PokerFace

This was my first TB, and I didn't miss any checkpoints. I found the booklet of instructions very easy to understand. I wasn't sponsored, so there wasn't any presure on that side, and our aim was to finish not to get a podium position. I have sympathy for all riders who missed a CP or turn and ended up riding a much longer race.

I should be getting my invite any day now. I'm ONLY position 306 in the waiting list.

Well done fandacious!!!! Has anybody received their new PPA numbers yet? I'm still waiting.

I agree. A pro-rata rate would only be fair!

Isn't it so truely South African for all companies to always want their own little monopoly.

I agree. It would be more exciting.

What does it matter now? It's sad that there should always be suspicion when something happens in cycling.

It was such a big shock to hear the news. This is a loss to SA cycling. Condolences to his family and friends.

All of this is bad publicity for cycling. But I believe things are moving in the right direction. Now we have the second TdF with very bad publicity. Don't think for a moment that the riders before that doped any less. They were simply not caught. Now they start to catch more cheathers. I bet this has made some riders think twice before doping. Maybe some riders would have cheated and now don't, because chances are they will get caught. Vino and Moreni (not sure about chicken legs) have to pay 1 year's salary as a fine. This is money that can be used to have even better controls.

At least dopers ar being caught and we don't hear about it 10 years down the line. I'm convinced that there are dopers that are getting away with it, but the controls and system is getting harder to beat. Nobody is tollerating doping anymore. It's a very good sign that teams sack their team members before they can be caught out by ASO or UCI (or anybody).

Nothing wrong with V-brakes!

What happened to Fabian Cancellara? I expected him to do much better? I couldn't watch the TT and I can't find any news or reason why he didn't perform better.

Just enjoy and be proud of Hunter. He did VERY well!!! Barloworld is doing great!!!

Willehond and myself did the 85km MTB race at a leisurly pace and had loads of fun. It's a beautiful route whic I will definitely do again next year. The Sunday we got up with concerns about the weather. the wind was not pleasant. It felt like a long time in the 46km starting blocks. Some young guys practised their sprinting from the timing mats to the start line. The start was fast for some riders. The two of us tried to get our sore protesting legs to get up to speed. The hill out of knysna was very painfull. Should have warmed up a bit more, especially after the previous day's MTB ride. 2 thirds up te hill we caught 2 guys. We formed a nice group to work at a fast pace with the wind behind us. At this point we had no idea how many riders we still had to catch. We caught some more scatterlings at the turn around. We were in the middle of a lot of slower long distance riders. Now we started the hard work into the wind. We found out that we had one rider 3 minutes ahead of us. We tried hard to get the group to pick up speed. Instead a lot of riders were already trying to attack and reduce the size of the chasing peloton. I gave it my best at the front (10 - 15km from end). After my hard work I was supprised with two attacks. The second was too much for me. Willehond managed to stay with the group. It was frustrating to see the group in front of me, but not feel strong enough to reel them in. I rode the rest of the race behind the group. I still saw them go for the sprint about 30 seconds before I finished after them. Willehond took the sprint. Well done Willehond!!!

Anyway - registered riders always start before non-registered riders in all races, don't they? All the races I have done, registered riders start before the rest.

...or any club for that matter?

OUCH

I don't really get that feeling. I do get VERY grumpy if I can't ride - like when it rains for days at end.

The Argus is considered to be a fairly flat race. This just proves the point!

Meeste rame word in dieselfde fabriek gemaak. DIe vraag is, waar word die stickers gemaak?

Riis was wrong we he doped! BUT he is doing more to get cycling away from drugs today, than most people. Riis is doing more than most people, kicking him when he is down, including a lot of hubbers. Before anybody criticizes Riis again, ask yourself, "What am I doing to fight doping?". I bet nothing or very little. Try and think a bit bigger than your own feelings here. It's not about whether you feel cheated and betrayed.