Sean Badenhorst

Hey guys - it'll be out next week.

Been test-riding a rigid Ragley hardtail recently. Made me appreciate suspension forks. A lot! My first few seasons of MTB racing were on a rigid hardtail. I cannot find one good reason to ride one regularly, voluntarily! But that's just me. I'm sure there's a (niche) market...

Definitely!

Try softening your elbows a bit and lean forward more on steep climbs.

Attack the incline like you want to get OVER it, not just UP it. Attitude makes a big difference. You need to pedal hard from the berm at the base and stay seated. Select a gear that's not too easy. Power climbs are just that - power climbs... Good luck!

Grondpad, is your subscription still valid? If not, it may need renewing. Either way, call me tomorrow and I'll look into it for you. Like I said to Peter L, please call me after 11h00. My number is 083 3111210.

Peter L, call me tomorrow and I'll look into it for you. We hate the SA Postal Service almost as much as we hate punctures, but are unfortunately at their mercy. Call me late morning as I'm riding until about 11h00. My cell number is 083 3111210.

I like Jens Voight too. First met him in 1998 when I covered the PruTour (Tour of Britain) as a journo. He was on the GAN team. Always joking around and really down to earth. Was fortunate to get into the Saxo Bank team car support vehicle for Jens at the 2010 Tour de France during the final TT. He's really powerful (very good leverage with his long legs) and was probably riding at 85% of his best – like most riders do in the final TT if they're not in contention for team or individual honours. With about 15 kays to go we heard on race radio what Cancellara's time was - obliterating the previous best. The driver pulled up next to Jens to tell him. Big smile "Extra bottle of champagne tonight," he grinned.

Top 3 finishers at MTN Attekwas – George, Sahm and Platt – all on 29er hardtails... More confirmation.

The staining is actually a good thing. This usually occurs with supplements that DON'T contain preservatives. It's just discoloured, not damaged...

Crack, yes, cycling is an elitist sport. So too is yachting, moto-x, skydiving, rally driving etc. Barriers to entry in these sports are high because of the cost of the equipment. Swimming is not an elitist sport, the barrier to entry is low. They have excellent development programmes in place in South Africa and we're still not there yet with a black Olympic medal hopeful... Maybe this is where you can get involved. Contact the head of Development at CSA (details are on their website) and ask how you can make a difference.

You need to understand that CSA has different divisions. There is a division that looks after cycling development and a different division that looks after each of road, MTB, Track, BMX and Cyclists with disabilities. Each has their own goals because each discipline/category has its own challenges/characteristics. How about volunteering your skills and knowledge (almost all the CSA administrators are volunteers) to make a difference where you think they're not performing. Or at least get involved with this at club level and set an example of what can be achieved. Administrating a sport is not easy, it's not usually that much fun and – my pet peeve – compliments are seldom heard/read, while criticism (seldom constructive) comes easily. And just to put you in the picture, I'm not a cycling administrator and I'm not in any way involved with CSA.

While I can see you have a genuine desire to see improvement (as I'm sure we all do), you're obviously quite new to this sport, which means you won't know what the administration of cycling has been through over the past couple of decades. It's a long involved story which I don't have the time to tell. But what I can tell you is that the progress made in road cycling recently in terms of elite racing success is on a sharp upward curve, which is fantastic! There's a way to go still, but the process has been put in place and is beginning to reap rewards. Carla Swart finished 10th at Elite Road World's today. Never, has a South African finished in the top 10 at Elite Road World's. There's a 2020 strategy in place, which got quite a bit of media coverage a couple of months back. The details are here: http://www.cyclingsa.com/Article.aspx?uid=68

Shew, lots of criticism, unfortunately not much of it constructive. Having been involved in competitive cycling in SA since 1981, I can confirm that the current CSA Road Commission has done more to improve the standard of road cycling in SA in the past couple of years than what was ever achieved before. Sure, they'll make the occasional error, but they are proactive and passionate and knowledgeable and that is something that's difficult to create. They have the following in their favour: * A goal * A plan * A great pool of talent and the following challenges: * Limited funding * Limited support from SASCOC (which still struggles to understand that road cycling is a team sport) * Geographical distance from Europe * A lack of international-standard local races All of these challenges are currently being addressed to varying degrees, so perhaps a little patience (and support) is needed.

Sorry to hear this sad news. RIP Mark and strength to all family and friends.