Mountain Bru

Here's the wording of the actual rule: 2.3.036 Sprints Riders shall be strictly forbidden to deviate from the lane they selected when launching into the sprint and, in so doing, endangering others. I'm not a lawyer, but that rule seems to be written terribly. I don't think that anyone can contest that Cav deviated from his lane after launching into the sprint, but the "and, in so doing, endangering others" part is the mystery that causes all the debate. Who decides what's an acceptable or unacceptable level of danger in an already inherently dangerous situation?

The rules of sprinting say that once you start your sprint, you have to sprint straight without deviating or changes 'lanes'. (Lanes would be imaginary lines drawn on the road like an athletic track). So technically, Cav swinging from one side of the road to the other, is an illegal movement, and so technically he should be relegated to the back of the group. But there's also something in the rule about not endangering other riders, and in practice this means that unless you actually cause a crash or cause another rider to have to brake aggressively to avoid a crash, the connoisseurs don't penalise anyone. Cav swung into open space and didn't directly cause a crash, so even though his movement was against the rules, they won't punish him for it. So it's a bit of a grey/subjective area which causes chaos sometimes, and obviously the commentators didn't want to open that can of worms right after Cav won.

It's when he goes from mashing big watts at high cadence to immediately freewheeling. The cassette basically keeps spinning and "pushes" the chain off the front chaingring causing it to drop. I'm fairly certain I've seen this before in multiple other sprints.

I can also highly recommend the Lantern Rouge recaps and the podcast episodes. I'm really not a fan of the "tone" of The Move or the JB2 podacsts. The Lanterne Rouge podcast is literally 2 obsessed, degenerate cycling fans like us discussing the tactics and events of the day. The Move, especially when Lance is on it, feels to me like I'm listening to old men trying to prove how hardcore they are and that things were so much harder and tougher when they were doing it back in the day.

My expectation is that Remco takes 20s on Jonas in the TT, and the Pogi is 10 to 15s behind Jonas. That'll hopefully mean sub 30s from 1st to 3rd after the TT. I'd love to see Roglic get back into the mix, but I think Almeida and C-Rod are his main rivals for a top 5 based on his recent performances.

I think you'll eat these words before the end of the tour.... Jonas was 10 or 12s behind at the summit, and then lost time to the heavier rider on a technical descent that required sprinting out of hairpins over and over, which favours Pogi. Yesterday's stage was so reminiscent of last year's stage 6 where Pogi took 24s on a punchy climb to a summit finish, and we all know how that turned out in the end. The tour is 100% in the balance in my opinion, and the margins are tiny. Jonas closed the gap to 6s at some point on the descent yesterday. If he was literally 3 or 4s closer, I reckon he gets into Pogi's draft and sits on his wheel all the way to the line. But Pogi took massive risks to stay away. One or 2 mistakes on a hairpin and Jonas would have caught him - instead Jonas loses 37s (without bonuses). But the race of truth on Friday will reveal all...

Is there a way to change the commentary to English? Or is SBS the way to go if your flemish is a bit rusty?

For only R300k, you can have one of these instead: https://www.specialized.com/za/en/s-works-tarmac-sl8-ltd-red-bull---bora---hansgrohe-edition/p/4279319?color=5446749-4279319&searchText=94925-0352

I don't understand? Are you suggesting their struggles with illness and crashes are as a result of their success last year?

Is there a Bikehub SuperBru pool yet?

Jumbo: We won all 3 grand tours in 2023 with 3 different riders Pogi: Hold my beer.....

This is my dream gravel weapon. If anyone has one, please let me know if it's as epic to ride in reality as it is in my imagination.

What was your time on this beast? And did you overtake more gravel bikes or mountain bikes in the race?

I think the point is that there isn't a specific answer (like 100s of threads testify). It's more that for every trail, or even every piece of a trail, there's an optimal bike. But then for the next stretch of trail, that same bike might be the worst option. So you have to decide what you want to compromise on, and how much you'll have to compromise. So if you have a MTB, that bike is probably perfect for some percentage of any gravel race, but then for the rest it might be better to be on a gravel bike (or a different configuration of that MTB). So if we take RTTS's route - It's probably something like 30% tarmac, 45% smooth gravel, 10% sandy, and 15% bumpy/rocky/corrugated terrain. So for 75% of the race, a gravel bike is optimal, but for 25% you'd be better off on a MTB. But that 25% isn't so bad that you're terribly slow, so for the whole route, I think a gravel bike is the best (and fastest) choice. But I did Cullinan to Tonteldoos last year on a gravel bike, and I wished I was on a dual-sus because there were so many rocky stretches where I was considerably slower than the guys on MTBs. But to answer your first question, here's my 2c on what you suggested to tinker with on a MTB (in order): 1. Tyres - Put some 42s or 45s on a hardtail, and you're 80% of the way to a gravel bike 2. Position - Get some SQ lab bar ends, and put them nice and close so you can get a bit more aero and have a different hand position. Also, maybe a longer stem if your MTB puts you super upright. For more money, drop bars are an option, but then you need new shifters and drivetrain compatibility might be a problem. 3. Gearing - Maybe a 36T chainring if you're on Shimano would be worthwhile to add some top end speed. I know some guys on Sram AXS run a mullet setup with roadbike chainrings and mtb cassettes - maybe that's an option. Basically, just try to increase your top end speed cos that's what you're missing on a MTB. 4. Power Transfer - I don't think there's much you can tinker with here without changing bikes or suspension, and then you might as well just buy a gravel bike. The spez brain stuff is amazing though, and works unbelievably well, but you have to service it at specialized, and it's expensive (around R2k per brain I think). But this is all if you want to go fast, and try to come 400th instead of 600th in a race. The actual things I think are important to enjoy gravel races more: 1. Shoes that are comfy and stiff and fit you well 2. Gloves and bar tape that give your hands some cushion 3. A saddle that fits you well 4. Proper bibshorts that keep your bum happy and chafe free 5. Big sunnies that keep dust out of your eyes 6. Top tube bags so it's easy to eat 7. Lower tyre pressures to add some comfort and grip Hope that helps.

Gearing - You can get the same range on either, so theoretically no advantage, but in reality, most MTBs probably don't have a fast enough top gear for fast sections. Bike position - Depends on the bike and how you ride it how you ride it. If you only sit upright on the hoods with a flipped up stem on a gravel bike, you might be less aero than being hunched over on an aggressive XC bike. Gravel bike will try to put you into a more aero position though, but if the route isn't that fast, being aero doesn't help that much. Tyres - Massive advantage, until it's technical or bumpy. Power Transfer - Gravel bike is more efficient until the lack of suspension makes the ride too bumpy to pedal. Then you can put out more power on a MTB. For context, the current trend in gravel biking is to buy a gravel bike with the slackest fork angle you can find, and then try to turn it into a drop bar semi-hardtail by putting the widest tyres you can on it, a suspension seat post, and some form of front suspension either with a 50mm travel fork or a suspension stem, at which point you basically have a hardtail with drop bars for an extra R50k. But the principle is that over a long enough distance, being comfortable is fastest thing you can do.

In terms of the race: Had a really lekker first 100km and paced myself well for a sub 6, but then the wheels came off a bit and I ended up doing 6:34 after dawdling the last 10km. I knew the crappy dirt road next to the tar at the end was coming though from looking at the GPX file they posted. My biggest struggle was passing loads and loads of 50 miler riders who were riding on the "smooth lines" on the 2 long sandy climbs. I have zero objection to guys riding on the best line they can find, but passing almost always meant missioning through thick sand and corrugations to try and get past. I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done to improve this though. For reference, I started in A, and averaged 28km/h for the first 100km, and was having to pass tons of riders that were barely moving on the climbs, I assume from the last batch of the 50 miler. Kudos to them for tackling the race, but flip it made the climbs hard having to constantly pass guys in the sand.

I feel like with any gravel race, there will be guys complaining about the condition of the roads/trails after the race. I agree that the loose sand and corrugations were horrible, but at the same time, I've ridden far worse trails in races on my gravel bike, and there were no sketchy rock-filled descents with a high probability of crashing on this route, so I don't have any complaints. I think if you want to ride perfectly smooth trails, road biking is what you're after. But at the same time, I feel like in every gravel race you have to choose between having comfort and speed on technical terrain but reduced speed on the smoother stuff on a MTB, or speed on the non-technical terrain, but less comfort and speed when it gets technical on a gravel bike. Over this course, I have a hunch that the 2nd half of the race might be a bit faster on a dual sus, but the 1st half is much quicker on a gravel bike, and over the entire route, I think a gravel bike is faster.

I'd definitely not recommend super hard tyres. Comfortable is fast. In terms of nutrition - This is probably the most important thing to consider. Check the wrappers of your gels and bars etc. 60g of carbs per hour should be your minimum regardless of how hard you're pushing, so plan what you need to eat every hour, and start early. Don't wait to be hungry. Also, don't gorge yourself on the massive feast at the half-way mark. Your legs will be flat afterwards while your body spends all your energy trying to digest everything you've stuffed in your face. Rather take some potatoes or droe wors with you nibble as you go. In terms of pacing - First half is fast and mostly false flat downhill, second half has some long drags uphill. Don't overcook the first half. Whatever time you make up smashing the first half will be negligible compared to what you'll lose if you run out of steam at 100km. Rather empty the tank in the last 30km than in the first. Another thing to consider in terms of pacing is trying to be smart on the tarmac sections. Don't ride 10 seconds ahead of a group in the wind alone when you could save energy working in the group. And if you are 5s behind a group, it can be worthwhile to push a bit get in the draft rather than dangling in the wind alone.

They added almost 10km to the route from 2022 to 2023 to avoid a slightly dodge section, so your average speed might be pretty similar between the 4:58 and 5:30.

I dream of replacing my Diverge with a drop bar Trek Supercaliber for gravel riding ... Don't kill my dreams....

Would you still like it if the price tag was visible?

In terms of bikes that look the worst to ride, not much compares to this: From back in the day when helmets were optional and a tiny front wheel was a legit way to lower the front end (for the unaware, that's Jan Ullrich, I think in the 1999 Vuelta)

All of these inline stem monstrosities

How's your cousin on the oil rig doing??

When does a "noname naked carbon handlebar" become legit though? There's a Trifox RHB300 MTB handlebar on Temu for R665, but Trifox somehow has a South African website that has the same bar for R1150 (out of stock but marked down from R1350), and Bike Addict has the bar for R960 (down from R1200). So given that Trifox has a SA website, and is sold by Bike Addict, are they out of the suspect "noname" category even though there's 10 other identical looking handlebars on Temu with random names that look "dodge"?