bleedToWin

I think they are merely trying to explain what conditions would result in what kind of curve fitting adjustments so that it's more understandable. A flat course on calm conditions will have too many riders doing fast times and will necessitate an adjustment for seeding. A-groupers starting in D will have the same affect. They still all got seedings around 12 though.

Plot finish times and you'll see the bell curve is messed up. Do the same plot with the adjusted winner time and beta and it looks a little more normal.

Isolate him into a small break early. Work with him. Win or loose in the end you get a good result because the group won't be able to close it. If you get dropped from said break you get a good workout and can come back stronger to try again! 💪

Calendar is pretty full till early June

Seeding in road cycling is generally broken (and always has been) exactly because of said "sit the wheel" situation. Further complications from tactics, bunch dynamics, and at the top end teamwork.

I guess this is the crux. 95% of D did not sign up for this (time and money exchanged with a certain expectation) and it might have only been welcomed by a small handful of them.

The routes have a shared tail. The sting for the 130km is smack bang in the middle!

I'd pad them and box them and check them in as sporting goods / special luggage.

A is not the first group so shouldn't be too crazy. Worst case you drop back one batch on Bothmaskloof.

Good to see everyone rocking up in numbers. These events are always well organised.

Looks like a nice venue 👌

I thought he was hoping to use a result at nationals to land a team, but this seems legit. The team are officially announcing their riders on Monday...

Yip, the high speed right hander with cars surprised to see us coming and then the circles taken both sides was not very safe. I know safety officials did their best but if there's even one car allowed into this area it's a dogshow!

🤔 Haha, not sure if you know me IRL and are taking a dig? I couldn't care less about avg speed! 🤫

On paper the non-RS version of the P Zero TLR with SpeedCore is probably on of the best compromises then.

For sure depends on what you're optimising for, which is why the Cinturato is a very good alternative to the Gatorskin, and a really bad "alternative" to the GP5k.

Imagine if rugby supporters complained about the wingers at their local club games always wanting to score the tries and never pushing in the scrums... 🤣 Edit to elaborate since I'm probably going to get lynched for going against the mainstream: If you simply want a fast time, help to pull the bunch, finish near the back and enjoy your fast time. If you want a good position then conserve all race and get active in the final. If you want both a good position and a fast time then attack / join attacks and go in breakaways We all have different objectives and we all play the same game. This is not a group ride. Don't hate on smart riders optimising their strategy based on the strategy of others.

Make sure it's one of the versions with SpeedCore as the old ones aren't great. The 2023 model is a bit over engineered against punctures. Ends up as a great race capable tyre for folks wanting extra peace of mind, but for sure not competitive in terms of rolling resistance. The 2024 RS model toned down the puncture protection and is suppose to be a great option. I'm only 200km on my set so too early to tell about punctures, but runs well. They have class leading grip that you can really feel when cornering, and are a bit more resilient than GP5k for only small rolling resistance loss.

Both are tyres and that's about where the similarities end. Not an alternative, not even the Pirelli model that tries to compete with GP5k.

Checking my race calendar... *cough* Philadelphia *cough* Kalbaskraal You don't need to claim that to be relevant though...

*Danielle du Toit

Maintaining current form is Specific and Achievable, but not Measurable, Relevant (you'll get bored), or Time-bound so I suspect you'll fail. Goals don't have to be an improvement on the previous year, but for a lot of people that is what makes their goals (R)elevant to them. You can have goals that are not performance oriented, and you it's also totally cool to participate in a hobby without goals.

Is 'finish comfortably' a challenge for CTCT and 947? I assumed not hence it not being a (R)elevant goal. Same goes for a mileage target that you 'don't mind not hitting'. Example if performance matters to you. I want to hit 3.5 W/kg FTP by 947. I'll do this by focusing on A strength targets during the summer, B weight loss monthly targets starting in April, C volume targets during winter base training 12 weeks starting in June, D spring time performance targets starting in September.

You mentioned three things that aren't goals (2 races and a mileage target), so what do you care about? I'm coming at cycling from a different place to you so my goals are very much performance oriented, but it's by no means to right way for everyone. As overused as it is, I would say there's a reason why SMART goals work.

Gravel can be tough on repurposed road components! Anyone have or know where I can source this cover plate / name plate thing for R8020 LH lever?