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Hello everyone, This is Thinus speaking, and I have some exciting news to share with you all. I have been selected to represent the SA team in the Gravel World Championships! To make this dream a reality, I have started a fundraiser to raise the necessary funds for my participation. I kindly ask for your help in spreading the word about my fundraiser. https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/getting-thinus-maritz-to-the-world-gravel-championship-in-flanders-belgium-2024 Your support means the world to me, and I am truly grateful for all the encouragement and assistance I have received on my journey towards the Gravel World Championships. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and for supporting me in my pursuit of the gravel worlds. Best regards, enjoy the ride Thinus

I'm doing a poll on the preferred team size for a team time trial race, taking into account social distancing rules and regulations, and the limited size of heads at an event. Mass participation events are most certainly under pressure and unlikely to take place until the pandemic is behind us. Assuming a team trial event, similar to the MalutiD90 and the DC, would be the way forward, what size team would you deem ideal for one of two distances (100Km and 160Km)? Type your reply in the comments section below, remember to subscribe to this channel and click on the bell icon to get notifications each time new content is posted.

edit: link to the event registration is open - click here. Some club mates have been talking about starting a weekly/bi-weekly/monthly Crit race on a short circuit course on a Friday night. The venue will be on a new section of tar SE of Rand Airport;1.72Km long and can be race both clockwise and counterclockwise;18m of elevation gain per lap - it's flat, but there will be "out the saddle" efforts twice per lap as you negotiate the two 180-degree turns (1 hair-pin and 1 mdeium sized traffic circle;Daurtion will be 30 mins + 1 lap - maximum of 4 groups per night;Estimated lap time of 2:00 - 2:30, depending on the group, giving 12-15 laps before the bell lap.Initial talks have been around a Friday evening as the full route is lit, but not sure what the interest will be vs a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. We'll start on a Friday evening, as planned, and then see how it gains traction. Seeding? What's that... if you get dropped, suck it up and try harder... or... drop a group the next time. Rules can be added as we go, eg. repeat winners can be pushed up a group, and vice versa for last few places. An entry fee may need to be charged to cover a medical team and toilet hire (the closest shops are about 2-3Km away, We'd prefer to award points for position and then perhaps have one end of season prize giving. As we grow, this can become more formal. No officials needed, and this won't be sanctioned. The costs to set this up is unnecessary, and is more about giving those interested in participating a chance to hone their bike handling skills, do some HIIT workouts under race conditions and FUN - the rules are simple: Safety first - it's the riders' responsibility to police the guys drifting/changing lanes;First one over the line wins - he/she gets to brag about it until the next race;The race starts on time, and only stopped if weather conditions make it unsafe - we'll use our experience from running our mass participation event. I'll post a link to the video soon - driving it by car doesn't do justice to the effort required to complete a lap or two or 12-15. What else? Let me know in the comments below