Falco

It's still way to early to tell for sure, but watching yesterday's Vuelta finish I got the impression that Contador is stronger than ever, while Froome was looking a bit fragile at times. If the last 2k's weren't downhill, I reckon AC would have taken a few seconds out of Froome. Bring on the mountains, this is going to be a battle royal, unlike the boring Tour de Wiggins. The best part about this is even though the unofficial battle is between Contador and Froome, there are a couple of other riders who are quite capable of upsetting both their plans.

It's long, boring, not very challenging, and not many riders enter. This one's now on my "must miss" list.

It's great that nobody was injured and all is well. However, as nice a gesture as it may be, is giving him a new wheel not an admission of guilt? This could come back to bite you on the butt when he suddenly develops injuries at a later stage. It happens. Further, your insurance is definitely going to look for someone to blame, and if they feel that the kid was responsible, they will fix your car then go after the father for payment. It happened to me when an unlicenced kid smashed into my car. When the father gets a summons from the insurance company, things could go pear shaped in a hurry. My advice ~ don't give him anything, let the insurance deal with it.

93km, 1075m of climbing.

Did the Schleck sisters enter this race?

Do some work at the front, then wheelsuck for as long as you can afterwards, then if you still get dropped htfu and train harder so that it doesn't happen again.

It's easy. Just avoid the multiple potholes that don't get called out, dodge the cars that want to kill you from the front, get out of the way of the trucks that want to kill you from behind, hope that the marshals showing you which way to turn in the township are actually there, jump over the multiple uncovered railway lines, don't go over the narrow finish with more than one cyclist near you, and you will be fine.

True, but some races have more than others. This is one of them. Personally I prefer more challenging races that include hills to break up the groups, I don't need to prove how tough I am by losing skin from arse to elbow. Each to his own.

It doesn't matter where you position yourself in the group for this race, it is a dangerous event on a dodgy route. I will never to do it again. Far too many crashes for my liking.

I train with heavy crappy aluminium wheels (Mavic Aksiums) with rubbish tyres (Mavic something, came with the wheels) and a 23:11 cassette. I race with alu/carbon rims (Shimano RS80), with Continental GP4000S tyres and either a 25:11 or 27:11 cassette, depending on race profile. It makes a huge difference. The training setup strengthens the legs, the racing setup makes it possible to use those stronger legs and better equipment to go faster.

Rules of the hub: 1) Never post anything negative about asg 2) Never post anything negative about cwc 3) If in doubt, refer to rule 1 or 2 IMO You shouldn't need to apologise about taking on a supplier over bad service, no matter who the hell they are (unless of course the supplier in question is a protected species on the hub, see rule 1 and 2 above). The "protection" these two companies have on this forum is sickening.

+1

Agreed, I'd rather pay 20 bucks and be safe than dodge taxis during rush hour. Best mid week training spot available.

Price per person during the week has been raised to R20, same as Sundays. This should get some folks whining. Still worth it imo

This was my first Jock. Stage 1 no problem, stage 2 challenging but no major problem, then came stage 3. I nearly died. I have NEVER suffered so much on a bike. I have no idea how I finished, but somehow I did. Next year? Probably, we never learn

Don't know where the 27 high came from on the weather forecast, it was well over 30 on the last stage. I just got through the fire as it reached the road, that was hectic. The guys behind must have really suffered, the smoke and heat from the flames nearly killed me.

Well, it looks like the weather gods are being kind to us. According to the weather report for Barberton / Nelspruit area tomorrow it will be clear with a low of 11 degrees and a high of 27, wind from 5-15. So we won't freeze at the start, cook (too much) later in the day, or be blown off the road by the wind. Good luck to all, see you at the top of the mountain(s)

+1000 Bring back Contador. Steak and all.

None yet, maybe next year. Is it true that the Schleck's have been offered an early bird special if they enter the 2013 Giro d'Italia Femminile by the end of this month? That could be a podium finish for them. Maybe.

Both are safe, so long as you don't ride like a bonehead. Getting stuck on the wrong side of Suikerbos with dead legs and the last climb still to come would be more embarassing than unsafe, and mean a hell of a long walk back to the parking area. Rather go there on weekends, at least then you stand a chance of hitching a lift back with someone else's support car. The cradle is like any other public road, it has it's good days and it's bad days. Get in front of a car / tractor / motorbike and you're going to get flattened.

Her withdrawal has nothing to do with suspected doping, she just can't stand to be away from sister Andrea any longer. I'm sure the two of them will cuddle on the couch today and watch the tour from a safe distance. Wimps, both of them.

Fixed

+1. Excellent stand, paid about 1800 for mine a year ago, no issues with it.

So was the Dogma draw that was supposed to take place around Dec last year. What happened to that?

Great. Another hazard weaving their way up the mineshaft at 3k's per hour. Worse still, in two months there will be another thousand on the track "training" for the 94.7. I do love dodging them, while they move left to right and back again with gay abandon.