenting rain.

"A lot of tents were destroyed, the finish line was almost destroyed, people were blown completely off their bikes,” said Goeppel.

The hypothermic conditions caused many of the racers to drop out.

"A lot of people just thought it wasn't worth it,” said Goeppel.

"I was wondering if it was worth it.”

Tetz asked if she wanted to bow out.

Strong words from a former Yukon Quest and Iditarod musher who has raced across untouched frozen tundra were temperatures can routinely drop below 60 degrees.

"That question grated the wrong way. It just felt wrong,” said Goeppel.

"I knew from experience that it would just get through it somehow, eat something, get that garbage bag on and just start moving, we would persevere.

"Of course, if you gamble wrong you're really going to be in trouble but we didn't think of that way.”

Enduring the elements, the constant barrage of rain destroyed the brake pads on each of their bikes.

When they reached the aid station they had to physically stop their bikes and make the necessary repairs while still being hammered by wind and rain.

"I think that cost a lot of people the race,” Goeppel said of the experience.

"In the Yukon you've got your gear and you're prepared, but you're so incredibly vulnerable to the cold in South Africa. You've got your race gear on and you're going up into the mountains.

"For a lot of folks that was a real traumatizing stage. I think a lot of the South Africans had never been that cold and it wasn't what they bargained for at all. A lot of people felt like that was a day of survival, it wasn't a day of racing anymore.”

With the worst behind them and only two stages remaining, Tetz and Goeppel pushed forward.

Goeppel said she found motivation in the support of the rural communities they passed through.

"Being in South Africa you've got incredible landscapes, open spaces, the Indian ocean and all these incredible people cheering you on, especially the kids,” she said.

"The kids have so much courage and optimism. They waited for hours just to cheer a bunch of yahoos on bikes along.

"The outlining communities put bands together and you could feel the enthusiasm and it motivated you. There was an amazing energy and that drives you to get through the race.”

Goeppel said the experience Tetz brought to the team was invaluable.

"It's good to have someone who is just so solid, he can say, ‘You think this is bad?

I've seen worse.'”

"Teams tend to dissolve mid-way but the combination worked and so far we're still on speaking terms. I think.”

With the race beginning on March 25 and ending April 1, another challenge the team faced was training for the event.

With little options for cycling in a Yukon winter, the duo trained unconventionally.

They strapped on their skis.

"People would ask us how we trained and when we told them we skied, they thought you either ‘you should be here' or ‘you're really dumb,'” said Goeppel.

The preparation paid off.

When the team crossed the finish line, along with former Olympians and current hopefuls vying for a spot in the 2012 London Games, they did so in ninth place.

"The race is part of the accumulation for world cup points, so there is an incentive for lots of the European riders to do the race. It has the caliber of a world class event. There were a few ex-Olympians and people vying for London right now and then you have the Yukoners that ski well,” said Goeppel with a laugh.

"You just never know who will show up for the competition, it's a real nice feather in your cap but on the other hand it's such a risk for the high caliber racers, especially those in an Olympic year, because of the risk of injury. Maybe we got lucky and all the really, really good teams stayed home.”

It was the second time Goeppel and Tetz had competed in the event and Goeppel said she's unsure if they will return next year.

Heading into the race, Goeppel had been set back by a foot operation that slowed her training and diminished her motivation but once she was back in the saddle, she felt rejuvenated.

"When I got back on the bike I thought, ‘All things considered this is pretty good' and it's like ‘Oh, maybe this won't be the last one.'

"Someone came across the finish line that was 68 years old and I thought ‘Oh no, that's a sign.”

The team also found some incentive in the awards closet.

"We were looking at the lions club awards, you have to the race three times to be inducted, and we noticed there is no Canadian flag in the group,” said Goeppel.

"So there's definitely a little bit of incentive if we ever lose our marbles and decide to do it again.”