tombeej

The first section is a 2.5 km climb @ about 6%. You’ll see the start of the climb from a distance - you'll see the road rear up into the hills ahead. But again, you can afford to go full gas there because relief is not far away .

Harry, you'll be fine with the hill . Just think of it as having 2 sections: Section 1 is the first 2.5km climb right off the bat. It’s definitely the most important - do whatever you have to do in order to get to the top of that section in the bunch. Don't be afraid to burn some matches there, because you don't want to miss the bus for section 2 (the next 10km+). I promise you, the rest of the climb is relatively gentle stuff and it's going to be much faster, but also tons of opportunity to recuperate in the safety of the bunch as you hitch a free ride to the top.

I'm in AL. Not too sure what that means...?

The organisers mentioned they're expecting something like double last year's numbers, if I'm not mistaken.

yip, got my sms too

Nice pic from Gummy of the two Colombian lads I've got a particular interest in this year. What a thing it would be to see those two dicing for the win at LBL this weekend. That would certainly make my day.

Has anyone received an SMS from the organisers with their batch info yet? The official website says "All batching and start times will have been sms’d to your cell phone." Well, I haven't received anything...

The first 2.5 km of the climb has the stiffest and most sustained gradient: averaging a consistent 6% or so. And really, that's not a train smash. Once you crest that first pitch, from there it's a gentle meander up the hill for the next 10 - 12 km.

bmwz1, the climb is nothing to be concerned about. A very forgiving gradient. More info found on the main thread here: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/135165-event-tour-durban/page__st__80

Agreed. But there's another Colombian is on fire at the moment, and he's going to be at the Giro (if he gets his visa issues sorted out in time): the young lad from Trek, Julian Arredondo. He has already beaten Quintana twice this year, outclimbing him in 2 stages of the Tour de San Luis. Keep an eye on this young man in the Giro:

Sorry to see my boy Betancur not competing in the Giro again this year, but he has his sights on the TDF.

Poor old Geraint Thomas. Once again, can't get through a race without crashing. To be honest, I can't think of another rider who comes close to this 'record' run of continuous spills. The oke must be tearing his hair out - he just can't catch a break. What must his knees, hips, shoulders and elbows look like now?

Good to see Gerrans back in action.

This doesn’t qualify as a ‘video’ per se, but still brilliant on an IDT: I’ve taken to setting up the IDT in front of the TV when a big race is being screened. Tour of Flanders was 3 hrs. Paris-Roubaix was 4 hours. I kept steady pace when the peloton was riding steady, but when they hit a climb, so did I. When an attack went, so did I. When guys were time trialling to get back onto the bunch I’d drop into a big gear and hammer along with them. I was on Impeys wheel going up the Koppenberg and on Sagans wheel as we tried to hold Cancellaras wheel up Oude Kwaremont. Nothing like the surround sound turned up, nose up to the big screen and the commentators in full flight to make the hours just fly by. What a jol. I’ll be doing the same during the grand tours. I just negotiate with the missus well in advance so that there are no issues, and I’ll pick the big days on Saturdays and Sundays. Excuse the pun, but it puts a whole new spin on watching a cycling race.

Problem with Sufferfest is the giant pool of sweat to mop up afterwards. And having to wash the bike down, or face everything going rusty... ... and of course the jelly-leg dance you have to do on the way to the shower...

And Wiggo can no longer be called lightweight. He's filled out a lot since those skeletal days in 2012. Looking a lot healthier too - no longer like a deathcamp inmate. I'd be interested to know exactly how much he's put back on. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts focusing more on the classics into the twilight of his career. I'm sure I've read recently that he's pretty much written off any future grand tour aspirations for the future. Pure speculation, but I'm guessing not wanting to go down that starvation route again has a lot to do with it. Wiggo, Thomas and Stannard will be a very potent set of babysitters for Froomedog come July. I'd say Chris is not too worried at all with guys like that around him when things start to get bumpy.

Vino playing babysitter during 2010 Tour de France stage 3 on the cobbles at Haveluy… Contador lost over a minute that day. I can assure you the lightweight GC riders are not looking forward at all to stage 5 this year. Nothing to gain, but so much potentially to lose.

How popular must Hayden Roulston be in the Trek team bus at the moment...

Hopefully we'll get to see the rainbow stripes in the classics to come.

On Saturday I decided to do the climb up the M7 on my bike. Drive it many times by car, but never cycled it due to the huge number of trucks that go up it. But took my life into my hands and had a bash very early. Was glad I did because I found that while it's a 14km climb, the gradient is very forgiving. There's nothing steep at all, many flat bits and even the odd little downhill bit on the way up to Pinetown. So for folks who haven't done this race before, there's nothing to be concerned about at all. If you're even vaguely fit you'll hardly even notice you're climbing.

So Bradley Wiggins says that for him, Paris-Roubaix is bigger than the TDF. Talk about making a statement. Here's an interesting article on his dislike for "little French guys" and his love of the pavé.

Lotto-Belisol to ride CX bikes at Paris-Roubaix? Ridley have adapted their X-Night cyclo-cross bikes for the cobbled classic Lotto-Belisol riders have been offered the option of riding a modification of Ridley’s top of the range cycle-cross bike in Paris-Roubaix this weekend. Re-appropriated for the 257km cobbled classic, these versions of the X-Night have had cantilevers swapped for V-brakes and been drilled to carry bottle cages. The wide wheel clearances typical of cross machines might prove useful should Sunday’s race be muddy, while a sticker on the head tube announces the bike as “pavé proven”. The wheel, tyre combos may vary from those pictured, as this was a spare bike from the Tour of Flanders. German Marcel Sieberg was the Belgian team’s best finisher in last year’s race, coming in 24th, 3:13 behind winner Fabian Cancellara.

OK fine, see if I care. I'm going to go and sulk in the Classics thread by myself.

Come guys, you're making me now have to keep up with 2 threads on 1 subject. Can't we keep to 'The Classics' thread? Ja, I know, I'm a lazy SOB

There are two big long-range attacks from completely dominant riders in the modern that really stand out: Cancellara in 2010. Boonen in 2012. They were so strong that they literally just rode away from the competition with 50km to go. Below is footage of Cancellara's attack from 50km out in the 2010 race (look for the red jersey from the start of the footage). When he decides to go, that's it. Game over. Boonen was caught sleeping and when he finally woke up to the fact that Cancellara was going, it was already too late. I think he learnt a big lesson that day, using the same tactic 2 years later when he made his big move from about the same place, and won with the same kind of domination. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7xjsPqHg3o