Mayo916

I don't mind naming and shaming someone that littered. It was Manfred LAMBRECHTS. Super strong ride, he just needs to work on his bike handling skills (in a bunch).

No, the guy I'm speaking about is ML. I think we saw the same person, as a few of us saw ML wobbling on his bike while drinking just after he almost caused a crash a few km earlier. But the reason I memorized his number was because I saw him littering and that made me angry.

I did not see any crashes in the "&" bunch but it was sketchy and stressful (More so than previous years), especially the first half and when the guys from "@" joined when we caught them. There was just one guy I identified that rode very dodgy in "&". During the race, I couldn't figure out how such a strong rider could have such poor bike-handling skills in a bunch. When I googled him now, I saw he is a triathlete and it all made sense.

I rode in & : 2:53 Avr Power 187 Normalized 235 Coasting 37m 21.3% 60kg I was mostly surfing wheels as I did not feel great. Last year I paced the bunch over Smits and Chappies. This year I struggled to get to the front with the bigger bunch to help on the climbs and when I got to the front my HR was already high. My biggest effort was at the bottom of chappies. I did pace a bit on Suikerbossie and over. I finished at the back of the group as I felt guilty for not doing more work.

Here is the @ and & list. Deleted See Jbr's sheet above

Is this list for seeding accurate and final? https://results.finishtime.co.za/results.aspx?CId=35&RId=4464&EId=1&dt=0&PageNo=20&st=j6FSpg4SwzaoagiSR2pvtUitT37pHW9TiaDX5cCLIVU%3d I count 332 in @ and 380 in &. Compared to last year of 234 and 228. I think 300+ for racing groups is too big. I also see a lot of names I believe should not be in these groups. The front of & will catch 60% of the @ group. It is always dangerous when groups start to catch each other.

Cool video. I enjoyed the race. Probably my favourite race at the moment.

How does the seeding work? I've been moved down to B and see many "slower riders" in A. Looks like "Ratel 10+" automatically gave you an A seeding regardless of their time on previous events.

With Airlink, you get an overall free baggage allowance of 20kg permitted on an Economy class ticket and an additional 15kg permitted for sporting equipment (Including a bicycle), meaning the total free baggage allowance is 35kg before excess baggage charges apply. My check-in baggage and bike bag with duel suspension MTB total 38kg. So I had to pay a 3kg excess which was R120. With a lighter bike and less baggage (shorter trip) then your total can be less than 35kg and therefore no extra charge. Extra 15 Kg Sporting Equipment Allowance | FlyAirlink

So the dropper seat post I bought specifically for that section is useless now.

I saw the 2nd and 3rd mixed teams also helping each other with some slip. They should be more strict, especially for those riding for the podium. The honesty system clearly does not work.

Here is last year's route with missing link: https://www.strava.com/activities/7964876084

I was in the perfect position to go with them. I'm still kicking myself. I was with them until about 250m from the top (Edinburg drive) when it started to flat out a bit. I did not want to push myself into the red early and my legs did feel good. So I decided to take it easy over the top. It was only when I looked back and saw the bunch 50-100m back that I released my mistake and by then it was too late to join them again. My legs never showed up for the race so just finished in the bunch. I blame the stomach bug I had a week ago.

Yes, He and 3 others (one super strong guy from INEOS) broke away on hospital hill. We never saw them again. The bunch only caught one on top of Suikerbossie.