TCS decided to have a go at the tandem race and we managed to get FIVE bikes to the start - kakaa and spinnekop, Christie and myself, shammy and nochain Piet Laubscher and partner and Chilli Pepper and Beee. Getting to the start I was stunned to see almost 100 tandems!!! This was gonna be a fast race! At the start kakaa and Spinnekop decided to stretch the legs a bit and tore about 20 tandems off the front. Christie and myself sat at the back for a km or two to get a feel of what this bunch wanted to do. At this stage Christie looked back and told me the second bunch was coming back fast and we decided to move to the front to lift the pace a bit, since a 40 bike tandem bunch was not something we had in mind for the day. So getting to the front, we lifted the pace.... for ourselves. Looking back no one responded and we were on our own. We decided to keep the pace steady and take the pressure off kakaa and spinnekop and shammy and nochain. Back in the bunch kakaa/spinnekop played the waiting game to perfection and our gap increased to about 1 minute and about 800 meters. Looking back I could see the bunch react and a small group crossing over. kakaa/spinnekop dragged three others with (Michael Thomson & partner, one other? and Renato Albrecht and partner). Now we were 5 and the pacing really started. We increased the gap to 3 minutes at the turning point and then the fun started as the wind was now head-on. 20 ks out kakaa/spinnekop went hard and only took the Thomson tandem with them - we tried to bridge but were cooked. Christie told me to hammer but I felt like one of those plastic Bob the Builder hammers that you buy in Toys R us.... With our mates out in front, we decided to follow the wheels and see how the end played out. Meanwhile out at the front, kakaa/spinnekop realised that Thomson is a formidable track sprinter and being from a well known cycling family, they realised that the meat tenderiser had to come out. Two, three, four attacks... nothing.... and then the elastic snapped. kakaa/spinnekop rode away with about a minute to spare to take the win - lekker okes and well deserved!! Time in the end 2:18 Christie and myself got fourth on the line in 2:21, but it seems there was a problem with the third placed tandem (no chip/ no number?) and the organisers awarded the third to us. I mentioned this to them, but they reckoned their results were accurate. Looking at the results I see the first five tandems were DQ'ed. We have reported this to CC and will see what come from it. Long story short, a hard and honest ride and reading the other threads, seems like the best place to get some hard miles in before the big one. See u in the VAs on Sunday, looks like there is lots of fighting talk going on already Chilli and Bee winning the Ladies cat!! Humble apologies for this glaring omissionMan with no name2007-11-12 01:49:47
