Bub Marley

Think they are direct to consumer like Canyon.

You’re all in on Roglic cracking hey? 😂

In the last 2 tours, I think Pogi has had 2 bad days. He shipped a lot of time in the TT last year, but he still came second so I think that was more a case of Jonas on a different level. In other words he averages 1 bad day per tour. If that was his bad day then he lost no time at all so it could be a positive for him. And just by his face and his weak sprint, I think that was definitely a bad day. All we want is come the TT, the race is still up for grabs.

Of course no one really knows anything and everything is speculation. But we’re allowed to speculate no? Otherwise what’s the point of even discussing? I only commenting on what my eyes are seeing and of course I could be wrong. But based on the San Luca stage, the gravel stage and today’s stage, for me Jonas is in top shape. The only time he really has lost time is in the descents. I don’t think me saying Pogi should hold off on attacking till the final climb is something extraordinary. For me it’s clear that Pogi’s best chance would be making it count on the last climb or the last descent. That’s when he’s actually taking time on Jonas. Unfortunately these types of stages are done now and once we head into the big mountains, history has shown that Jonas is better. It’ll be interesting to see what the approach is now. I think if he tries to attack him, the same thing happens. He’ll get that initial gap but Jonas will claw it back. I agree but what I’m saying is he is going too early. He needs to save the burst for the final climb when it’s an uphill finish or even when its a descent finish, he just needs a slight gap before he crests the descent. If he’d done that, he’d probably still win the bonus seconds on the penultimate climb but would’ve been fresher for the stage win, so he’d have got double bonus seconds including the finish plus a few seconds as there probably would have been a gap at the finish. Attacking from so far out is crazy. Jonas is a double Tour de France winner. I hope for everyone’s sake that Ayuso and Almeida really shine on the long mountain stages. Pogi will need all the support he has. I have to say though Ayuso’s body language and interviews are not that great. Like someone mentioned earlier, they could be a GC rider on another team and that’s kinda the risk you run when your team is full of individuals. I can’t wait for the mountains though. It’s cold and raining here in Cape Town so not like I can ride outdoors. I’m gonna just sit on the couch with a blanket and enjoy the racing.

I also think that if Jonas was not at his top level perhaps these tactics would work. But it’s quite clear now that Jonas is in top top shape. Show him the respect he deserves and make him do the chasing.

And then lost all that time he gained on the next bump. I think he needs to show Jonas more respect personally but that’s just me. I don’t blame Pog. He’s a racer and his instinct is to race. It’s the team that needs to be smarter. And if it’s a case of him not listening then they need to get someone that he will listen to. That’s if they wanna win the tour. These tactics while it makes for great viewing ain’t gonna win him the tour. And this is proven the last 2 years. I agree from a neutral it’s great viewing. But personally as a Pogi fan, I want him to win the tour and then go and do the vuelta and try and win all 3. So if he can just treat this like a 3 week tour and not a classics race it will benefit him.

I honestly do not understand UAE or Pogi for that matter. They are basically showing the world that they are scared of Jonas with these tactics. You’d think by now Pogi should know that he is not gonna put minutes in Jonas. I dont understand why he is attacking so early. Stop burning your teammates so early and keep them with you as long as possible. Why attack so far out? Jonas is the one that is a minute behind, let him do the work and then kill him at the end. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that if Pogi doesn’t change his style, he’s gonna get smoked again by Jonas. He has so many climbing domestiques but is not using them correctly. When Yates stomps on that pedals, not many can keep the pace. They need to manage the situation better. The one positive for Pogi though is he didn’t lose more time. Because lets be clear, his face today was a carbon copy of last years stage where he shipped minutes to Jonas as well as the year before when Roglic and Jonas double teamed him and he also lost big time. He was cooked today but he seemed to overcome it somehow. Now again, this wasn’t a high mountain stage so maybe not a fair comparison but he looked like he was on the verge of a complete bonk so kudos to him for keeping it together.

Are they doing this to control the break or is it more a case of keeping the pace high and try and weaken the Visma train before the action starts. I think this stage definitely suits Pogi and he’s probably thinking of 30sec gap and maybe win bonus.

I thought I saw Vlasov immediately get back on the same bike after falling into the ditch?

While we’re on this topic, what’s the consensus on selling free kit? For example, I’ve seen loads of people advertising their Vitality kit, event kit or accessories that you receive in a race pack as an example. To me, that seems a bit sneaky. But if it’s fair game then fair enough i suppose. I can’t see why anyone would actually buy a vitality kit or an event kit if you haven’t completed it. But that’s just me.

So either 275k for this or 275k for a pinarello Dogma🤔. Decisions decisions.

Awesome. I’m in for the 86km gravel👍

I have used Assos, Castelli, DHB, Kalas and a bib from my Chinese contact who did my custom kit. For me personally, I don’t find much difference in any of them comfort wise. However I do think this is personal and the heavier you are, the more it might have an impact. But for me as a sub 60Kg rider I can ride any of them without discomfort. The one benefit Assos has over the others, is the independent chamois thing. I do think this helps with chafing a bit as the chamois moves separately with the rest of the bib. But in terms of actual padding and comfort, there’s no difference. If you are riding for 5 hour plus your behind is going to get sore. The only way to overcome this is more time in the saddle.

When are the routes gonna be made available? I don’t need a gpx file or anything that exact. Just a rough idea so I can decide which event to enter.

I think people are sleeping on Roglic. His style is not suited to these punchy stages and let’s not forget he also suffered injuries on that crash. I think he will come into his own on the big mountain stages with that high cadence style. He probably won’t challenge the big 2 but I do feel he’s the best out of the rest and i think his experience will show over someone like Remco in the high mountains.

Remco has yet to show he can mix it with the big boys on high mountains. I expect him to fall way off behind Roglic. I disagree. There’s only been 1 proper stage where big time gaps could have happened and that was the Galibuer. And in fairness Pog did gain some time. Generally speaking, the tour has been relatively flat or hilly. Big mountain stages are still coming.

I think he overshot a turn or something. Didn’t really get dropped besides the last effort of Pogi. All in all though, I think he looked quite strong. I do think though, he will get lose big time in the high mountains. I think Roglic will overtake him as well. Jonas is such an intelligent rider and is very cool and calm. I think his support structure is the same. Yesterday, despite Remco and Pogi enticing him, he just completely refused. He knows come the mountains, he will do damage. I think Pogi would have hoped for a bit more time before the big mountains come. For Pogi though, it’s all about overcoming this mental block. The last 2 years, once hes cracked he has cracked big time. He needs to overcome this if he’s gonna beat Jonas. Everyone has a bad day but he needs to be able to limit his losses better. His team is gonna be key for this as well to protect him. Ayuso, Almeida and Yates are gonna have to protect him somehow and I think it helps that Kuss isn’t there for Jonas because I dont think Jorgensen is gonna be able to protect him as much as Kuss did. I/m really curious to see how UAE play this in the mountains. To they go aggressive and try to isolate Jonas and risk burning Pogi as well. Or do they go defensive and rather let Pogi follow Jonas.

Interesting topic this. Some of my experiences: So many items are way too highly priced. If you going to overprice your stuff then be prepared for offers less than what you advertised for. Also people tend to not understand what brand new means. You can’t say something has been used twice and then call it brand new. If you use it it’s not brand new. Lastly, you can’t advertise something at almost the exact same price I can buy it in a bike shop for. Why would I buy something on the hub for the same price as I can buy it in a bike shop? When the price is fair, I find the transaction goes smoothly. There should always be some room for negotiation in a marketplace but generally, when the price is right it goes swiftly. It’s when the price is poor and you offer what you feel is a fair price, you just get ignored. It doesn’t really bother me tbh. At the end of the day, I will offer what I feel is fair. If you wanna ignore that then fair enough. I’ve seen some items still on the market after 6 months with no price reduction.

I think if the terrain is similar to the Knysna route then I’d agree with taking the hardtail for my skill level. I think the gravel bike will be faster for some but you really need to know how to handle your bike to benefit from it.

I’d categorise the route as technical gravel / easy mtb. The average speed I would say was higher than a typical mtb race hence why I say it’s more a gravel race. I do agree though in that it was quite bumpy so it would’ve been a challenge on a gravel bike. Probably the perfect bike for this would be one of those drop bar hardtails.

Really enjoyed both events and I hope they stick to this format going forward. Was really surprised by how well attended both days were. Carnival area was full activity well. In terms of the routes, the mtb race was essentially a gravel race to me which I don’t really have any issue with. Was really fast and and I put in a lot which attached my Sundays race. The 2km of singletrack right at the end though, not really sure what was the point of that? It was horrible, non flowing and roots everywhere. And then I also had the same issue with slower riders not giving way which was a bit frustrating. If there was one suggestion I would just make away with that last single track completely. The road route was freaking hard though. I gave it my all for the first half but the moment we hit the serpentine climb I just didn’t have any legs left. But what an awesome route though. The whole garden route area is beautiful scenery so I will definitely come back to ride more. Didn’t really get to appreciate it as much as i would have liked given the racing.

I wish there was somewhere we could just consolidate every race with all different companies. We have racetec, FinishTime, bouttime, winningtime and probably loads more.

Anyone know who times the event ? Im assuming no need to bring my permant board and chip?

Battery life down from 35% to 20%. The new screen while looking fantastic clearly drains so much more battery. I see they selling the 1040 alongside as well so for some that might be a better buy depending on how much you value battery life.

That’s because it was like 8 degrees this morning🤣. Anyways, to each his own. If you’re happy with it, stick with it.