rattlesnake

How would I have reacted? I would have picked my own line around the corner, not blindly follow the wheel of someone I thought was taking too many risks! and then NOT blame my own poor line choice on the guy in front of me in the interview! I say HTFU. It's racing.

Goodness, Froome was being a baby yesterday! Lashing out at Contador, "Saxo were taking too many risks on the descent, If you ask me it was dangerous for Contador to do that, they don't attack on the climbs but they attack on the descents" Contador actually attacked 3 times on the climb yesterday! Froome lost a few credibility points with me yesterday. It is racing, not Obey and Follow the yellow jersey.

Awesome event, I reckon best value for money 3 day event out there. Proper mountain biking, long climbs.... LOOONNNGGG technical descents and the mankele trails.... Great food, great vibe. As Rouxtjie says, nothing to think about. Do it. If I wasn't riding Pioneer I would be doing it again for sure.

So I really suck at this version of the game....85th But come consolation..... I am coming 3rd overall in the Hub UDT fantasy league:)

Maybe try cut out the "high impact" foods, stuff like; - High sugar content foods '- processed stuff - fizzy drinks Replace these with foods that are processed less, have less sugar. Eat lots of fruit, veg and lean proteins. Another key is to try and reduce portion sizes (slightly) little by little. (NB - portion sizes, even too much healthy food can make you fat!) Ride longer, the more efficient your body becomes at using energy, the less the volume of food you will crave. Don't make dramatic changes or try fad diets, they don't work. It's about making small changes that are sustainable and that won't "tax" you mentally into a sacrifice mindset. Reducing sugar intake will also dramatically improve your energy levels. Which will motivate you further. Allow one day a week for eating all the forbidden stuff, that way you have a reward. Do this on a weekend day after a long ride, your body is less likely to store this as fat.

Also possible, but he is quite focused on getting intermediate points to lock down the polkadot jersey.... if he has the jersey in the bag before Ventoux, then ja, I guess you right, he probably will have a go too..... a 4 way duel...... Contador, Mandy, Quintana and Rolland.....

Don't you think that a questions only thread on a forum where people LOVE..... only to give answers has lasted WAY longer then it should have?

He will try, that is for sure! Contador is a good pick too.... a 3 way duel....? Contador vs Schleck vs Quintana....?

I wonder if Mandy Schleck won't have a go at a stage victory in the alps, he's actually not looking bad, might be hiding better form then he has shown so far....?

Agreed, if I were a betting man, provided he doesnt have to sacrifice himself for Valverde, he'll be hard to beat up there.

Voeckler has zero chance of winning on Ventoux...... brave he is, but a good enough climber he isn't .... remember 2010 & 2011But then again look where I am coming in this competition.... nowhere..... so what do I know

So come on, own up..... who entered the competition then... ?

Dullstroom?

Tim - again, I thought the route was great. As for the congestion, I understand your point, BUT perhaps some more thought should've gone into WHEN (the timing) the 20/40 Kms batches were released so that the congestion could have been eased. Also having the 20/40km riders join the marathon route right in the thick of the A bunch marathon riders was an oversight on the organizers behalf. I would like to suggest that in future when route convergence is unavoidable, at least make sure that u time it right so that the A&B batches get through unimpeded. That way the serious guys can race and the fun riders can have fun. That way most of us get what we entered for. Just a thought. Would have saved about 10 pages of complaints on this thread, and a few less dramas out on route.

Thanks for moving the wire aside Paulie.... Otherwise a few other riders might have had an even more miserable day too.

Eish...... My team still sucks....

Sounds like we have the same team and for the same reasons!

Bottom line is you had too many riders, of too many skill and speed levels, trying to share too much of the same track. The organizers are to blame here - simple. Put hundreds of people with different goals and ambitions in one tight place at the same time, and the Poo is going to hit the fan, and by the sounds of it, it did. As for the route, I liked the riding, it was a proper MTB route. Maybe parts of it a bit rough for novices but that's what the shorter routes should accommodate. I'll say it again, joining all 3 routes at that stage of the race.... WHAT were u guys thinking Tim!?!?

Guess it was about timing, maybe by the time u got there the bulk of the 20/40km riders were through already, it was a serious mess when we got there. Some of us do train hard and push ourselves and do try get results. 10-15 minutes of chaos. I think my complaint is valid. Many of us enter these races for various reasons, and a good race organiser should cater for fun and serious alike. "Get a road bike" - I got one and I race that too. And if you don't suffer on that bike then u ain't doing it right dirt-dawdler

I'm still angry, how hard can it be to get this right!?!? FFS! They been doing this for long enough. It's simple, keep the different routes separate. Separate, separate, separate. Please Tim get this right next time.

RAVE-Tim,nice route, proper MTB riding. RANT- having 20&40km riders joining the route after 40 odd kms, REALLY, what were you guys thinking.One doesnt expect 10-15 minutes of bottlenecks and standing around when you start in A batch. This is NOT what I pay for and this is NOT what I work my ass off for to maintain the A seeding. I go there to race not sit behind fun riders! Its not fair to us and its not fair to the fun riders either. You guys have been planning routes for a long time now, we as a cycling community expect better from you. Nothing more demoralising then having worked hard for 40 kms to have all your hard work undone by hundreds of riders walking at the sight of the slightest obstacle, river (sludge) crossings, climbs, jeep track, it was mayhem. Thank you for adding to my stress levels this morning. Rant off.

I see it this way; - 9 flat stages in total (including the Team TT) - 10 mountain stages (incl 4 "medium mountain" stages) - 2 individual TT's The green jersey chasers were able to hang in the 1st 2 medium mountain stages.... SO, assuming that they can't hang in the 2 medium mountain stages left and contend, the green jersey chasers would have had one more stage to earn points then the GC contenders. IF they can hang in the 2 remaining medium mountain stages, we are poked ...... IF they can't hang in, then I see a points festival for the guys that chose GC riders...... Also as the tour goes on, there is more chance of some green jersey chasers abandoning..... So...it's quite evenly poised then for a tight finish. At the end of this it would be good to work backwards and pick the green jersey contenders / flat stage winners and see how the points would stack up against the top 9 GC riders. Maybe Gerald can do this analysis for us using last years results

Time will tell if our long term picks come good...... in which case the early leaders would have run out of ammo....... then we will have the last laugh (evil grin)

Anyone that's done this race before - driving time from Sandton / Midrand to cullinan?? Trying to work out how late I can sleep - starting at 8.

Hi Hubbers Does anyone know who the agents are for Token wheels SA or of anyone that brings them in? Thanks